Frequently Asked Questions

The convenience of the internet is spreading to storage auctions. Our online auctions provide bidders and sellers with benefits, including no traffic or crowds, no traveling or need to carry cash, no time away from selling your merchandise, time to look through the pictures and make your decision, and the ability to attend multiple auctions at once. You are able to bid from the comfort of your home or on a mobile device.

General questions

A Seller will create an auction event that will include one or more units, schedule an end date, upload photos of the unit and then publish the auction. After the auction is published, bidders can bid on the auction once they have created their account and added their billing information. When the auction clock ends, the highest bidder wins.
StorageAuctions.com is a robust online auctioneer for abandoned or delinquent storage auctions. Buyers can find the best storage unit auctions and sellers can reach a faithful audience of bidders.
Head over to the Find Auctions page and enter in your zipcode and radius you wish to search. Any active auctions within your search will appear.
Register as a Bidder! Click Here to get started >>
The account set up is simple, fill out the registration form, confirm your email, then before placing a bid, you will put in your credit card information.
Register as a seller! Click Here to get started >>
Please check your local and state laws before selling abandoned or delinquent properties.
Once you have registered for an account and verified the email address by creating a password, you go to the Login page located at the top-right hand corner of the homepage and enter in your email and password.
To reset your password, use the Forgot Password page. You will be asked to enter your email and a password reset link,labeled "click here", will be sent to your email address associated with your account.
StorageAuctions.com recommends using versions of Windows 8 and MacOS 10 or newer as your main operating system. We also recommend using Google Chrome, Mozzila Firefox, or Mac Safari as your internet browser.

Sellers

Owners or managers of storage facilities who have the legal right to liquidate abandoned or delinquent properties that has been stored within a facility they own or manage.
Each state has different auction requirements. Please check your local state lien laws.
The total auction price minus (-) 10%. A 10% deposit is charged to the bidder/buyer and that amount is deducted from the total amount payable to the seller.

Nothing!!!*

As a seller, StorageAuctions.com is free to use for the most part. The only time a seller is ever charged by StorageAuctions.com is in the event of a canceled auction. There are membership plans available that will help reduce the fee from canceling a unit if you anticipate having multiple cancellations. Cancellation fees for a free membership are $20.00 per unit canceled.

Free Membership Features:

  • List your locations in the location directory, advertise on social media
  • Post Notifications about offline auctions you will be hosting at your location
  • List Online Auctions for free*
  • Only $20.00 early cancellation fee
  • Manage Multiple locations, managers
When an auction ends an invoice is sent to the bidder telling them how much they owe you and when they need to pick up the items they have won. Sellers can specify in the auction creation process how you would like to be paid (Credit/Debit Card, Cash, or Check).
The prerequisites to creating an auction are as follows:
  • Register for an account
  • Activate your account by verifying email address and creating password.
  • Add a Location. This is where the auctioning units are located. You can manage multiple locations
  • Optional - Add a manager: If each location has its's own manager, they can be added to each location and given access to your StorageAuctions.com account based on their locations.
  • Add a payment method - If you have already purchased a membership plan, this step is complete. If you are using the system as a default free user, you will have to add your credit card before your are able to launch an auction. You will not be charged to launch an auction, only if you have to cancel a unit. The default cancelation fee is $20.00 per unit cancelled.
The steps involved in this process are really simple once your account is set up. All you need to do is:
  • Go to the Auctions Tab
  • Click Add an Auction Event
  • Fill out the Add an Auction Event form. If you have skipped a prerequisite step you will not be able to add an auction until that step is completed.
  • (Save) or Launch - An auction can be saved as a draft if you need to pause and come back to adding the auction event or if you want to load all the required information in and have another manager/account owner approve the auction event before laucnhing.
  • Save or (Launch) - Lauching an auction makes it a live event. If you have selected a start date in the future the event will automatically launch once the start date arrives. If you select to launch it now, your listings will be immediately visible in the listing directory. Once listed, cancellation fees apply for units that have been canceled.
A manager is an additional user that can be added to a seller account. Managers can be set up to have access to only certain parts of your StoreageAuctions account. They can also be granted access to specific locations only within your account. When Launching an Auction Event, a manager that is assigned to the location for the event can be selected to recieve all the questions and auction notifications.
Click on your Locations Tab and edit a location.
Navigate to the Manager tab. Here you can link an existing manager or add a new one and give them access to a specific location.
A legal notice is a similar to what would be posted in a news paper to inform the public that an abandoned property is going to be auctioned off in an attempt to recorver the loss for storing it. Some states may allow sellers to post a legal notice online, check your state laws.
Simple, add your location in the location manager and select "list in storage directory". All listings are subject to approval and may be removed at any time if they violate the TOS.
The seller dashboard gives you insight to the performance of your account. As a seller you will see all the acutions listed by your locations, all the revenue generated and how your loss recovery margin.
Go to the Billing section in your navigation and Click on Add a new card.
Yes! Under the 'Locations' tab inside your account you will select your facility location and inside that page is a 'Cancelled Units' tab. You can then view and select any unit that has been cancelled at this location and easily re-list.

