'Auction Hunters' Roll the Dice on Storage Units for a Big Payday

With shows like Pawn Stars and American Pickers on the dial, it seems like every second show on TV is about hauling out your old collectibles and antiques to see if you could make some serious cash. This week, two more join the fray. One is Auction Kings, a show premiering on Discovery Channel tomorrow at 8 p.m. that's an inside look at an Atlanta, Georgia auction house that specializes in selling the unusual, such as a vampire killing kit.

The other is Auction Hunters, premiering tonight at 10 p.m. on Spike, as a cross between American Pickers and Pawn Stars with slightly higher stakes.

This time, Allen Haff and Clinton "Ton" Jones, two of Los Angeles's most experienced auction hounds, have let the cameras in on their day job -- bidding on abandoned storage containers for the potential treasures that may be within. But unlike Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz, they don't have the luxury of rummaging around before they buy. Instead, they are given a single peek at the storage unit from outside the door with only seconds to estimate what its contents could be worth before being thrown into a live auction on site. The process could be intimidating if you don't know what you're doing, but WalletPop sat down with one-half of the Auction Hunters -- the tall and lanky Allen Haff -- to find out how he and "Ton" cash in on such a risky proposition.
I heard about your show from Mike Wolfe of 'American Pickers' fame and he said that what you guys do is a lot riskier than his job because you don't really know if you can make money from the items in the storage units you buy, is that true?
That's right, there is some risk involved. If you know what you're doing, you can eliminate the risk, but I suppose it is what the American Pickers do on steroids. Mike picks one item and I pick an entire storage container full of items. When I hit the big one, I hit the big one, but there's a lot of work involved just to get where he gets, so his back is probably in a little better shape than mine.

How do you know which container to jump on and buy?
I've done what Mike does. I've bought and sold antiques for 20 years, I've gone to estate sales and I've actually worked and had my own estate sale company. So, I've learned basically how to profile the room. How to take educated guesses on where the money is going to be and what is the best possibility I have to get really, really lucky. It comes from experience and gut instinct, but sometimes it just all lines up and you can appraise the room. If I can see an item that I know is worth two grand, I have no problem bidding $2500 because I know I'm not risking that much, but other people who can't count the money at the door have different numbers, so that's how I'm able to buy the good rooms.

What kind of things do you look for when the door opens and you have a moment to preview the room?
Well, our program will probably highlight the areas where we find historic items, the collectibles and antiques. They'll probably spend more time showing me discovering the mantiques and the man items than some of the things I've made a lot of money on over the years like the depression glass and the china. When I first started I never met a room I didn't like. I wanted to see what was at the bottom of every single room and now I've gotten to the point where I think a little bit more. What I find is the good stuff is found together. If someone has an antique that you can see from the door, why do they have that? It's possible it's a fluke and it was handed down, but why would it be there? Generally, I'll find rooms that have something something old, a certain level of dust or a certain discoloration of a cardboard box. I study it all and there isn't much that I miss anymore. I spend a little extra time at the door until they yell at me to make sure that I buy the room that gives me the best chance of finding the old collectible items.

Do you always get to see inside the room before you buy it?
Yes, the door is always opened. You're not allowed to enter the room or touch anything, but you always know what you're bidding on. Now, if it's a vehicle, you don't always know what's under the hood and you can't really kick the tires. So it's just a quick look and then you've got to bid on what you see there, so I'm counting the money at the door like a calculator.

Have you ever bought a room just based on one item and hoped that there would be value in the rest?
Oh yeah, I've gotten weird feelings on the floor before and bought horrible looking rooms that people thought I was crazy to even bid on because of the amount of work and they've worked out okay most of the time. One item is enough to get me basically, if I recognize it and I'm excited about it, then that's my room and I've gotta have it.

