At this point in the BlueBook, we’ll start covering the topics that apply more widely to the storage auction world. The vast majority of delinquent storage units will be household storage units. When a family moves, self-storage often becomes the only place they can store unused stuff. Consumer electronics are especially dicey. New bidders commonly make the mistake of overpaying for units filled with consumer electronics because they know consumer electronics are valuable commodities when bought brand new. Keep in mind that no one puts their best stuff in storage, and bid based on that principal.
For the purposes of this BlueBook, we have based our “high-end” and “low-end” categories based on the brand. For example, we classified Lenovo as a “low-end” computer brand, but Lenovo makes “high-end” computers too. Since Lenovo specializes in making economical computers, they make more “low-end” computers to give you a general idea on how to bid.
Computers – Computers should always be bought with caution. Technology in computing advances rapidly, and computers quickly become obsolete. Generally, the best way to judge a computer’s age is by its size. New low-end computers are small, whereas big low-end
computers are on the larger side. On the high-end scale of computers, bigger typically indicates a higher value. Judging the computer’s age is best done by design. The more modern the computer looks, the higher the value. There is a moderate demand in the second-hand market for computers.
o Low-End Desktop Computers: Newer models are smaller, older models are larger.
Suggested Bid Range: $20-$25 o Notable Brands
o Lenovo o Belkin o Fujitsu o eMachines o Toshiba
o Mid-Grade Desktop Computers: Size is not a good indicator for age on these computers. The design of these computers are crucial to determine the age.
Suggested Bid Range: $30-$65 o Notable Brands
o HP o Sony o Samsung o Acer o Asus
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o High-End/Gaming/TouchScreen Desktops: Apple Desktops can be identified with their iconic white color and the Apple logo. Gaming computers tend to have large cases and more ports than other computers.
Suggested Bid Range: $75-150 o Notable Brands
o Alienware o Apple (Mac) o Cyberpower o Veolicty Raptor
Laptops – The age of a laptop is one of the biggest factors when determining its value. As a rule of thumb, larger laptops are older, and thus, less valuable. New laptops tend to be smaller.
There’s a higher demand for laptops in the second hand market than desktop computers. Be especially careful when bidding on laptops. Since they do not take up much space, the most common reason they will be in self-storage is because they are broken.
o Netbooks – Netbooks are the increasingly popular alternative to laptops. They aren’t as powerful as a normal laptop, but work great for people who just want to surf the web. Netbooks are inexpensive to buy new, so bid carefully.
Suggested Bid Range: $20-$25 o Notable Brands
o Asus o Gateway o Dell o Samsung o Acer
o Low-End Laptops – Size is always the best indicator for laptops. Generally speaking, big laptops are old, while thin laptops are newer.
Suggested Bid Range: $20-$50 o Notable Brands
o Toshiba o Gateway o HP o Dell
54 o Mid-Grade Laptops
Suggested Bid Range: $50-$75 o Notable Brands
o Samsung o Sony o Asus o Acer
o High-End Desktop/Gaming Computers
Suggested Bid Range: $75-$150 o Notable Brands
o Apple (MacBook) o Alienware
o Eurocom o MSI
Computer Monitors – By and large, the demand for computer monitors on the second-hand market is fairly low. Basic monitors are inexpensive to buy brand new. Resellers can profit from computer monitors as long as they don’t spend too much on them. Age and size are the value indicators for monitors. While there are many types of monitors, they can be effectively broken down in the following four “value-buckets.”
o CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Televisions – CRT monitors are heavy and obsolete. They are virtually valueless, and will almost always end up in the donate pile, which is why the suggested bid range is $0.
Suggested Bid Range: $0
o Standard Definition Flat Screen Monitors
Suggested Bid Range: $10-$15 o Notable Brands
o Acer o Samsung o Sony o ViewSonic
55 o High Definition Flat Screen Monitors
Suggested Bid Range: $25-$35 o Notable Brands
o Westinghouse o Samsung o Sony o Apple Monitors
Suggested Bid Range: $50-$75
Tablets – Tablets are an increasingly popular choice, as far as computers go. Since 2010, hundreds of tablet models have been produced by computer manufactuers. The best indicator of value for a tablet is the Operating System the browser uses. The three main Operating Systems used by tablet manufacturers are Android, Apple and Windows.
o Android Tablets – Android Tablets are becoming increasingly popular, as companies create more models on the Android platform.
Suggested Bid Range -- $50-$100 o Notable Brands
o Samsung o Asus o Sony o Toshiba
o Apple Tablets (iPads) – iPads are considered the top of the line in the tablet world.
Suggested Bid Range -- $75-$150
Windows Tablets -- Windows tablets are just emerging into the marketplace.
