Storage Auctions | Box-n-Go Storage | Southern California
Looking for storage auctions near you? Storage unit auctions — also called storage locker auctions or self storage auctions — are public sales of the contents left behind when a storage account goes unpaid for too long. You may have seen this kind of sale on TV shows like Storage Wars. Buyers bid on what is inside a unit, and resellers across Los Angeles and Southern California use these sales to find secondhand goods at low prices. This guide explains how storage auctions work, how Box-n-Go runs its own, and how to get on the list for the next one near you.
Contents: How they work | Storage auctions near me | Sign up | Why unit goes to auction | How we run auctions | Who can bid | Terms | What the terms mean | FAQ
How storage auctions work
A storage auction is the sale of everything inside a storage unit when the renter stops paying. Most self storage facility auctions work this way. The law lets the storage company sell the contents to get back what it is owed. Most buyers are resellers who sell what they find at flea markets, yard sales, or online.
Here is how a typical auction goes:
Bidders sign in and register before anything starts — you cannot just walk up and bid.
Each unit is opened and shown one at a time. You look at the contents from the doorway only; you cannot step inside or touch anything before you bid.
The bidding is usually live and out loud. You call out or signal a bid, and the highest bidder wins the whole unit as one lot, not piece by piece.
Payment is usually cash, collected right after the unit sells. Sales tax applies unless you show a valid resale certificate.
The winner clears the unit out fully within a short, set window and leaves it swept clean.
You never know exactly what is inside. You judge it from the doorway in a few seconds. Some units hold ordinary boxes and household goods. Once in a while, someone finds something worth far more than they paid.
Storage auctions near me in Los Angeles
California is one of the busiest places in the country for storage auctions, and the Los Angeles area sees storage unit auctions and storage locker auctions nearly every week. There are a few ways to find self storage units for auction. Look for legal notices in local newspapers and listings on online auction sites. The most reliable way is to get on the alert list of the storage companies near you.
Box-n-Go holds its own storage auctions and serves Los Angeles, Long Beach, Orange County, and parts of Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. Ours are different from a traditional facility auction: instead of a row of roll-up units, the goods are sold inside Box-n-Go storage containers. The date and place are announced for each auction when it is scheduled, so they change from sale to sale.
The simplest way to never miss one near you is to add your name to our auction alert list below. When a sale is scheduled, we send you the date, the place, and what to bring.
Sign up for auction alerts
Want to be invited to the next Box-n-Go storage auction? Add your details below and we will let you know when we have storage units up for bid, along with the date, place, and what to bring. Signing up does not commit you to anything — it just puts you on the list.
Why a storage unit goes to auction
A unit does not go to auction over one late payment. It is the end of a long road. When an account falls behind, the storage company tries to reach the renter more than once to settle the balance and stop the process. A sale only happens after the account has stayed unpaid for a long time and the legal steps have been followed.
Even at the sale, the renter is protected. The owner can pay what they owe and take their things back any time before the sale is final. This is called the right of redemption. For Box-n-Go, an auction is always the last resort, never the goal. If you are a customer and money is tight, call us early at 877-269-6461 so we can work something out before it ever gets close. You can learn more about liens, redemption, and related terms in our Storage glossary.
How Box-n-Go runs its auctions
Box-n-Go auctions are live, in person, and out loud. A group of registered bidders walks the sale together. The bidding is out loud, and the highest bid wins.
A few things hold true at every sale:
Each unit is opened and shown one at a time, viewed from the doorway only — no stepping inside, no touching before you bid.
Payment is cash only, collected right after the unit sells. The full amount and the exact rules are announced at the start of each auction.
The goods are sold “as is, where is,” with no guarantees about what is inside or its condition.
Winners cannot remove anything until the whole auction is finished, then must clear the unit out fully and leave it swept clean within the time announced that day.
Firearms and any DMV-registered vehicles are excluded from the sale, and any personal papers or Box-n-Go equipment found inside must be handed back to us.
The goods are held in Box-n-Go storage containers, which come in several sizes. A single account may be sold as one storage container, several of them, or as a lot. The number of units in a sale varies. Because the rules can change from sale to sale, the current rules are always read out at the start of each auction.
