BC Business
Storage Warrior is a collectibles business that resells items sourced from storage lockers, estate sales and junk removal services
In the spirit of turning trash into treasure, reality shows like Storage Wars have piqued peoples’ curiosity about where hidden gems can be found. The TV show follows bidders who purchase repossessed storage units hoping to get lucky, and for husband-and-wife Johann Furrer and Jessica Oman, watching it did more than just make them curious. It inspired them to start a side hustle in 2012, when they purchased a $225 storage unit in Vancouver.
“We just thought that’s something we could do in here,” Oman says. At the time, she was teaching classes at UBC’s Sauder School of Business and the Faculty of Land and Food Systems, and Furrer was working as a tree planter. “Back then you could find these local auctions, and we would stand there all day and buy the last unit of the day… That’s how it all began.”
The couple started selling their finds through eBay, and in 2016, their side hustle turned into a full-time collectibles business known as Storage Warrior. In 2018, they moved the business into a 2,000-square-foot warehouse in South Vancouver that they’re now “busting out of,” according to Oman.
“You could call us a cross between a Value Village and an American Pickers type of business. Our mission is twofold: it’s about reducing environmental waste and keeping things out of the landfill, and at the same time, saving history… We have lots of zero-waste initiatives here in Vancouver, but most of them are focused on the recycle part of the triangle instead of the reuse side.”
Reselling can be tricky, as items don’t always meet customers’ expectations. Bad reviews happen, notes Oman, but she’s proud of the fact that 99 percent of the feedback on Storage Warrior’s eBay site is positive. “That’s a loud voice, collectively,” she says.
One of the ways the pair source inventory is by visiting estate sales. Last year, at an estate sale in Southern California, Oman bought what she describes as a “hunk of cast iron for US$2.” She figured some steampunk enthusiast would probably pay $50 for it. “But when I looked into it, I realized that it was actually the base of one of the first public pay phones ever,” she says. “I put it up on auction on eBay and it sold for US$655.55.”
Oman credits her passion for sustainability as the driving force behind Storage Warrior’s evolution. She remembers writing her SFU MBA thesis on the circular economy and zero-waste initiatives back in 2009, and now her collectibles business is making six figures in revenue.
This week marks a big win as Storage Warrior was named Entrepreneur of the Year in eBay Canada’s 20th annual Entrepreneur of the Year competition. The recognition comes with a $10,000 cash prize and a professional photography session. It also sheds light on the ways in which small business owners like Furrer and Oman go the extra mile to have an impact.
Through their Business of Reselling podcast, Furrer and Oman share tips on how other resellers can scale their business. They also support the Binners’ Project, a local charity that is working to reduce stigma around waste-pickers.
“Yeah, we’re selling used goods, but it’s so much more than that,” Oman maintains. “Resellers are important for history, they’re important for environmental reasons. We’re an important part of circular economy in general. So the fact that this award exists is a really cool way to elevate what we do and show that it’s a profession, it’s a real job, and entrepreneurs like me and the other winners deserve to be recognized.”
All the winners of eBay’s 2024 competition (which includes additional categories like Micro-Multinational of the Year and Small Town Seller of the Year) can be viewed here.