From One To Many: Tips For Hiring Your First Employees

Bidding on storage units at an auction is an art that many people don't understand. A keen and quick eye for quality, as well as a calm demeanor, are necessary to not only placing the winning bid but getting the right storage units. If you want to be a winning bidder, follow these tips to help guide you in your success.  

Assess your competition

Everyone has a different bidding style. Some people jump right in and control the bidding process to the point where they outbid everyone else, leading with intimidation. Others stand quietly and don't jump into the bidding war until they know how many people are eager for the same unit they are. Still others don't bid at all, and simply watch how others play the game. If you are new to bidding you want to know how everyone else bids so you can anticipate who will drive your bidding rate up and who will back away when they have reached their limit. This helps you not only bid successfully but learn how to avoid those who are only trying to get you to spend all your money on a single unit by intimidating you into a bidding war.

Look for the goods

Don't listen to the naysayers in a storage unit auction. Many people poo-poo a unit's contents in the hopes of tricking other people into not bidding on something that is actually a hidden treasure. Use your own skill to seek out the goods in any storage unit up for grabs. Look for the following;

• tools
• matching furniture pieces
• paintings and artwork
• boxes that are similarly labeled (this can indicate a collection)
• safes, jewelry or lock boxes
• any unopened packaged toys
• expensive brand labels for furniture, clothing, or appliances

You know you've got a true winner when the starting bid is higher than with other units around you. Jump in when you are comfortable, but don't bid all your funds at once if you want to be able to compete in a bidding war.

Bid in small increments

You may want to try to intimidate the other bidders by shouting out a large bid straight out of the gates, but once someone calls your bluff and knocks you out of the bidding process, they know you don't have the money to start a true bidding competition. If you see a storage unit you really like, bid in small increments as soon as the unit starts to draw crowd attention. This helps keep people guessing how much money you have to spend and also keeps you from over-bidding. Unless you really want a single storage unit, try to avoid bidding up to your maximum so you have money available for other units in the auction.

Storage unit auctions (at outlets such as A-1 Mini-Entrepôt) are a great way to land some great items for a great price. Once you know how to bid with confidence, you can win yourself some impressive units.