Posted June 14th, 2016 by Rebecca Fox
StorageAuction.net Owner Spotlight - Dan & Laura Dotson
Greetings! I’m Rebecca and I’m a new writer here at StorageAuctions.net. For my first blog I thought it would be a good idea to explain where this great site and it’s great content come from. You may or may not know that StorageAuctions.net is owned by Dan & Laura Dotson of American Auctioneers as seen on Storage Wars, and they are probably one of the most interesting couples I’ve ever met! You probably don’t realize that they were doing auctions well before Storage Wars, or that they met at an auction, or any number of other things, so we sat Dan down for a quick interview. Here are 5 Questions with Dan Dotson:
Question #1: How did you two meet? Wasn't it at an auction?
Dan: We did meet at an auction, it’s kind of an interesting story. I met her first in 1993, and she left and came back in 1994, and then she came back in 1995, and then she left and another year went by. She would come and buy restaurant equipment because she was a restauranteur and owned a couple of restaurants. By the third or fourth time I met her, I realized I needed to ask her out and hoped my timing was right, and by the second date, she never left. We got married in 2000, and she helps me out now as auctioneer so I definitely make sure I see her at all of the auctions from here on out!
Question #2: How did Laura start acting as auctioneer?
Dan: There was one particular day where I became ill and suddenly couldn’t talk and I told her she’d have to do it. She was so mad, she was cursing at me and was very unhappy, but afterwards she loved it and gained that confidence in doing it, and she does it all the time now and is great.
Question #3: How has your life changed since people recognize you on TV?
Dan: Well, at first people were saying it looked like I had a toupee, so I had to find someone to cut my hair right. I also quit wearing bowling shirts and started wearing the button down. Laura just stayed the same, didn't change much, but she's always been a beauty. We’re basically the same people we were before the show, and we still have a big business that we’re running every day, and our friends are the same. We do get calls from people we haven’t talked to in years though, and sometimes it’s like, “why are you calling me?” Life might have changed a little bit, I guess, but overall, we haven’t changed a bit. It is fun getting recognized on the freeway or in Starbucks or McDonalds or whatever, and we always try to have some SWAG, which stands for Storage Wars Autographed Goodies.
Question #4: Do you get lots of crazy bidding since the show?
Dan: A lot of people want to be unique after seeing Dave Hester’s "YUUUUP", so sometimes we’ll get “right here” or “bid here.” We’ve also definitely had to break out the rule books and add some new things because of people seeing Barry with little people on stilts, and fancy cars, etc. Above all it’s really cool to see people getting their own monikers and bidding personalities as long as it’s within reason.
Question #5: What’s the best advice you have for someone entering the storage auction reselling business?
Dan: Remember to be diversified. You can diversify the way you buy, diversify the way you sell, so when you’re buying you’re not only buying and selling storage units, you’re going to moving and estate sales, you’re going to Craigslist, to eBay, you’re finding what’s moving and shaking within your area and you’re going to double or triple your money on it. Networking with people is also very good and the best thing that anyone can do, if you have a big network of people who buy this or sell that you’ll always have the person who understands and wants the thing that you have on hand.
Bonus Question: What else would be surprised to learn about you?
Dan: Laura has been on a bunch of TV game shows, as have I. You can find some of our best clips by clicking the links below: