As a self-storage manager, you should consistently seek out sources of new rentals. That's a given. Gone are the days of passive facility management.
The marketing experts will tell you that one of the best ways to accomplish this is to reach out to businesses in your local area. Yes, residential will always be a large constituent of your target market, but commercial renters are ripe for plucking. They have inventory-storage needs; real estate is more precious than storage space; and they have consistent income (if successful). Get these customers into your units, and you'll likely have long-term clients who pay timely.
But there's a new niche emerging that you may not have considered yet, and that's the growing contingent of people who sell stuff on eBay. If you're not very familiar with this marketplace website, you should recognize the community it represents. Launched in '95, its revenue was nearly $8 billion in 2007. Millions of items are listed, bought and sold on the site daily, and there are as many eBay sellers around the world.
Some of these sellers are just folks cleaning out the junk from their garages and closets. But many are legitimate retailers who prefer to sell through eBay, riding the coattails of its marketing power, rather than launch and optimize their own, standalone websites. These people, who can keep rather extensive inventories, need places to store their for-sale goods. That's where you come in.
Just yesterday I read a story about U.K.-based Safestore, which is doing a special promotion to attract the business of eBay PowerSellers (those sellers whose sales exceed designated amounts each month). The company is offering a 50 percent discount on storage to this niche—and users can even rent on a week-to-week basis.
Now, this is different from the way eBay has been previously considered by storage operators. At the recent ISS Expo in Las Vegas, we featured a seminar on using eBay sales as an ancillary service. In short, a storage manager arranges to sell customers' goods on eBay. The tenant and manager each keep a portion of the profit. (If you'd like to read more about this add-on, check out our article titled "The eBay Drop-Off Service.")
So ... when you're brainstorming your next marketing plan, consider the renting needs and power of eBayers. Hang signage in your office: "Sell stuff on eBay? Store it with us!" Consider a classified ad in your local paper, a coupon for eBay-related storage in your local Val-Pak mailer, or distribution of some fliers. You'd be surprised how many of your neighbors are eBay sellers, and how they might boost your occupancy.
Anybody have some eBay renters? What has your experience been wtih this market? Hit the "Leave a Comment" link below and let us know.