First off if you look these 2 guys up they are actors. 2nd there is NO WAY they find that good of stuff in those storage units, lockers or what you call them. I did this for 20 years before people knew about doing this. I use to go and there were 5-6 people at units. Now there is 80-90 people paying ridiculous prices because of the shows.
shareso why did you do it for 20 years if you never find anything good?
shareWhen I say nothing good like these guys, they say they spend 600 and make 12,000 it's bull, you can make a few hundred bucks here and there, but I also did other things for a living not just storage units.
READ:
Although it may not come as a huge surprise that "reality" TV is somewhat contrived, Auction Hunters has taken it to a new level that places the entire industry in doubt.
Auction Hunters premiered on November 9, 2010 on Spike (formerly Spike TV). The show follows Allen Haff and Clinton "Ton" Jones, as they participate in storage unit auctions throughout Southern California. The pair leads viewers through the process of bidding on and winning abandoned storage units, appraising the items found within, and selling the most lucrative and interesting pieces to experts or collectors for awesome profits.
Great concept, and the show is entertaining, the only problem being the show is completely fake. And I mean 100% phony.
The show is co-hosted by Allen Haff and Clinton "Ton" Jones who are paid actors under contract to Spike who earn their money through TV contracts, not junk dealing.
Allen Haff is an actor best known for his roles as; Police Officer #1 in the made for TV movie Washington Field, Yacht guest #1 in CSI Miami and even the lead role in the 2001 blockbuster hit, Rodentz.
Clinton Jones made a career for himself playing security guards and bikers in the late 2000's. Jones also starred in 3 episodes of the shortlived documentary I was Bitten, in which he appeared as an "expert" animal wrangler, back in 2008.
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So the hosts are actors, end of story, right? Actually it gets worse; The Blatant breaking of The Sherman Act of 1890 and "bid rigging".
Bid rigging is the result of a conspiracy between two or more participants entered into for the purpose of artificially affecting auction prices. The parties' agreement to the scheme is the necessary keystone to establish a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Here are two important points about bid rigging that are not commonly known.First, a violation of the Sherman Act does not occur when a rigged bid is executed in an auction. The law is broken at the moment the conspiracy was formed by the co-conspirators. The Sherman Act outlaws a conspiracy made "in restraint of trade or commerce." The statute is triggered upon the parties' making an agreement to do what is impermissible, and it does not require execution of the plan.
Second, it is not necessary for the conspiracy to succeed for the Sherman Act to be violated. Again, the violation occurs immediately upon the parties making an agreement that is prohibited by law. If two or more would-be bidders conspire to depress bidding in an auction, they have violated the act even if their plan fails. Likewise, if an auctioneer and a shill, or a seller and an accomplice, conspire to artificially boost prices in an auction, a violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act has occurred regardless of whether they gain a higher selling price.
Upon conviction, the statute provides for a "fine not exceeding $100,000,000 if a corporation, or, if any other person, $1,000,000, or by imprisonment not exceeding 10 years.
The Sherman Act is clearly broken in one episode where hosts Allen Haff and Clinton "Ton" Jones use the phrase "Drop the unit on him", where they deliberately inflate the unit's price to $950.00 and then stop bidding.
As employee's of Spike TV, Allen Haff and Clinton "Ton" Jones are not liable, however Spike TV is guilty of breaking The Sherman Antitrust Act as the corporation that hired and promoted the activity. Spike TV should be getting a 100 million dollar fine. Wait! It's fake remember, so Spike will never see such a fine, proving this show is nothing more than a "show" and not reality.
In this horrific economy, everyone is trying new ways to make money for their families and Spike TV has taken full advantage of this by producing shows which falsely imply money can be easily made by buying and selling junk.
Shelly from Michigan writes; I do this for a living and let me tell you, THERE ARE NO MILLION DOLLAR UNITS OUT THERE!! I make a decent living, but I make the same money as if I worked out in the real world too. I do it because it suits my needs. Since these wacked out shows have aired, my business has went down hill, and it makes it hard for us “little people” to actually turn a buck. I have always broke even or came out a little ahead, but never will I make it rich! Also, most people don’t realize the back breaking work this takes. I encourage people who think they may be the next Donald Trump from this to really save their hard earned money, and don’t gamble it away!
Blogger Alabaster Chambers writes; Having attended numerous antique auctions and estate sales over the years, I’ve found it difficult enough to find a good deal when I can examine the merchandise before purchasing it, much less buying merchandise sight unseen that is mainly one gem after another, and immediately getting a buyer to hand me 10 times what I paid. Ah, to dream! So how is it these two Auction Hunters always find so many valuable things of interest mainly to other guys their own age? They must have ESP to hone in on so many ATVs, slot machines, guns, arcade games, tools, mint vintage Nikes, antique victrolas all in working order – yet none of the usual things people store such as mattresses, clothes, cassette tapes, books, plastic toys, moldering food, pots and pans – such luck! The Auction Hunters don’t find a plain old doll: they find $1,000 worth of Barbies still in their original packages. Not a Coke tin pitted with rust but a perfect old Coke vending machine with all its original working parts with bottled Coke in a size that is no longer available. How could these two drive what they refer to as “the milk truck” with its uncomfortable workaday seats cross country, 2,000+ miles from LA to Miami – only to enjoy the same incredible luck of finding yet more slot machines, motorized land/sea vehicles and rare NASA space stuff and a quaint full-size hand-painted wooden horse too. Always, no matter where they are, they find ready buyers who, despite their vast experience, buckle under when faced with the withering negotiating skills of the dynamic duo.
Cazpony from Florida gave insight into the storage companies themselves;I talked to an owner of a storage unit lot, they pilfer the units long before the auctions are held. Once the renters stop paying, in my state, the unit owners must inventory the unit and send a copy of inventory to the renters, boxes must be opened and inventoried, the only thing that doesn’t inventoried are items sealed (tape on a box doesn’t constitute sealed) so they know what is in there. Once the renter refuses to responds to the notice of default, the unit owner goes to court and get a lien place on the property. Auction must be held within 14 days. Selling price of unit, over and above amount owed must be deposited in an interest bearing account and renter reimbursed. If you watch these shows, you’ll alway see the camera at the back of the unit, aimed right at that million dollar item at the same time the picker finds it.
So before you decide to watch Auction Hunters and the other slew of 'junk trading' shows be aware that they are indeed fake and are not necessarily a good way to make money. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a flea market to attend.
~Russell Scott is the editor of The West Coast Truth & host of The West Coast Truth with Russell Scott
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