One of the most important skills in storage unit auctions is knowing your limit and sticking to it.

By the time bidding starts, you should have already studied the photos or, in the case of a live auction, inspected the unit and made your best assessment of what might be inside.

Sometimes it's fairly obvious what a unit contains, allowing you to do some research and estimate its value before placing a bid.

A great example was a unit we purchased that was full of moisture extraction and air-scrubbing machines used in water-damaged buildings — something that is quite common in our region.

The photos were excellent. We could clearly identify most of the makes and models and research what they sold for new. That gave us a reasonable idea of the potential return from the unit.

After doing our homework, we estimated the contents could return around $12,000. Based on that figure, we set a maximum bidding limit of $4,000.

In the end, we won the unit for approximately $3,600 including fees. Better still, we sold most of the equipment to one buyer, who got a bargain at $16,000.

In this case, our research paid off.

Of course, it isn't always that easy. Would we have gone over our $4,000 limit if the bidding had continued?

Absolutely not.

In fact, we fully expected to be outbid. Fortunately for us, the other bidder stopped, and we walked away with the unit.

The lesson here is simple: don't let FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) make your financial decisions for you.

Set your limit before the auction starts and stick to it.

If you win, great.

If you lose, that's okay too.

Either way, you'll walk away knowing you stayed in control — and that's what successful long-term buying is all about.

Remember, there will always be another storage unit.

There won't always be another $4,000 sitting in your bank account if you let auction fever take over.

And trust me, the storage industry has an endless supply of units, but your spouse's patience with "just one more bid" may be far more limited!

If you've been reselling for a while, you'll know the industry today barely resembles what it was 30 years ago.

Back then, finding stock was often the hardest part. Today, information overload can be just as challenging.

Let's take a look at how reselling has evolved over the last three decades.

In the 1990s, sourcing stock usually meant early morning garage sales, newspaper classifieds, auctions, second-hand shops, and word of mouth.

There were no smartphone alerts telling you when a storage unit auction was happening. If you wanted the good stuff, you physically had to be there.

Many resellers spent their weekends driving around with a newspaper on the passenger seat and cash in their pocket.

Now inventory opportunities are everywhere.

Online auctions, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, estate sales, storage unit auctions, liquidation sites, and social media groups can all be searched from your lounge room.

The challenge isn't finding stock anymore—it's deciding what opportunities are worth pursuing.

If you found something unusual, you often had to rely on experience, reference books, auction catalogues, or educated guesses.

Many buyers took risks because there was simply no way to instantly know what an item was worth.

Sometimes those risks paid off handsomely.

With a smartphone, you can check sold listings, auction results, collector forums, and price guides within minutes.

Information is available to everyone.

The advantage no longer belongs to the person with the information—it belongs to the person who can act on it fastest.

Most sales were local.

You sold through newspaper classifieds, market stalls, swap meets, antique fairs, or local auctions.

Your customer base was limited to whoever happened to be nearby.

Finding the right buyer could take weeks or months.

Platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Etsy, and specialist online marketplaces allow you to reach buyers across Australia and around the world.

A rare item sitting on a shelf in Cairns can be purchased by a collector in Perth, London, or New York.

The potential audience is almost unlimited.

Competition was largely local.

If nobody in your town knew what something was worth, you could often make excellent profits.

Many resellers built successful businesses simply because they knew more than everyone else.

Everyone has access to information.

A quick Google search can reveal values, rarity, and demand.

Margins on common items are often tighter because buyers and sellers are better informed.

Success now comes from efficiency, consistency, and finding opportunities others overlook.

Thirty years ago, reselling moved at a slower pace.

You might buy something on Saturday, advertise it the following week, and sell it a month later.

Today, deals can appear and disappear within minutes.

A great Facebook Marketplace listing may attract dozens of enquiries before you've even finished your morning coffee.

Technology has dramatically accelerated the entire process.

Despite all the changes, the fundamentals remain exactly the same.

Successful resellers still:

The tools have changed.

The platforms have changed.

The technology has changed.

But the thrill of finding an undervalued item and connecting it with the right buyer remains exactly the same.

Whether you're scanning the classifieds in 1995 or refreshing Marketplace in 2026, the hunt is still what keeps many of us coming back.

And that's why reselling remains one of the most fascinating businesses in the world.

If you were a kid in the 1990s, chances are you remember a time when everything had to be EXTREME!

Extreme sports, extreme cartoons, extreme snacks and, of course, extreme toys.

In 1994 Mattel unleashed a toy line that perfectly captured the decade's obsession with oversized muscles, outrageous action features and attitude. The result was Street Sharks.

The concept was simple. Take four brothers, turn them into giant mutant sharks, give them enormous muscles and even bigger teeth, and let them battle evil scientists and sea monsters.

Kids loved them.

Parents probably wondered what on earth was going on.

Today, Street Sharks have become one of the hottest toy lines from the 1990s, with some rare figures selling for hundreds and even thousands of dollars.

Back in 1994, a standard Street Sharks figure generally retailed between $10 and $15 , depending on the character and accessories.

Larger deluxe figures and vehicles typically sold for between $20 and $40 .

At the time that seemed expensive for a toy.

Fast forward thirty years and many collectors wish they had bought a few extras and left them unopened.

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The main heroes included:

• Ripster
• Jab
• Streex
• Big Slammu

Mattel produced dozens of variations including Night Fighters, Mega Heroes, vehicles, playsets and mail-away exclusives. The rarest versions are now highly sought after by collectors.

The values below are approximate collector market prices for complete examples.

Values vary greatly depending on condition and whether accessories are included. Missing fins, weapons or armour can reduce values dramatically.

Some of the rarest Street Sharks items include:

A mail-away exclusive that few kids kept complete. Mint examples can exceed $1,000.

One of the toughest figures to find complete. Carded examples have sold for astonishing prices among dedicated collectors.

The ultimate Street Sharks vehicle. Complete boxed examples regularly command several hundred dollars.

Whenever a toy line becomes popular, competitors smell blood in the water.

Street Sharks inspired several similar toy lines, but one stands above the rest.

Created by Mattel in 1996, Extreme Dinosaurs was essentially Street Sharks with dinosaurs.

Huge muscles?

Tick.

Ridiculous weapons?

Tick.

Absolutely no concern for realism?

Tick.

Collectors today have begun chasing these figures as nostalgia for the 1990s continues to grow. Complete figures commonly sell for $50-$150 each, while rare boxed examples can bring considerably more. Some complete lots have sold for several hundred dollars.

A lesser-known line that attempted to ride the same wave of popularity. While not as valuable as Street Sharks, complete figures still attract collectors looking to complete their 90s toy collections.

Although released earlier, many collectors who love Street Sharks also collect animal-themed action figure lines such as Battle Beasts, Food Fighters and Biker Mice from Mars. Interest in these has grown significantly over the past decade.

Several reasons have driven prices upward:

Street Sharks are exactly the sort of toy many resellers overlook at garage sales, deceased estates and storage unit auctions.

To the untrained eye they look like old plastic toys.

To a collector they can be a nostalgic treasure worth hundreds of dollars.

The next time you're digging through a box of forgotten toys and spot a giant shark wearing body armour and carrying an absurdly oversized weapon, don't laugh too hard.

It might just be the most valuable thing in the box.

And if you find a complete Night Fighters Trapjaw Ripster still on card...

You may have just discovered a very jawsome payday.