DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – Reality television has given a boost to auctions of abandoned storage facilities in South Florida.
According to Wendy Elliott, a manager at Stor-All storage in Deerfield Beach, the popularity of shows like Storage Wars on A&E and Auction Hunters on the Spike cable network have inspired more people to blindly bid on abandoned storage containers.
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After going through a legal process to obtain a storage unit once it's abandoned, Elliott said storage companies then typically pay an auctioneer to sell off the items inside.
The locks on storage units are cut when the auction begins. Bidders can only briefly look at the contents from the outside before the auction begins.
On Friday, there were at least 10 auctions in both Broward and Miami-Dade counties.
Bidder Yorgen Ugalde paid $450 for a unit he said he priced with his eyes.
"You see those beds right here? You've got another bed right there. You're looking at $100 to $150 worth of mattresses," he said.
While reality television shows boast bidders who get lucky to end up with pricey items, auctioneer Jerry Mahaffey said the true reality is a mix of treasure and trash.
"There are some good treasures to be found. You've got to be a good treasure hunter to find them," Mahaffey said.
To find storage facility auctions in your neighborhood, visit www.MahaffeyAuction.com and www.auctionzip.com .