Is the show storage wars fake?

In response to Internet claims that some people know auctioneers for Storage Wars who say the show is fake or have visited the set and have proof that the show is fake, A&E has come forward denying the allegations. A publicist for the reality series was quoted saying, “There is no staging involved. The items uncovered in the storage units are the actual items featured on the show.” An estimated 400 hours of footage is edited down to just one 1-hour episode shown on TV.

A&E is quick to show how much garbage its teams must sift through to generate income and makes no guarantee that purchasing storage lockers is a way to get rich fast. In fact, only 1 out of 10 storage lockers bought by the teams has anything of any real value in it and only the footage of lockers with the most interesting items escape the cutting room floor. Executive producer Thom Beers has explained why the show avoids the back-story behind each one, “All you see is misery there, and I didn't want to trade on that”.

Today in the U.S. there is around 2.16 billion square feet of storage space. Storage locker renters generally have about three months depending upon the state before their items are auctioned off due to unpaid rent. Less than 1% of units end up in this situation.