Man Buys An Abandoned Storage Unit For $10 Like A Scratch Off, Goes 0 For Three On Boxes, Then Decides $10 Definitely Made Money

Ten dollars buys a sandwich, a movie rental or, if you are the guy behind Taco Stacks, an entire abandoned storage unit. “It’s all I spent,” he says. “It’s like taking a gamble on a scratch off.”

He drives to the facility behind the person who won the auction, still unsure what is waiting. The first look shows boxes, bins, a farmhouse painting and a Kenmore sewing machine.

Zero For Three On The Boxes

The early signs are bad. The first jewelry box he opens is empty, and so is the next one.

A third turns out to be a trinket box from Atlantic City, New Jersey, also empty. “So we are now 0 for three on boxes,” he says.

He is not shocked. Storage units, he explains, always seem weird to him, and he wonders how bins get so dirty, damaged and marked up with marker.

Musicfest Tickets And A Camera Turn Up

Then he starts to find real stuff. A tote holds an old-looking camera, a ring and ticket stubs for Musicfest 1990, along with food and beverage vouchers.

Musicfest, he says, is a huge event around Bethlehem, and collectors there go “all out” for items with local ties. He has never been, but he knows the pull.

Other bins give up a Himalayan salt lamp, a melted candle, a baseball and loose change. He notes that he always seems to find money in storage units, and a piggy bank at the bottom added a little more.

A New Designer Purse Rises To The Top

One find stands out. It is a brand-new Dooney & Bourke purse, which he sets at the front of his pile.

“It’s funny how I put stuff up front like I’m not going home with everything in the back anyway,” he laughs. He thinks the purse might be a sleeper, though he cannot tell if it is real.

He also finds silver plate stamped WM Rogers, a laptop, a mid-century bowl and a Marc Jacobs perfume. Of the perfume he says only that it smells “very feminine.”

Brass, Silver Plate And A 50-Cent Decor Piece

A big brass face sits on top of some decor he guesses would cost more than 50 cents. He keeps pulling out silver plate, brassware and wrapped items, one marked made in Japan.

“They really loved their silver plate,” he says. It is not gold, and he is careful to say so, but a few of the pieces are neatly wrapped as if someone cared about them.

He also finds fine china plates, mugs, checkerboard boxes and a pretty lock box that will not open, and then a craft bin full of wood decor pieces with words on them.

The Smell That Followed Him Around

As he works, a strong smell fills the air. Another buyer opened a unit one row over, and he says it smells like spices, so strong he imagines the winner’s car on the way home.

At one point he wonders if it is a box in his own unit instead, but he decides it is the next row. “Ain’t me though,” he jokes.

“Ten Bucks Definitely Made Money”

By the end his tone has changed. “This is a really good unit for 10 bucks,” he says. “Usually when you find the $10 units, it’s like trash.”

Then, picking through mugs and plates, he states it plainly. “10 bucks definitely made money.”

His favorite items were a group of clear rocks he thinks are quartz, probably the lowest grade of that type but still cool. He may put them on a shelf to remember the unit by.

Why He Checks Every Box

He says he goes through everything. Earlier this year, he found about $140 in cash in a manila envelope tucked into a box of school paperwork.

That is a good reminder for anyone cleaning out an old home or bidding on a unit. Dull paperwork can hide cash, and folded papers deserve a shake.

It is a habit that pays off in small ways. He admits the digging is not much fun to watch on camera, but he does it anyway because the one box he skips could be the one with the envelope.

He also keeps an eye out for items tied to his area, such as Mack Trucks, Bethlehem Steel and Musicfest, which he calls “super collectible in this area.”

How To Play The $10 Unit Game

Cheap units are a gamble, but a few habits tilt the odds your way.

Open every jewelry box and wallet, even if the last five were empty.
Go through paperwork and books for cash.
Look for local items, because collectors in one region will pay more for them.
Check silver plate marks such as WM Rogers before you toss anything shiny.
Sort quickly into sell, donate and recycle piles, since a lot of the work is hauling.

He says he hit the high points, and nothing he skipped changes the verdict. The unit may not have held a jackpot, but for ten dollars he walked away with a purse, some silver plate, a camera, a pile of local memorabilia and a story. He posts these unit cleanouts every Saturday, so another gamble is never far off.

Vinyl and Velvet