How to get out of a storage unit, you ask?
We get that question a lot. Most of the time, the answer is to hire us as your storage unit cleanout company. We are the company you call when you want to stop paying those massive monthly self storage unit cleanout fees. Our article advising people not to become storage unit suckers is often so popular that google ranks it No. 1 among non-sponsored search results.
We just did another big storage unit cleanout last week. It illustrates exactly why we’re the right choice for people who want to get out of their storage units.
Storage unit cleanout case study — paying more in storage than the contents are worth
We got a call from a family dealing with one giant storage unit and two 10 x 10s in the greater metro Washington, D.C., Maryland, Northern Virginia region. Family members, most of whom lived out of state, got stuck with a nasty monthly bill. They were paying close to $1,000 a month.
And everyone knows storage unit rental companies jack up their prices all the time. We describe storage unit companies as modern-day crack dealers. They give you your first hit for free, then you’re hooked for life.
Storage unit nightmares
Their story was a sad one, as most storage unit accounts are. Not as bad as most we hear about, but still a financial smack in the face for the people paying the fees. Most people end up paying much more in storage fees than the contents are worth. Our current leader in that nightmare department spent $400,000 on storage fees and hired us to put an end to it. Then she changed her mind before we started. She is probably now up to a half-million dollars in fees.
Out latest clients weren’t in straits that dire.
They hadn’t yet paid a zillion dollars but they were closing in on paying more than the contents were worth.
How we solved our clients’ problem
One unit was filled with nothing but books. That’s many thousands of pounds of items that are nearly impossible to sell in bulk. A mountain of books that high can also be tough to donate in one fell swoop. We called in every favor we had to get one of the auction houses we work with to accept the books. Auction houses in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia do a lot of favors for us because of the volume and value of the business we bring them. But getting one to store and handle all those books for likely months on end — that was a big ask.
The other units were filled with a mixture of mostly vinyl records and electronics.
Unfortunately, the records were primarily classical music. Classical music is in little demand today and we had no choice but to donate those for the client. The electronics consisted primarily of the largest record player collection we’ve seen. Few were high-end pieces. Some still had $5 yard sale price tags on them. The record players overall were good enough that our auction house friends took them. The same for some reel to reel tape recorders.
The units also included some furniture. We donated that, too. Relatively little furniture today is worth taking to auction. Ditto for some china, knickknacks, and miscellaneous household items. (There is an overwhelming supply of china today and little demand for it.)
Summing up the cleanout project
- We cleared all three units in one day, even if the weight nearly drove our trucks into the ground.
- This enabled our clients to stop paying the fees. Hiring us to solve their problem paid for itself. They will get money back from the sale of the contents. How much is tough to say. It’s possible the sales alone could exceed what they paid us to do a massive job requiring two big box trucks and a crew of seven people.
- The tax donation receipts added up to nearly $5,000. And if the family hadn’t found us, it likely would have paid more than our labor charge in future rent payments.
Need help selling and donating the contents of your storage unit?
Contact us today! We’re an estate liquidation and home cleanout company in Silver Spring, Maryland. We serve all of Montgomery County and the greater Washington, D.C./Maryland/Northern Virginia region.
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Learn more about selling all kinds of collectibles in Sell Us Your Stuff.
Learn more about liquidating entire estates in our Estate Liquidation and Downsizing Guide.
