Purpose and responsibility
This policy reduces safety, privacy, legal, and title risk in storage-auction listings and cleanouts. It is not an exhaustive inventory of regulated property. Facilities remain responsible for inspecting visible contents, following applicable law, and obtaining professional or emergency help when needed.
StorBids may pause, reject, redact, or withdraw a listing when visible media or reported contents create a reasonable safety, privacy, ownership, or legal concern.
Items that must not be knowingly listed
- Illegal drugs, controlled substances, stolen property, counterfeit goods, or property whose possession or sale is unlawful.
- Explosives, ammunition, loaded weapons, prohibited weapons, improvised devices, unstable chemicals, fuel, compressed gas, or other dangerous goods that cannot lawfully and safely be sold through the auction.
- Biohazards, medical waste, human remains, live animals, animal remains, heavily spoiled food, pests, or contaminated materials.
- Government identification, passports, financial records, tax files, medical records, legal files, intimate media, tenant records, or other personal information that could expose or harm an individual.
- Property subject to an active recall, court order, ownership dispute, tenant redemption, law-enforcement hold, or known third-party claim that prevents lawful sale.
Items requiring controlled review
- Firearms, replica weapons, knives, bows, hunting equipment, or ammunition require lawful handling and may be removed from the auction entirely.
- Vehicles, trailers, boats, powered equipment, and items with serial numbers or title documents require ownership and transfer review.
- Computers, phones, storage drives, cameras, and other data-bearing devices must not be accessed for personal data and may require secure wiping or a facility-controlled process.
- Prescription medication, alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, chemicals, batteries, and pressurized containers require lawful disposal or a separately approved handling process.
- High-value art, collectibles, currency, jewellery, or identity-linked property may require title, authenticity, or police review before publication.
Facility procedure before publication
- Review all listing media for visible restricted property, personal documents, addresses, faces, account numbers, and tenant identifiers.
- Remove or securely redact sensitive media before submitting the listing. Do not move an unsafe item merely to improve a photo.
- Pause the listing and notify the founder admin when ownership, lawfulness, safety, or privacy is uncertain.
- Keep the minimum private evidence needed for the decision and never place tenant personal information in public listing text, support subjects, or general notes.
What a buyer must do after discovery
- Stop handling the item and keep other people away when there may be immediate danger. Call emergency services when appropriate.
- Do not load, transport, sell, open, test, consume, copy, photograph, or post the item or any personal records online.
- Notify the facility manager promptly and follow lawful facility or authority instructions. Use StorBids support if the facility cannot be reached or the auction workflow must be paused.
- Document only what is reasonably needed to report the issue without exposing personal information or increasing risk.
StorBids response
StorBids may hide media, pause pickup, preserve restricted audit evidence, contact the facility, restrict an account, or cooperate with authorities. StorBids will not direct a buyer or manager to handle property that requires trained, licensed, law-enforcement, emergency, or hazardous-material personnel.
A prohibited or sensitive item does not automatically transfer to the buyer merely because it was inside a unit. Facility obligations, ownership rights, and applicable law continue to govern.
Report an item
For a non-emergency report, contact support@storbids.com and include the auction title, unit number, facility city, and a brief non-sensitive description. Do not attach identity documents, medical records, card details, or graphic material unless StorBids provides a secure request.