Hi, I’m Lonnie with StorageAuctions.com, and one of the most common questions I receive is, “How do online auctions work?” An online auction and a live auction are the same in that you still have to follow the state lien laws, send letters, run ads in the papers, what you’ve always done. It’s just, the difference would be there—you put in the ad, or in the newspaper ad, or in the letter that you state that the auction takes place online at StorageAuctions.com.

The first thing the manager is going to do is set up an account. Pretty simple process. No different than setting up most accounts online. If there’s any questions, he can call up customer service and they can help with that.

Second thing, when you cut the locks you’re going to take photographs. You want the camera or the phone to be held sideways. You want to give me seven pictures. One with the whole unit. Break the unit up into quadrants. Give me a top left, bottom left, top right, bottom right. Anything peculiar or interesting, different in the unit—give me pictures of that. We really do need at least seven. Give us more. We can take high quality, high definition pictures. The bidders really like a lot of pictures. Help yourself out with that.

The third step is, on auction day, the only thing that’s going to happen there is the winning bidder’s going to show up at your store. They’re going to bring you cash or credit, whatever your terms are. Typically, we suggest giving them 72 hours, because you’re going to be bringing bidders in from a further distance. Give them 72 hours to clean out that unit. You’re not going have the chaos—crowded parking lots, impacts on weather—that we’ve had with the traditional auctions through the years.

As an owner of storage facilities for over 20 years and doing my live auctions myself that whole time, it didn’t take me long to see the benefits of using the internet to promote my auctions. Getting thousands of viewers, having hundreds of click throughs to the details in a unit, more bidders are going to equal more money for a good unit. Weather is not going to impact the auction day. Whether it’s raining or snowing outside or the heat in Louisiana, auctioning can go on. And the best thing, the very best thing as an owner, is I don’t have to build up six or ten delinquent units owing me months of rent to build a big enough auction to draw a crowd. With the internet, I can draw a giant crowd with just one unit. Doesn’t cost anything to try. Give us a try at StorageAuctions.com.

Now that storage auctions are available online there are so many convinces that go along with that. First of all, you can place educated bids on units knowing how much the items inside are worth and what they will sell for.

Next, you don't have to worry about the rush or the pressure of auctioneers on auction day. And finally, you can place bids from the comfort of your couch without having to worry about the bad weather or driving all the way across the world for an unwanted unit.How awesome is that?!

The first thing you'll need to do is create an account. Then you'll go ahead and fill out all the required information and click the billing tab on the left hand side. This is where you will enter in your credit card information, which is necessary in order to place a bid. Please note, there is a buyers premium that is collected off of your credit card in addition to a 10% deposit.

For further questions, please visit the FAQ page on our website. Now your free to browse and bit. Happy bidding!