Who can bid
Auctions are open to the public, but you cannot just walk up and bid. Every bidder must register first, show a valid government photo ID, and be approved by Box-n-Go before taking part. Only registered, ID-verified, and Box-n-Go-approved bidders are allowed to bid.
A few rules apply to everyone:
You register and sign the auction terms before bidding — the full terms are linked below, and they are also read and signed on auction day.
Past or current Box-n-Go customers whose own accounts are behind are not allowed to register.
If you have a valid resale certificate, bring it and file it at registration so sales tax is handled correctly.
Box-n-Go may refuse anyone, may reject any or all bids, and may cancel a sale — and Box-n-Go is the final word on any question that comes up during the auction.
Auction terms
Every bidder reads and signs the full auction terms at registration. They cover how to register, how a sale becomes final, payment in cash, the deposit, clearing out a unit on time, returning personal papers and any of our equipment, and more. You can read them ahead of time here:
Box-n-Go Storage Auction Terms (PDF)
Reading them before you arrive saves time on auction day and helps you bid with confidence.
Storage auction terms explained
A few words come up again and again at a storage auction. Here is what they mean in plain language.
Storage auction
A public sale where the contents of a storage unit are sold off because the renter stopped paying. The whole unit is sold together, and the highest bidder wins it. It is the kind of sale you may have seen on TV shows like Storage Wars.
Lien
When a renter falls far enough behind on payments, the storage company gets a legal claim, called a lien, on everything inside the unit. The lien is what lets the unit be sold to cover the unpaid bill.
Default
Default means the renter stopped paying and did not catch up after warnings. A unit only goes to auction after the renter is in default and has had a chance to pay.
Lot
At auction, the whole unit is sold as one lot, meaning everything inside is sold together for one price. You bid on the unit as a whole, not on single items.
As is, where is
You buy the unit exactly as it sits, with no guarantee about what is inside or what condition it is in. There are no refunds and no returns once you win.
Redemption
Right up until the sale, the original renter can still pay what they owe and get their belongings back. This is called redemption, and it can cancel a sale before it happens.
Resale certificate
Sales tax applies to what you win, unless you show a valid resale certificate. That is a state document that lets resellers buy without paying sales tax, because they collect it when they resell the items.
Deposit
A refundable amount you may be asked to leave when you win a unit. You get it back once you clear the unit out fully and on time, left swept clean.
Frequently asked questions
How do storage auctions work?
When a storage account goes unpaid for too long, the storage company can sell the contents of the unit to recover what is owed. Bidders register, view each unit from the doorway, and bid on the entire contents as one lot. The highest bidder wins, pays — usually in cash — and clears the unit out within a short, set window.
Where can I find storage auctions near me in Los Angeles?
You can find them through legal notices in local newspapers, online auction listing sites, and the alert lists of storage companies near you. Box-n-Go holds its own auctions and serves Los Angeles, Long Beach, Orange County, and parts of Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura counties. The easiest way to hear about ours is to sign up for our auction alerts above.
Do I have to register to bid at a Box-n-Go auction?
Yes. Every bidder must register, show a valid government photo ID, and be approved by Box-n-Go before bidding. Only registered, ID-verified, and approved bidders may take part. Bidders also read and sign the auction terms at registration.
How do I pay if I win?
Payment is cash only, collected right after the unit sells. The full amount due and the exact rules are announced at the start of each auction. They are also spelled out in the auction terms, including any deposit and how a sale becomes final.
Can I look inside a unit before I bid?
You can look from the doorway only. You cannot step inside or touch anything before you bid, and units are sold “as is, where is.” After everyone has viewed the unit, the bidding opens.
What if I find personal papers, firearms, or a vehicle?
Personal papers and any Box-n-Go equipment found inside must be returned to us. Firearms and DMV-registered vehicles are excluded from the sale entirely. The full auction terms explain how each is handled.
When and where is the next auction?
The date and place are announced for each auction when it is scheduled, so they change from sale to sale. The best way to find out is to sign up for our auction alerts above — we will send you the details for the next one.
I am a Box-n-Go customer and I am worried about my account. What should I do?
Call us as early as you can at 877-269-6461. An auction is always a last resort, and the simplest way to avoid one is to keep your account current. If money is tight, reaching out early gives us the best chance to work something out before it ever gets close to a sale.
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