Buried Treasures and Collectables owner Josh Light shifted his collectables business in July of 2023 and began buying abandoned storage units to sort through, sell and giveaway.

In December of 2023, Mitch Griffiths stepped in as Mr Light's right-hand man, and they began holding sales in Wagga selling their finds at ridiculously cheap prices.

"They're basically glorified garage sales," Mr Griffiths said.

Mr Light said they've had some people even question if it was a scam because of how cheap the prices are.

"It was a pivot of an existing business - with the cost of living the collectables market slowed down, so I pivoted to generate money in a different way," he said.

"At any one time, there would be 200-plus abandoned storage units on the market."

The pair scour online auctions, making their purchase based on pictures and descriptions.

"It's a gamble," Mr Light said.

"There was one we purchased recently and it was 98 per cent rubbish.

"We had to take it to the tip."

They also find hidden gems, like the time they found $6000 in cash inside one of the units.

Mr Griffiths, who is in the military, said one of their rarest finds was one that hit close to home.

"The rarest thing we have found was original service medals from the first Australian to be killed on D-Day in World War II," he said.

"We have contacted the War Memorial in Canberra."

While there are many reasons for storage units to be abandoned, Mr Light and Mr Griffiths always do the ethical thing with the items even if it means they're left empty-handed.

Sometimes they are left with family pictures and sentimental keepsakes, and when that happens they send it back to the facility so they are accessible to the owners.

The pair travel all over, whether it be to Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle or Canberra to pick up the units and bring them back to their site in Wagga to sort through.

When the site is full, they organise a sale with items up from grabs anything from power tools and appliances to brand new toys, clothes, and furniture.

Whatever doesn't go on the day, the pair donate to local opportunity shops.

"We're both family men and we both love the community," Mr Light said.

"Community is a big thing for both of us and with the cost of living it can be tough for a lot of people.

"This is our little way of giving back."

While perhaps a little gesture, the sale can go a long way to making a difference for someone doing it tough.

"There was a family who came to one of the sales and the father came and shook my hand and he had tears in his eyes," Mr Light said.

"He couldn't believe it.

"They had just moved to Australia and they had nothing. We are hoping to start having sales more regularly, once a week would be good."

A pre-sale will be held on Thursday at the site at U2 9 Railway Street, Kooringal.

The sales will begin from 4pm and will run to 8pm for $5.

The sale will be up and running again on Good Friday from 8am until noon with items selling at $2, and from 2pm to 3pm everything will be up for grabs for free.