Brian's Banter #2: Deja V(unit)

So....Tuesday...we had our marathon auction for Public Storage...which began at 9am and ran all day! These marathons have pros and cons, but lets not dwell on those...that is for another story for another time!  


So our day begins at 9am at the first facility, but there has been a change...the auctioneer we are used to has since left, and his boss is now running the auctions...and not only that...but they have changed the order in which the locations have been auctioned. So we find ourselves at the wrong location, and end up running in the WHITE TURTLE across the river to the westbank of New Orleans to start there. We are fortunate because they have had their own problems getting started on time and on track, so we arrive and have only missed one unit which everyone tells us was nothing anyway


Well...there was a bunch of new people there, so units starting going for 2 to 3 times what they usually would have gone for. But we held our ground and waited for the right moments. We refuse to spend more than we figure on a unit JUST to get it....and we bid on what we know and can see. Of course, if there is nice antique furniture in the front...and you can't see to the back....odds are...it is more of the same...but we bid accordingly....and a $250 unit that goes for $800 is just plain DUMB! On a high note....new people who overspend on 10X10 units on the 4th floor of a facility WON'T be seen at future auctions!!

But I digress!

So we go from facility to facility until we end up at the 3rd place....having NOT purchased a unit yet! But like I said....we are patient and we work on our time and our schedule...and we AREN'T going to buy something JUST BECAUSE! So then...it happens...10x10...door rolls open...and there it is...a fully packed nicely in boxes entire unit...floor to ceiling...wall to wall....NICE! People are looking....downplaying....playing games in general....Becca and me begin our "whispering" to each other and agree....$400 is a great number.....and we are going to start at $200. I look at the auctioneer and give him my two fingers....and we are off to the races. Someone comes in at 225....I go to 250.....someone else does 275...I go 300....then 325....I go 350....finally someone goes 375....I go 400.....and everyone shaking their heads pulls off and once, twice....sold to us for $400! We couldn't be happier. You see, units like this are scary for a lot of people. It is a LOT OF WORK!

So people who would usually bid pull back because they don't want to deal with such volume or they don't have the capability or the physical ability...either way...we swoop in and take these! You see....we both LOVE the thrill of the hunt...and we both don't mind "digging" for hours and hours...up and down elevators....!

Anyway...we get to the office to pay....I hand over $400.....fill out the paperwork...and as the auctioneer is going into their system to wrap it up....he realizes the tenant has paid online....before he entered the $400....so our sale is nullified! He hands me back our $400 and apologizes very nicely and says this very RARELY happens!

To which we inform him that exactly one month ago...in this same facility, we had won a unit for $350...gotten to the office to pay....handed over the $350....filled out the paperwork...and as the auctioneer was going into the system to wrap it up...he realized the tenant had paid...so the sale was nullified! We were handed back our $350 and told apologetically that his RARELY ever happens!

TOTAL DEJA VU!

Same facility....happened the same way...except in the first instance...the tenant was actually there paying in person.


You win some you lose some!  On the bright side, we now have at least $400 extra to use on another unit!


Until next time...