Perhaps he was trying to stir up the emotions of the treasure hunters, but the first storage unit that Chalmers opened up was the one that contained a full set of imitation antique furniture.
Li Du gave a few of his friends a look, and everyone lined up to observe. There were not many people — only about ten or so had rushed to the auction — so the viewing ended very quickly.
Over the past few days, Chalmers had watched a lot of videos and documentaries about storage auctions and formal auctions. He had also called his cousin Rick and learned some relevant knowledge about the industry.
He imitated the auctioneers, raised his hand, and said quickly, "Come on, make your bids, everyone, everyone! You've all seen the value of this storage unit. How about I make a starting bid of 2,500 dollars? "
Hearing this bid, a treasure hunter exclaimed, "This idiot, is he crazy? He's asking for 2,500 dollars for this kind of private storage unit? He's not talking about US dollars, is he? "
"Even if it's Zimbabwean dollars, I still think it's too high," a treasure hunter beside him said, pursing his lips.
Chalmers had made this bid out of consideration for the future.
Dickens had already told him that this set of furniture was worth more than 2,500 dollars. He did not want to make a bid that was too low and be taken advantage of.
Over the past few days, when he had been learning about the storage auction industry, Rick had told him some unspoken rules that he had to pay attention to.
For example, sometimes treasure hunters would band together and not bid. This way, storage units would usually be sold at a low price.
He was worried that he would encounter such a situation, so he made a bid that was at least profitable.
Once the bid was out, Dickens raised his hand. "I bid 2,500 dollars."
Chalmers was elated when he saw Li Du. He pointed at him and shouted, "Alright, this guy's bid is 2,500 dollars. What an insightful guy. This storage unit is worth more than 2,500 dollars. It's 2,600 dollars below!"
From this, it could be seen that he was a rookie. Experienced auctioneers would not say such things.
Experienced auctioneers would not promise how much the storage unit was worth. Otherwise, after the auction, if someone found out that the value of the storage unit was not what he had said, it would definitely cause him trouble and affect his reputation.
However, Chalmers did not care. This was a one-time deal. As long as he could sell it at a high price and make a profit, he did not care if anyone would cause trouble for him.
Hearing his offer, Turis raised his hand and said, "I'll pay 2,600 dollars."
Chalmers was even more elated. He shouted, "The price has risen to 2,600 dollars. This fella has made the right choice with his unique insight, but the value of the storage unit is obviously much higher than that. Who would be willing to take 2,700 dollars?"
Lu Guan, who had shown his face earlier, came out. He nodded and said, "I'll pay 2,700 dollars."
The price climbed steadily and finally reached 3,000 dollars. No one raised the price any further. Chalmers shouted a few more times before saying regretfully, "Alright, 3,000 dollars. This storage unit belongs to this fella."
It was Dickens who had to take the shot. He locked up the warehouse and whistled as he walked to the next warehouse.
The second storage unit was the magazine storage unit. Chalmers was bidding for his storage unit first. Clearly, he wanted to take advantage of the fact that the treasure hunters were interested and energetic to bid for his own storage unit first.
Seeing the box filled with magazines, Li Du took a deep breath. He was finally close to his target.
The magazines were placed in the box. From the outside, one could not tell what was in the box.
Chalmers once again showed his rookie side. He pointed to the storage unit and said, "There's no furniture in this storage unit, but there's a lot of good stuff. Look, it's covered in dust. No one has touched it, so there might be treasures hidden inside."
The treasure hunters curled their lips and said disdainfully, "What could be inside? A pile of trash? "
Chalmers argued, "Hey, buddy, you're wrong. There are many good things in there. For example, there are some great books!"
"If I wanted to buy books, I would go to a bookstore. I wouldn't come here," one of the treasure hunters said.
Something interesting happened. As the auctioneer, Chalmers did not maintain the rhythm of the auction. Instead, he wanted to argue with this treasure hunter.
Hans could not help but say, "Hurry up and bid. We still have things to do. Hurry up and finish!"
Chalmers said resentfully, "Alright, the starting bid for this storage unit is 1,000 dollars. Who would be willing to pay 1,000 dollars? There are many books in there. These books could be sold to the right person for more than 1,000 dollars! "
A full set of National Geographic magazines could fetch a good price even if they were sold as waste paper. However, there were no places in America that collected waste paper. To dispose of the waste paper, it had to be sent to a waste processing plant.
Hearing the bids, Lu Guan stepped forward. He took a deep breath and said, "I'll pay 1,000 dollars."
The treasure hunters shook their heads. This storage unit was not worth much. Perhaps the books inside were valuable, but it was too difficult to find a buyer for old books. It was not worth the risk.
Seeing that no one was interested in bidding, Chalmers panicked. He shouted the price several times, encouraging and praising, but the treasure hunters were not tempted.
Which treasure hunter here was not experienced? How could they make the wrong choice just because of some random encouragement?
Yes, to them, buying a storage unit with a pile of books was a wrong choice.
After a long time, no one made a bid. Chalmers waved his hand helplessly. "Very good, buddy. You've picked up a good bargain. The items in this storage unit belong to you."
Lu Guan counted out ten Franklin bills on the spot and handed them to Chalmers' wife, who was acting as the temporary accountant, to take ownership of the storage unit.
At this point, Li Du was relieved. His goal had been achieved. Chalmers, that little fox, had not been able to win against an experienced hunter like him.
The treasure hunters walked to the next storage unit. Lu Guan did not go, but brought Godzilla and Big Quinn to pack up.
Li Du had asked around and found out that Chalmers was not a particular person. He was a little scoundrel. He had actually thought of ways to get this house from his uncle.
So if he knew that there were magazines worth millions in there, he would definitely regret the earlier auctions.
The storage units at the back were interesting. They were completely worthless. The treasure hunters did not bid. After looking at the first four storage units, there were already people who wanted to leave.
Chalmers was very angry that two storage units were not auctioned off. However, after thinking about the 4,000 dollars he would earn, he cheered up.
He had always thought that these storage units were worthless. In the end, he could exchange them for 4,000 dollars. There was also free labor to help clean up the storage units. No matter how he looked at it, he had profited.
Moreover, he had a backup plan!
After his four storage units were auctioned off, it was time for his neighbors' storage units to be auctioned.
How could there be anything valuable in these storage units? They were all discarded household items. The treasure hunters were not trash collectors and would not be interested in these things.
Other than the first two storage units, the rest of the storage units were not auctioned off. The treasure hunters did not even have the interest to bid.
Seeing this, Chalmers felt that something was amiss. However, he could not pinpoint exactly what it was.
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