Understanding Storage Concerns

Is Your Online Auction Business Cluttering Up Your Home? Read These 4 Tips On Running It From A Storage Unit

19 September 2019

Letitia Lucas

If you have a discerning eye, searching thrift stores and yard sales for valuable items to sell on online auction sites is a great way to make extra money. It's a fun side business to have as well since you never know quite what you'll find when you're out shopping.

Unfortunately, the biggest downside of operating an online auction side business is that you'll need quite a bit of space. This is especially true if you're dealing in bulky items such as antique furniture. Your purchases can quickly stack up in your home and lead to it becoming cluttered.

The best way to prevent a clutter issue is to rent a storage unit for your purchases. You'll be able to maintain a sizable inventory without filling your home up to the ceiling with them. To help you make the most of your storage unit, read on for four tips about using them for an online auction business.

1. Make Sure the Owner Grants You Permission

Most storage facilities prohibit commercial usage. However, this generally only applies to people who are operating in the unit itself—this can be a liability for the facility, and it's often against zoning regulations. In most cases, simply using the unit to store your purchases in will be fine. Since you're operating a business, however, it's important to make sure that the storage facility grants you permission to store your purchases inside the unit before you begin to load it.

2. Opt for a Large-Sized Unit

You'll be visiting your unit frequently while operating your online auction business since you'll need to store your new purchases there and pick up items that have sold in order to ship them out. Because of this, it's best to go with a storage unit that's larger than you think you need—it will be easier to maneuver within the storage unit, and there's less risk of it becoming cluttered. When your unit is kept tidy, it's much quicker to pick up items that have sold—there's less of a chance you'll have to spend a significant amount of time hunting for something.

3. Add Plastic Shelving to Make Storage and Retrieval Easier

Another reason to rent a larger unit is that you'll have space for shelving. Shelves are great for storing collectibles or other small, fragile items—it's easy to stock and retrieve items from them, and there's less chance of the items being damaged compared to simply storing them in a box. Plastic shelving is inexpensive and will help protect your purchases.

4. Label Your Purchases With Their Auction Title

Proper labeling is important for anyone who's using a storage unit, but it's even more important when you're running an online auction business. Make sure that every item within the unit is labeled with its auction title. This makes retrieving items much more simple—you can simply print out of a list of auctions that have sold and then match then to items within your storage unit.

If you're running an online auction business and you're tired of your purchases filling up your home, contact a nearby storage facility and ask if you can store your purchases there. It makes your business more convenient to operate.

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