Many folks are finding items to sell on Ebay or locally by winning Mini Storage Auction units. This is a great way to potentially get a lot of items for pennies on the dollar. After all, once you get hooked on putting fast cash in your pocket via Ebay, the next question isWhere do I get more items to sell? One great answer is Mini Storage Auctions!

A question that I get asked a lot about Mini Storage Unit auctions is whether or not to place sealed bids. A sealed bid is a bid placed at any time before the Mini Storage Unit auction and will be opened at the time and place of the actual auction. Some facilities accept sealed bids and some do not. Occasionally, you may find a Mini Storage Auction that is all sealed bids (like a silent auction), however, in my experience, those are rare.

At my favorite Storage Building facility, there is usually at least one sealed bid opened at the beginning at the auction for each bin. Sealed bids are great for the owners of the facilities as it guarantees them at least one bid, gets the unit cleaned out which is their prime objective, and often starts the bidding off at a good pace.

Sealed bids may be a great strategy for someone who cannot attend the Mini Storage Unit auctions that are held during the week or whenever you cannot be there in person. You may have to place a number of bids in order to win an auction, but the time and expense will be minimal.

I would only place a sealed bid at a facility that I am familiar with. This way I have a better chance of knowing what the units in the building are generally like. This in no way gives me a guarantee of good value, but it does greatly increase the odds in my favor! I place only low sealed bids that depend on the size of the unit. My usual sealed bid amount for a 10 ft by 10 ft unit is in the neighborhood of $25. This is high enough to give me a chance of winning the unit while still being low enough to risk losing if the unit has nothing of value in it. This only happens once in a while but remember, even if there is nothing of value in the unit, if you win it, you still have to clean it out. If you bid too high, you may find yourself paying for the privilege of cleaning out the unit.

Whenever possible, it is much better to attend the Mini Storage Auction so that you can see the unit for yourself. Then your bid is much more of an informed guess rather than a blind guess. However, you could really hit the jackpot and this is much more likely than if you spent those same dollars on the lottery! I love Mini Storage Unit auctions as a way to put fast cash in my pocket.