Man Pays $680 For An Abandoned Storage Unit, Finds A Tote Of Ninja Turtles With Figures Worth Over $100 Each, Then Admits The End Of It Was Just Kind Of Horrible

Picture a hot afternoon, a rolled-up storage unit door and a pile of mismatched totes. That was the scene when the host of Treasure Hunting With Jebus announced he had just paid $680 for an abandoned unit.

“There’s all kinds of boxes and totes,” he says. “But more importantly, these cases, that leather case, that wooden case. What’s inside?”

Within minutes he had a new problem. The crew had unloaded the van and forgotten the folding table, so they built a makeshift one and got to work.

Fifteen Hats In The First Box, And Then Even More Hats

The first tote he opened held hats, and plenty of them. He counted fifteen in one stack and says that at a mall they run “like 30, 40 bucks” apiece, so the pile would cost about $500 new.

He has no plan to sell them one at a time. He says he will list them as a single lot for roughly the price of one hat.

The next two totes were also marked “hats,” each closed a different way. One was strung up, one was taped, and he joked that whoever packed the unit used a new method for every container.

Inside were more caps, plus a stash of vintage gear carrying the old Washington football logo. “Anything with that original logo on it does really well for us,” he says, holding up a pennant, a blanket and a towel.

“Check It Out And See What’s Inside” Turned Up A Knife, Cards And Silver

A heavier tote on the side showed a corner of jewelry, which is the sight every unit buyer hopes for. Out came an American flag, sleeved sports cards, coin rolls and an old K-Bar knife he called “kind of cool.”

There were Matchbox cars, three Larry Bird cards and a necklace he checked for a stamp. He found the 925 stamp and said, “That’s a thick silver chain right here. That’s some money.”

More treats followed. He pulled out fossil watches, a Zodiac watch, belt buckles and a harmonica, and he kept setting good items aside in a growing pile.

The Alien Stuff Nobody Expected To Find

One whole section of the unit was devoted to aliens. He found an Alienware backpack, UFO hats, Area 51 mouse pads, Einstein aliens and even an alien watch.

He said someone had clearly loved the theme. He also noted that a Harley-Davidson bag appeared to be custom made with aliens on it, which he called “pretty cool.”

He admits he has always liked alien documentaries, so he figured he would keep a few pieces for himself.

Then The Ninja Turtles Chest Popped Open

The biggest moment came from a heavy tote of action figures. It held a metal cap gun in its holster, Spider-Man figures, and Sega Genesis game manuals including Spider-Man 2 and The Lion King.

Then he spotted a collector’s case. “Wow, oh my gosh, it is full of Ninja Turtles,” he says. One figure was dated 1993, and he believed the set ran into the early 90s with possibly some 80s mixed in.

His estimate was bold. “Some of these individual figures are over 100 bucks on their own for one,” he says, putting each at $100 or more, adding that this tote alone could potentially pay for the entire unit.

Nearby he found a Nolan Ryan card, a Larry Bird card still in its box and a stash of Broadway Limited train items. “If we start finding old trains, too, I’m really going to flip,” he said.

He Bid On A “Gun Case” That Turned Out To Be A Suitcase

He also confessed why he bid in the first place. In the listing photo, one black item looked to him like a gun case, and that was his only reason for placing the bid.

“It ended up being a suitcase,” he says. “So sometimes mistakes work out well.”

By then the unit was sorting into two piles. One was for his Whatnot live auction and the other for a yard sale, and he said the ratio was good. He expected it might take two shows to get through everything.

Childhood Treasures Mixed In With The Junk

Some finds were pure nostalgia. A Mattel Bugs Bunny toy still worked, a Flexible Flyer sled looked old and special, and a Garfield Beanie Baby still had its tag.

He also kept an old Walmart bag from the days when greeters handed out stickers. “That is my childhood bag,” he says.

The unit had its duds. There were toasters, pillows, files, yard lights and a hanging spice rack, and a lot of it headed straight to the yard sale pile.

“The End Of It Was Just Kind Of Horrible”

After close to three hours in the sun, he reached the last containers. One held a mixer and old Pyrex, another a huge stuffed wolf, and the final boxes were marked “food.”

He opened them while begging out loud, “Please don’t be good.” One held lasagna with meat sauce.

His verdict: “The end of it was just kind of horrible, but the first half of this unit was amazing.”

What To Take From A $680 Gamble

Unit buyers do this for the same reason people buy lottery tickets, but experienced bidders have habits that cut the risk. Here are a few worth borrowing.

Open every tote, since the best finds in this unit sat under layers of ordinary stuff.
Look up individual toys before you sell, because a single early Ninja Turtles figure can be worth far more than a bin of loose toys.
Check metal for marks like 925 before you assume it is costume jewelry.
Sell lots of matching items together when each piece is worth little, as he plans to do with the hats.
Expect the back of the unit to be rough, and budget your time and your stomach for it.

His tally was a mixed one: a tote that could cover the bill, a stack of cards and watches, and a last stretch he would rather forget. Not a bad outcome for a bid placed over what looked like a gun case.

Vinyl and Velvet