Suggested Bid Range -- $50-$100 o Notable Brands
o Lenovo o Dell o Razer o Acer
Cell Phones – Of all products in the consumer electronics category, cell phones have the worst re-sale value. Any phone that is more than two years old is effectively valueless. Smartphones are now the norm, so any old flip-phones and slide-phones should not be factored in the bid, since they will inevitably go into the discard pile. Like tablets, a smartphone’s value is
contingent on its operating system. Android, Apple, Blackberry and Windows are the three
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most prevalent operating systems on smartphones. Bidder beware: if a cell phone is stolen or the previous owner owns the cell phone carrier money, that phones ESN is blocked for service.
This means the phone can’t be reactivated for surface and can never function as a phone.
o Android Smartphone
Suggested Bid Range -- $25-$50 o Notable Brands
o HTC o Samsung o Motorola o LG
o Apple Smartphone (iPhone)
Suggested Bid Range -- $50-$75 o Blackberry
Suggested Bid Range -- $10-$25 o Windows Smartphone
Suggested Bid Range -- $25-$50 o Notable Brands
o Nokia o Dell
DVD and Blu-Ray Players – By and large, DVD players will not net the typical reseller much money. New DVD players can be bought at outlet stores for less than $20. Blue-Ray
Players, however, can be very valuable. They typically resale brand new for several hundred dollars. Apple TV’s are included in this section because they provide many of the same features as Blue-Ray players.
o DVD Players
Suggested Bid Range -- $1-$5 o Notable Brands o Toshiba
o LG
57 o Blu-Ray Players
Suggested Bid Range -- $15-$20 o Notable Brands
o Sharp o Sony o Samsung o Panasonic o Apple TV
Suggested Bid Range -- $100-$125
Televisions and Projectors – The demand for televisions in the second hand market is huge.
Brand new flat screens retail for thousands of dollars, so many thrifty consumers prefer to buy gently used TVs to cut down on costs. Like all electronics, TVs depreciate in value very quickly.
Old TVs are typically not worth buying because getting rid of them is very difficult, and most electronics recycling companies will charge a fee to take them. Size is one of the biggest value indicators for televisions. Be sure to bid on the lower range of the suggested bid section for smaller TVs and higher for the larger TVs. The demand for used projectors is lower, which is why the suggested bid price is lower for these items. It can be difficult to tell the technical specifications of a TV by looking at it during the initial viewing of the unit. Look for the TV’s original box in the unit to help identify what type of TV it is.
o CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) Televisions – CRT TVs will almost always end up in the donate pile, which is why the suggested bid is $0.
Suggested Bid Range -- $0
o DLP (Digital Light Processing) Flat Screen TV
Suggested Bid Range -- $75-$150 o Notable Brands
o Samsung o Sony o Toshiba o Mitsubishi
o DLP (Digital Light Processing) Projectors
Suggested Bid Range -- $25-$75 o Notable Brands
o InFocus o Optoma o ViewSonic
58 o LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Flat Screen TV
Suggested Bid Range -- $100-$200 o Notable Brands
o Westinghouse o LG
o Samsung o Sony
o LED LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Flat Screen TV
Suggested Bid Range -- $150-$300 o Notable Brands
o Samsung o Sony o LG
o Wesinghouse
o LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Projectors
Suggested Bid Range -- $50-$100 o Notable Brands
o InFocus o Epson o Hitachi o Panasonic
o LED LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) Projectors
Suggested Bid Range -- $75-$150 o Notable Brands
o Discovery o Epson o FAVI o InFocus o Plasma Flat Screen TV
Suggested Bid Range -- $150-$300 o Notable Brands
o Samsung o Panasonic o LG
o Vizio
59 o LCoS (Liquid Crystal on Silicon) Projector
Suggested Bid Range -- $150-$300 o Notable Brands
o JVC o Sony o Pioneer o Sharper Image
Game Consoles – The three major game console companies, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, release a new console every three to five years. When these consoles get released, previous consoles from these manufacturers greatly depreciate in value. As of May 2013, Microsoft has announced the release of Xbox One and Sony has announced the release of the PlayStation Four. Once these consoles have been released, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 won’t be worth much in the second-hand market. You can still make money off older Game Consoles as long as you bid wisely.
o Pre-2005 consoles
Suggested Bid Range -- $10-$15
o Previous generation consoles (Xbox 306, PS3, Nintendo Wii)
Suggested Bid Range -- $25-$50 o Current generation consoles
Suggested Bid Range -- $50-$100 o Pre-2005 handhold consoles
Suggested Bid Range -- $10-$15
o Previous generation handhold consoles (Nintendo DS, PSP)
Suggested Bid Range -- $25-$30 o Current generation handheld consoles
Suggested Bid Range -- $35-$75
Home Audio – Home audio is a widely encompassing category of consumer electronics, including stereo systems, home theater systems and music players. Bidding based on these items can be tough, because the value of the items is contingent on the “completeness” of sets.