Once you've won the room, how do you sell off the items inside?
'Ton' and I know people that we sell to for some fast sales. Sometimes, we don't actually lose money selling to designers or stores because they're going to command a better price than we would on the internet or at a swap meet. So, there are some things we'll turn really fast, sometimes we'll consign items, but I've got people who will come and take the items off to go to swap meets with. I don't have time to do that anymore. When I was first getting started, Ton and I use to sit at swap meets in the hot sun for a really long, hard day. Now, I'll have people come get the stuff and they'll bring me back money. Sometimes, I'll have them buy the stuff that I'm not interested in by the unit full. On the show we feature the stars of the room and talk about those the most. The $100 or $50 items are less likely to be something we'd spend much time on in real life too. The trick is, especially in Los Angeles, to connect with the people that you know who can help you and make your life easier. Ton and I do, and we work with at least 25 people on my phone who I'm calling every week going, 'Hey, are you interested in this,' or 'Hey, this sounds like you,' and it's great and very easy.

How much refurbishing do you have to do in order to sell an item?
If you want the top dollar and you're putting the item in the hands of the collector, then you're going to put lipstick on a pig. I use to be that guy. I use to go around in the painted furniture days and I use to be the guy who made money doing that. Now I have a rule, I don't always stick to it because I get excited about certain things and I know they just need a little push, but I have to say my rule is 'No Projects' because I'm drawing a line in the sand for myself. If it was up to me, I really feel like I'm saving these abandoned items from not being appreciated and I'm cleaning out the garbage around them to discover these things. For me, it's really gratifying to put it in the hands of someone who will appreciate it, but that's a weakness that slows me down. I've learned to say no to projects, I have people that do that sort of thing and they get to make a little money too. I don't mind if everyone is making money because I'm moving on to the next sale. I generally try not to, but if it's something that has no value and if I simply paint it I can sell it for $350, then that's on my to do list.

Do you think the rise in popularity of shows like yours is due to the recession and people trying to make a buck off their collectibles?
Yes, you're going to see more storage sales right now because times are hard. You are also going to see more people who don't have jobs that are going to come out and try this and people won't be able to do it well because it's really, really physically hard. It's definitely getting more competitive out there, but in Los Angeles it has kind of always been that way because it's such a transitional town, people are always coming. We see a billion actors come out here every year trying to make it and they leave. So, someone has to clean that mess up and figure it all out. With the exception of LA, which has always been really strong, I think you're going to see more people taking more of an interest and learning. It's going to change everything and what I'm hoping is that when things start to improve, we'll start seeing the antique prices I enjoyed in the '90s. In the late '90s I was selling antiques on Ebay for three times what I do today. There are two sides to this: sure, there's more product out there, which is nice, but there's nobody to sell it to, so you have to be a little pickier. I don't hold on to vintage California pottery anymore, so that's become a swap meet item instead of an antique store item. I buy a lot of business properties, but we don't feature those on the show because they're not interesting. I like buying business property and finishing their list of things to do because it's large, clean inventory. I'm passionate about the storied items, but I make a ton of money doing the newer products.

What made you guys take the business of bidding on storage units to TV?
It wasn't our idea, [Spike] put it together. They approached us and I guess they were out looking because they had approached some other guys and the show had been picked up, so they reached out to us and that's how it happened. It's interesting because there are a lot of shows going on and one of the shows, I don't even know the name of it, but I know the auctioneer, he went around town pitching it for years and years to people and was always told no. Then, all of the sudden, I think probably thanks to shows like American Pickers there was interest and his show got picked up. That show reached out to us also, but it didn't sound very good. I really wasn't that keen initially on sharing my day job with the world because if it was up to me I would've been quietly making money from here on out, but at the point that I realized there were going to be a couple of other shows I figured, 'Well, then let's do it right and let's do the real thing. Let them see the hard work, let them see the hustle and also the fun.' At that point, it was easier to decide once I knew it was going to happen no matter what.

Catch Auction Hunters Premiering tonight at 10 p.m. ET/PT only on Spike TV.

Related: Picking the Brains of the American Pickers