Private Mini-Storage was all set to sell off the contents of 11 units Thursday, but by auction time, six tenants had made arrangements to pay. Two more promised to get their money in, and their goods were tentatively auctioned off. If the rightful owners didn't show by Friday, their stuff goes to the highest bidder. Storage businesses have different ways of conducting the sales. Stubbs prefers the silent auction method.
Bidders make one written bid on the entire contents of a unit.
The highest bid gets it all. Interested buyers register in the office first, present their driver's license and have their picture taken. Then, they march off into the catacombs of the warehouse to view the units on the auction block. Rick Wolfrom, who manages the place with his wife, Louann, unlocks unit B-239 and swings the door wide. You can't go in, but you can look.