Storage Wars

Garage sales are an old-school waste of time, at least in the eyes of the treasure hunters featured in this real-life series. Each half-hour episode follows a group of bidders looking to strike it rich by buying repossessed storage units. They're at once detectives and gamblers, as they get only a quick flashlight-aided peek inside the units before they decide if they want to make a bid, and for how much. It's a high-stakes game that can pay off big time - one featured collector bought a unit for $800 and sold its contents for a $40,000 profit - or leave one sifting through the equivalent of trash.