the players of storage wars

Dave Hester, "The Mogul", owned Newport Consignment Gallery in Costa Mesa^[5] and Rags to Riches thrift store until he closed them in mid-2011. He now operates Dave Hester Auctions. As is required by law, he will not sell weapons from a unit he has purchased, turning them in to local authorities for destruction. Hester sometimes drives up the bidding to assert his dominance and has a son named Dave Jr. who has appeared on the show working alongside him. Dave's signature move is to bid loudly, "Yuuuup", seemingly at the last moment, sometimes maddening the other bidders. He even has the slogan imprinted on his truck and a hat.

At this time, it is not immediately known if Dave will remain part of the cast, as he and A&E are in a disagreement over A&E's alleged mistreatment of him.^[6]

• Darrell Sheets, "The Gambler", appears with his son Brandon. Darrell occasionally clashes with Dave Hester. In one episode, Sheets mocked Hester's business by having his son wear a hat that read "Newport Con Gallery." In another episode, Brandon wore a shirt that simply said, "Rags to Riches and Now and Then Thrift store sucks!" He stated in a 2011 interview that he has been doing this for 32 years^[7] and in a different interview indicated that some of his biggest finds during that time included a sizable comic book collection, four paintings by Pablo Picasso and a letter written by Abraham Lincoln that sold for over $15,000.^[8] In a recent highlight episode, Darrell revealed that he once uncovered a plastic-wrapped human corpse in a storage locker. He was interviewed by police and it was determined that the previous owner of the locker had murdered his wife and left her in the unit.
• Jarrod Schulz and his partner^[9] Brandi Passante, "The Young Guns".^[10] They run the Now and Then Second Hand Store in Orange, California and have the least substantial financial resources. They opened the shop after Jarrod's business of buying storage units and selling the contents at swap meets overran their home. Brandi started to attend the auctions when she was not sure if Jarrod could be trusted. Jarrod and Brandi have two children together.^[11]
• Barry Weiss, "The Collector". Barry owned a produce company until he retired and is only looking for a few collector's items to keep. He sells or donates everything else. While Barry is a lifelong antique collector, he had no involvement in buying storage units until his friend and Storage Wars executive producer Thom Beers suggested he join the show.^[12] Barry is the best financed of the group and is the only one not in it for financial profit.

Also appearing are auctioneers Dan Dotson and Laura Dotson who run American Auctioneers. Dan and Laura are married to each other.^[13]

 Other featured buyers

• Mark Balelo appeared in three consecutive episodes in season two (Enemy Of The Enemy, Fire In The Hole and San Burrito). He presented the image of someone who would not be intimidated by the other buyers and, in some cases, would drive up the prices of some units. Balelo also appeared in the first Storage Wars: Unlocked special. In one of his more memorable moments on the show, he found an Nintendo Entertainment System, which he called an NES-001, and he believed it was worth as much as $13,000, but an appraisal found the item was common and not in working condition and worth only $10.
• Bill Archer appeared in only one episode in season one (Young With The Gun). Bill had just left his previous job to be a storage unit buyer, a move Barry questioned. Bill eventually won a unit. Afterwards, he received tips from Jarrod on how he should go about searching for the prime treasures in the unit and determining its value. Bill has been seen in the background since his initial appearance, but hasn't again been featured.
• Nabila Haniss appeared in five episodes in season two (Smoke 'Em If You Find 'Em, The Drone Wars, Not Your Average Bear, Hook, Line And Sucker and Operation Hobo). She had made her name after purchasing a storage unit that contained items belonging to socialite Paris Hilton.^[14]