# Say it isn't so Dave! Storage Wars a scam?



## macfixer01 (Dec 13, 2012)

Well as a couple members here inferred before, it looks like the producers of Storage Wars just may have been salting those storage lockers with interesting things to be "found" on the tv show. Or it may just be sour grapes, since Dave Hester is only making the claim now that he's been cut from their payroll. A news story about the impending lawsuit is linked below. I guess time will tell.

http://tinyurl.com/c3hgx3a

macfixer01


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## eeTHr (Dec 13, 2012)

It does make one wonder why people would "abandon" a storage unit, when there is highly valuable stuff in there.

The whole reason that the storage facilities auction those units, is because the customer has failed to pay the monthly storage charge for some period of time, usually about three months.

When someone has just one or two very valuable items in storage, and sees that he won't be able to continue paying the fees, why not at least remove the highly valuable pieces _*before*_ missing a payment---especially if they are small items which are easy to carry out and sell? In the cases of there being large amounts of money in there, why not just take that money and _*pay their storage payments*_, or at least just remove the money?

The only reasons I can see for abandoning high value stuff is if the person dies suddenly, and either has no relatives, or the relatives just aren't aware that there is a storage unit. Or maybe the person eventually loses his memory, and just forgets about it. Or maybe a bitter divorce, and the spouse gains the storage unit, but, not knowing what the other stored in there, just doesn't give a hoot about the other's stuff. But how often would any of those circumstances happen?

Some of the strange scenarios are finding that a unit has nothing but old worn out junk, except for one 150 year old expensive antique. Possible, but it doesn't make any sense, really.

But it's still fun to watch....


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## butcher (Dec 13, 2012)

What are you saying what I see on TV is not real? :shock:


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## NoIdea (Dec 14, 2012)

butcher said:


> What are you saying what I see on TV is not real? :shock:



Well Yes, i'm afraid so ....... except "The Simpsons" of course :mrgreen:


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## macfixer01 (Dec 14, 2012)

eeTHr said:


> It does make one wonder why people would "abandon" a storage unit, when there is highly valuable stuff in there.
> 
> The whole reason that the storage facilities auction those units, is because the customer has failed to pay the monthly storage charge for some period of time, usually about three months.
> 
> ...




I agree eeTHr. I suppose also being hospitalized with a long term illness or being incarcerated would be equally compelling reasons. In my state the storage companies I've used seemed a bit hard to deal with. I'm in Michigan and the California based company I work for required a local storage unit for stocking parts. I knew how it would likely go so didn't want it in my name and I didn't want to be stuck paying the bill myself and waiting for reimbursement. So anyway the rent often fell in arrears because the storage companies all refused to send invoices to our home office and the drones out in California couldn't seem to proactively send a check each month without seeing an invoice first. Most often we wouldn't know there was a problem until one of us went to pick up a part and our door code wouldn't work. Generally by the time the fee is 10 days late you're locked out of the building or out of the lot for outside units. Some of them even put their own lock on the door that quickly. After that though, taking valuables out isn't an option anymore unless the bill is paid.

Consider this situation... I also happened to notice on the net today a news item saying that Lindsay Lohan is about to lose the contents of her storage locker because of $16,000 in overdue rental fees. It said the IRS has her accounts frozen so supposedly she's trying to borrow the money from friends or family. I'm not guessing she has anything that fantastic in there anyway, probably mostly clothes and shoes. However with a celebrity name association I'm pretty sure there are people who would pay much more than her junk was worth if someone bought the unit and sold off the contents.

I still enjoy the show too and occasionally learn something new. The same reason I watch Antiques Roadshow from time to time I guess. Just learning what some of the more unusual items are and the history behind them is interesting.


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## eeTHr (Dec 14, 2012)

$16,000? Wow. If that represents three months rent, then she was paying about $64K a year---she could have bought a small house out-of-town, and kept her stuff in there, just paying the real estate tax once a year!

(That's really a lot of stuff, to cost that much per month.)


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## rshartjr (Dec 14, 2012)

As a sailor, I have known many people who have accidentally "abandoned" their storage lockers. Some guys simply weren't thinking about how they were going to continue paying in a timely manner while on deployment. Others literally forgot that they even had storage units. Then, a couple had spouses leave them while on deployment, then the estranged spouse threw all of their stuff in a unit and had the bill sent to the service member on the ship. Some lost everything.

During Operation Enduring freedom, incoming mail took three weeks to reach USS John C. Stennis (The carrier I was aboard) and, then, the outgoing mail had to wait until enough had accumulated before it was cost-effective enough to fly off of the ship. If your check was "in the mail," it probably didn't get where it was going on time.

Scott


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## kurt (Dec 15, 2012)

I used to buy strorage lockers (before the show came out) the show completly ruined it - before the show there would be around 12 to 20 bibders at an auction - now there are 100 or more - before the show the "average" (good) locker would go for $350 to $750 & you could (on average) expect to get 3 times (maybe 4 times) your investment - & its a LOT of work to load it up, haul it home, unload it, sort it all out, sell it & haul 20% to 30% to the dump --- now those same lockers are going for 2 to 3 time what they used to go for (or for about the value you can expect to get out of them)

The reason they are going so high now is that the show decieves people to believe that there is a gold brick in every locker - the truth is you are lucky if you find that (so to speak) gold brick in 1 out of every 30 to 50 locker you buy - it does happen - but not often.

In 3 years it happened to me once --- I bought a locker for one dollor - everyone passed on biding because it looked like nothing but junk (& for the most part it was) but it turned out to have a jewelry box in it with about $3500 worth gold & silver jewelry & coins in it & I made about another $1000 on the other stuff (the good stuff was in the back - the junk was in the front)

You can also end up buying a locker that looks good but is worthless because of missing parts, broken & damaged goods - not often but it happens

I hate that show - it decieves people to the point that they are paying as much or more then they can hope to get back out of it.

Kurt


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## darshevo (Dec 15, 2012)

I also did storage sales before the days if the shows. For the better part of a year I made a living doing it. The gold bars and safes full of cash eluded my I am afraid to say though. I made my dough by selling mid range collectibles and other assorted goodies on the 'bay and sending any nicer furniture to a local weekly estate auction. Managed to pay my way through community college doing it, but by no means made enough to drive around in a new diesel pickup like the boys on the show do.


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