You should always factor in the cleanliness of the unit and the value of the other contents when bidding on these items, because quality makes a huge difference in value. Dated home audio products will not net as much as recently manufactured products, so be sure to look at the way
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the product is designed when factoring your bid. As long as you bid within the suggested bid range when factoring your total bid, you should still come out on top.
o Shelf Stereo Systems – Typically includes two speakers and a console that contains outputs for radio, tapes, CD’s and MP3 players. They typically retail brand new for a couple hundred bucks.
Suggested Bid Range -- $15-$25 o Notable Brands
o Sony o Panasonic o Sharp o Yamaha
o Surround/Cinematic Sound Stereo Systems – Typically includes several large speakers, a sub-woofer and a console that contains outputs for radio, tapes, CD’s and MP3 players. These systems can retail for up to $1500 brand new.
Suggested Bid Range -- $50-$300 o Notable Brands
o Denon o Klipsch o Kharma o Wilson Audio
o Car Audio -- – Typically includes four standard speakers, and a console that contains outputs for radio, tapes, CD’s and MP3 players. Some Car Audio systems contain a lot more, but its best to assume the worst when buying storage units on the auction block.
Suggested Bid Range -- $25-$75 o Notable Brands
o Kicker
o Sundown Audio o Digital Designs o Pioneer
o Home Theater Systems – Typically the most expensive product in the home audio category. Typically includes at least four powerful speakers, a receiver that serves as
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a control console and a sub-woofer. High quality home theater systems can retail for several thousand dollars brand new.
Suggested Bid Range -- $25-$75 o Notable Brands
o Denon o Sony o Yamaha o Onkyo
o Single Unit Players/Satellite Radios – Typically a single unit with attached speakers that plays music. The second-hand market demand for these types of items are relatively low because they are cheap to buy brand new. These units are typically not worth anything if they don’t include an output for an MP3 player. Satellite Radio transmitters are another red flag item because people typically buy these new when they subscribe to satellite radio services.
Suggested Bid Range -- $1-$10 o Notable Brands
o iHome
Portable Audio – Portable audio players vary greatly in value. There’s a demand for high quality portable audio players (namely. iPods) on the second-hand market. Portable audio players are highly profitable to sell on eBay.
o Current generation iPods – Current generation iPods are ideal items to find in delinquent storage. You can usually determine the age of an iPod based on its design. Newer iPods have bigger screens. The suggested bid range for current generation iPods is large because the type of iPod is the biggest determining factor of its value. Bid on the lower end of the spectrum for iPod nanos and higher for iPod touches.
Suggested Bid Range -- $40-$175
o Previous generation iPods (past five years) – iPods from the past five years are easy to spot because Apple started rounding the edges of their iPod models in 2008.
iPods during these years will also have vibrant, chromatic colors, as opposed to the plain colors of the oldest generations. These models are considerably less valuable than current generation models.
Suggested Bid Range -- $5-$60
o Non-iPod MP3 Players – Many companies make their own version of MP3 players.
While some of these non-Apple MP3 players are high quality and worth money, it is
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best to bid low on these because the demand on the second-hand market is very low.
Suggested Bid Range -- $0-$5
o Portable CD Players, AM/FM Radios, and Walkmen – These players are similar to non-iPod MP3 players. Some people still use these devices, the number of people is very small.
Suggested Bid Range -- $0-$5
Cameras – The most common type of camera found at storage auctions are digital cameras.
Professional quality camera equipment is considered a highly specialized item, so it’s been excluded from this BlueBook. There’s moderate demand for second-hand cameras, but remember that there are many factors that determine a camera’s value. This BlueBook reflects suggested bid pricing based on standard, run-of-the line cameras.
o Digital SLR (Single Lens Reflex) Cameras
Suggested Bid Range -- $15-$100' o Mirrorless Interchangeable-lens Cameras
Suggested Bid Range -- $15-$75 o Digital Camcorders
Suggested Bid Range -- $50-$200 o Notable Brands
o Leica o Hasselblad o Pantex o Canon EOS o Nikon
Red Flags
o Keep in mind that the vast majority of these consumer electronics will be packed away in boxes, so you won’t see them in the initial viewing of the unit. This BlueBook not only serves as a bidding strategy guide. It can also be used after you buy a unit to get a general idea on how profitable your purchase will be. If you bought any of these items for too much money, do not fret! You can always give the items to Goodwill for a tax donation to recover a little bit of the money, use them yourself or give them to friends as gifts.
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o Beware of branded boxes of consumer electronics! People will commonly store boxes they want to keep in self-storage. Many consumer electronics are easy to break, so many consumers keep the original boxes of these items so they can use them later. Never assume that a unit that has a flat-screen TV box also has the flat-screen TV, because it likely will not.
o Consumer electronics also have one of the highest defect rates at self-storage auctions. Partner up with a local electronics recycling company to sell defective merchandise to. You can usually get a little bit of money by recycling these items in a responsible way.