Meet Dave Hester
Recently featured on A&E’s hit TV show, “Storage Wars”, Dave Hester has been in the auction industry for more than 33 years.
The son of a Marine Corps lifer, Dave was born at Camp Pendleton Marine Base near Oceanside, CA. His parents started buying and selling tools, antiques and collectibles – anything of value, really – at auctions, estate sales and garage sales to supplement his father’s military income upon returning from Vietnam in 1969. When his father retired in 1979, Dave and his parents had been buying and selling for 10 years. At 14 years of age, Dave was attending auctions himself, buying tools and machinery to sell to the shops that supported the two nearby military bases in Orange County, CA.
In 1986 he attended his first self-storage auction, bought a few units, and he’s been buying ever since. In the early 1990s he started working as a bid catcher for a local auction house. Dave later started buying for them, running house calls buying one piece or a houseful, eventually he became an auctioneer for them in 1992. He bought and sold millions of dollars’ worth of merchandise yearly.
Dave owned Newport Consignment Gallery and Rags to Riches Thrift Store from 2003 to 2012 which was located at 1941 Newport Blvd in Costa Mesa.
Dave was featured on A&E’s hit show “Storage Wars” from 2010 to 2018.
What sets Dave apart from others in the industry is that when he looks at an item or an entire inventory, he knows the current market value, related expenses and logistics. Having owned many successful businesses himself, he understands a business owner’s expenses and overhead. When you are trying to recover money for your time, labor or debt, Dave understands your needs and helps you achieve them.
Dave Hester is committed to selling your items for top dollar, and has experience with the following types of merchandise, just to name a few:
- Antiques & Collectibles
- Art (once sold a painting for $155k!)
- Audio Equipment
- Commercial & Industrial Inventory, Equipment & Supplies
- Computers, Copiers & Printers (Reprography)
- Designer Clothing & Accessories
- Import / Export
- Medical Equipment
- Memorabilia
- Musical Instruments
- Networking Equipment
- New & Used Household Furniture, Décor and goods
- New & Used Office Furniture, Modular, Telecommunications and Case Goods
- Outdoor Furniture, Statuary and Decor
- Restaurant Equipment
- Retail Displays & Fixtures
- Sporting Goods & Equipment