Storage and Shipping Wars

6/4/2014

I'm going to admit it, I'm addicted to reality TV.  I love all the hijinks that the "stars" do during filming.  Their behaviors are so outrageous that they could only happen on TV.

Since both of these shows have become a favorite of mine, I wanted to research how much these "actors" (who participate in the bidding of lockers or shipping items.

The folks who "ship for a living" earn what ever they make from their haul, plus endorsements.  They also don't have to pay for expenses.  I'm not sure that these shippers make enough to live on, so I'm guessing that when they're not filming, they do something else to earn money.

Now the good folks on Storage Wars make $10,000 per episode.  That's a nice hefty paycheck, plus the money they make from selling whatever is in the lockers.  Wouldn't you like to make a living just by showing up and bidding.on unclaimed lockers.  Sometimes when the door of the unit opens, I wonder why anybody would even put that stuff in a locker and I can see why they would walk away from their possessions.

I did a little checking and all the "actors" on Storage Wars are worth at least a million dollars and one actor is worth about $4 million, clearly they are all doing well financially.  Of course, during the bidding, there is a lot of protesting about how much money is spent on a unit and sometimes what they buy wouldn't even cover the dump charges.

Darrell Sheets spent $3,600 on locker.  The locker was filled with original art by Frank Guttierez. The estimated worth of the paintings was $300,000.  Not bad for a day's work.  My favorite person on the show is Barry Weiss, who is a bit on the eccentric side, showing up in many different kinds of vehicles (all expensive) and sometimes sporting a disguise.  

I understand that these shows are staged, I enjoy them nonetheless.  What I would really like to know is what the buyers really get when they sell things from the lockers.  You hear them say that "x" is worth so much, but you actually never see them sell anything. Maybe they could make a new reality show called something like "Storage Sold" or something like that.

I enjoy the shows because frankly they are just so much fun to watch.  And no, if you're wondering, they aren't really good TV, but when you stop and think about it, few things on television these days are.

P