Bidders of storage lockers find treasures

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Todd Ryznar checks out the goods inside the storage container he purchased for $400 at StorageVille on Reenders Friday. (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store

Industry hot in Winnipeg

THE commercial storage industry in Winnipeg has been through a growth spurt over the last 10 years and is still expanding, according to the co-owner of StorageVille, one of the larger local players.

Fraser Kulba said that in 2002, when Storageville opened the first of two locations in Winnipeg, there were 18 to 20 storage facilities in the city. Today, there are between 30 and 35, with a couple more under construction.

Although the U.S. market has become saturated, Kulba said Winnipeg hasn't reached that point yet.

"It's been good here. So far, we're very pleased," he said of StorageVille's 40,000-square-foot facility on Waverley Street and the one on Reenders Drive, at 68,000 square feet.

But he noted some of the newest facilities are being built in industrial areas, where land is less expensive but visibility isn't great.

He said he's worried if these new operators don't attract enough customers, they'll start slashing rates. And that could drive down rates throughout the industry and undermine the stability of other operators.

"We're still not sure how all that is going to sift out," he said.

Kulba said demand for storage space is growing, with homeowners needing to store off-season toys -- recreational vehicles, boats, motorcycles, snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles and antique cars -- or people being caught between moves with household belongings, or businesses with excess inventory or equipment.

Kulba pegged the overall occupancy rate in the city's commercial storage sector at 60 to 80 per cent.

-- Murray McNeill

A heavy downpour had given way to a drizzle as about 100 hardy souls milled around in front of a storage locker, trying to catch a glimpse of whatever treasures lay inside.

StorageVille KP Ltd. was about to auction off the contents of that and five other lockers in its Reenders Drive compound, just like in the reality TV series, Storage Wars.

And just like the TV show, prospective bidders weren't allowed to root around inside to see what they'd be bidding on. All they had to go on was what was visible from the open doorway, and that wasn't much: a red mountain bike, a black guitar case, and a bunch of garbage bags and cardboard boxes piled on top of each other. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.

StorageVille general manager and co-owner Glen Ladell served as auctioneer for last week's on-site auction. The bidding started at $100, and within less than a minute, had reached $225. Within less than two minutes, it stalled at $400.

"Going once! Going twice! Sold, for $400!" Ladell proclaimed, which brought a smile to the face of StorageVille president Fraser Kulba, who was standing near the back of the crowd waiting to see how things unfolded.

"It's going to be a good day," Kulba said, noting this was StorageVille's first crack at staging its own auction. Up until then, he didn't know what to expect -- especially when it started pouring less than half an hour before the 5 p.m. auction was to begin.

Kulba said auctioning off unclaimed goods is nothing new. Storage companies have been doing it for years, although StorageVille had relied on a local auction house to handle the events.

But it's a different ball game these days, he said, thanks to the popularity of the TV show.

"It's created a tremendous amount of awareness with the public in this market. It's taken on a totally different twist."

So he and Ladell decided to save a little money by auctioning off the stuff themselves. Ladell said he thought it went well, even though the crowd wasn't as big as they had hoped, because of the weather.

Still, "we will certainly be doing this again," he said.

The event attracted a mixed bag: young men, men with teenage sons in tow, couples, women who were there with a friend, and young mothers pushing baby strollers.

Several said they were big fans of the TV show and wanted to experience an auction first-hand.

Some, like Winnipegger Rose Jowsey, said they were there just to watch. But others, like Todd Ryznar a gold prospector from northwestern Ontario, were there to get in on the action.

Ryznar, 39, won the contents of the first locker, with a bid of $400. He said he's successfully bid on more than a dozen lockers in Winnipeg since last March.

Some of his wins turned out to be duds -- "just a bunch of household crap." But with a few of them, he hit the proverbial motherlode.

Like last summer when he found a 255-year-old mirror, three antique end tables, a leopard-skin couch and chair, and two diamond rings. He said he checked online, and the couch and chair alone are worth $3,000. And one of the diamond rings has been appraised at $4,000 and the other at $400.

Those are the kind of surprise finds that keep Ryznar coming back.

"It's a total rush. It's like looking for gold, eh? You don't know what you're going to find."

That thrill of the unknown is also what attracted self-employed drywaller Linda Moed.

"I've been watching the TV show for about a year and a half," Moed said, after scoring the contents of one of the other lockers with a bid of $125. "So I thought I'd give it a shot, see what's here and go from there."

Winning bidders have to wait until the next day to go through their locker and see everything they got for their money. But Moed could see just by looking inside that her haul included a freezer, a couple of end tables, a children's bike and a makeup case. So she figured she'd do all right.

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 22, 2011 B6