Most auctions allow bidders to know exactly what they’re bidding on, but “Storage Wars” producers seem to have one basic rule — buyers can’t closely inspect the contents of units before bidding, which only makes the show even more entertaining to watch. Past reports have indicated bidders only have five minutes to look at a storage unit without going inside it. Cast members are often as surprised as the audience at the finds in each storage locker, whether those items are nothing more than junk or high-value collectibles. However, there might have been some deception in the past.
According to Deadline, a lawsuit filed in 2012 by former “Storage Wars” star Dave Hester alleged that producers inspected units prior to the auctions and planted expensive items in some units to create drama. Hester and the network eventually settled out of court, and Hester even returned to “Storage Wars” in Season 6. In 2021, Brandi Passante told Distractify there was never any tampering on the show, pointing out that many storage units contained nothing of value. “I don’t think the show really highlights the bad ones as much … but it definitely happens,” she clarified. Even though no court ever officially recognized Hester’s claims as proven, many fans on Reddit took the combative star’s allegations as fact, with one user asking, if real items of value were in the units, “why on earth would anyone pay to store that stuff?”