PLEASE NOTE - Before re-listing a cancelled unit you will need to make sure the photos are still an exact match to the unit. If the delinquent tenant has accessed the unit the photos will likely need to be re-taken so it your auction is accurate.

Buyers

Prerequisite: You have to create a StorageAuctions® Buyer Account and fill out your

Step 1 - Find an Auction you wan to bid on

Step 2a - Place a Direct Bid

Step 2b - Place a

Step 3 - Check back to make sure you are winning.

A proxy bid is a bid robot that you can utilize to place bids for you. Creating a Proxy bid will allow you to outbid anyone automatically by outbidding bids by $10.00 until the current bid is higher than your proxy bid.

Example: You Placed a Proxy Bid Placed of $200.00

Bid Bidder Amount
1 Bidder Bob $10.00
2 You (Proxy) $20.00
3 Bidder Bob $30.00
4 You (Proxy) $40.00
5 Bidder Sally $50.00
6 You (Proxy) $60.00
5 Bidder Bob $70.00
8 You (Proxy) $80.00


If no one else bids on the auction, you will win and the max bid will be $80.00.

If a bid is placed for greater than your proxy bid ($200.00), you will be alerted by email that you have been outbid and will have to log back into the system to continue bidding on this unit.
Bid Bidder Amount
1 Bidder Bob $10.00
2 You (Proxy) $20.00
3 Bidder Bob $30.00
4 You (Proxy) $40.00
5 Bidder Sally $50.00
6 You (Proxy) $60.00
5 Bidder Bob $70.00
8 You (Proxy) $80.00
9 Bidder Bob $90.00
10 You (Proxy) $100.00
11 Bidder George $120.00
12 You (Proxy) $130.00
13 Bidder Sally $160.00
14 You (Proxy) $170.00
15 Bidder Bob $190.00
8 You (Proxy) $200.00
15 Bidder Bob $210.00
Go to the Billing section in your navigation and Click on Add a new card.
There Are 2 places where you can check the status of your bids:

1. Under My Auctions in My account

2. Directly inside an Auction you will see If you have been outbid or are winning

Click on the my Auctions Tab and the auctions you have been watching and bidding on will show up. Units highlighted in yellow are units you are watching, Units highlighted in Red are units you have been outbid on, units highlighted in green are units you are winning.
It depends on the state you are in. Every state has different rules regarding the taxation of auctions. However, the answer is most likely YES. You should always check with the storage facility if you are not sure.
This means that the storage facility cancelled the unit from the auction. This is most likely because the delinquent tenant paid their bill. If an auction you are watching or you have placed a bid on is cancelled, it will say “Cancelled”.
A cleaning deposit is a deposit collected by the facility when you come to pay for your unit. The cleaning deposit usually ranges from $25-$200 and will need to be paid in cash. The deposit will be returned to you once you have the unit cleaned to a swept condition.
There is a $10 minimum or 15% (whichever is greater) auction fee for every unit. There is a 10% down payment for every unit. The auction fee and the down payment are charged to your credit card when you win. You get an invoice if we charge your credit card. Follow the facility’s auction rules and they will help you get your unit.

The fees to Storage Auctions are not the total payment for the storage auction. A sample of fees is outlined below:

Auction final price at closing: $100.00
15% Bidder Fee (Free Membership) $15.00
10% Deposit Fee (Free Membership) $10.00
Total being charged to bidder Credit Card (Free Membership) $25.00
Total due at storage facility $90.00
Final Price
- Deposit Fee