For 15 seasons, fans have been revelling in the lost treasures, bidding wars and high-stakes auctions of A&E’s long-running reality series, Storage Wars. In between some truly fascinating storage locker finds and a rotating batch of cast members, it is Barry Weiss — known simply as ‘The Collector’ — who has provided a throughline across the show’s decades-long run.
After being a mainstay on Storage Wars’ cast for the first four seasons, Weiss took a step back from the show ahead of season 5, and remained absent until his return for the show’s fourteenth season in 2021. The Collector has remained a part of the main cast ever since, including in the most recent fifteenth season that aired in June of 2023.
Naturally, speculation around his hiatus ran about as rampant as an overzealous auctioneer, and even led to reports that Weiss had died. Now, amid his return to the show and Storage Wars’ as-yet unconfirmed sixteenth season, we’re taking a closer look at where Barry Weiss is now, and what happened in the years during his absence.
Where is Barry Weiss on ‘Storage Wars’ and what happened to him?
After garnering fan favorite status during his four-season run on Storage Wars, Barry Weiss departed the series in 2013, following the conclusion of its fourth season. At the time, there were rumours that Weiss had passed away, but he later confirmed that his decision to exit the series on a high was a personal one.
In a 2017 interview, the collector — still very much alive and well — said that he had simply “had enough” of filming Storage Wars at the time, and said he wanted to leave while the show was still popular. There were rumours that Weiss, alongside other cast members and producers, had staged some of the show’s units and planted pre-appraised items in the lockers; accusations that A&E has consistently denied.
In any case, Weiss, who is among Storage Wars’ wealthiest castmates, remained busy on the television front in the years during his absence, launching a spinoff series called Barry’d Treasure. Also airing on A&E, the spinoff followed Weiss as he travelled the US in search of valuable antiques and collectables, but was cancelled by the network after its eight-episode debut season.
Weiss was the subject of a second spinoff, titled Storage Wars: Barry Strikes Back, in 2015, which saw him share behind-the-scenes moments and commentary from Storage Wars episodes alongside co-host Kenny Crossley. That too was cancelled by A&E after one season, a few years before Weiss was involved in a near-death car accident.
In 2019, reports emerged that Weiss was in a serious motorcycle accident with his friend, Jamie Robinson. The pair were riding the vehicles in Los Angeles when they crashed into a car, though drugs and alcohol were ruled out as the cause. It was reported that the driver of the car had failed to look while reversing, resulting in injuries for both Weiss and Robinson.
Robinson sustained a few broken bones, but Weiss’ condition was more intense. He sustained injuries to his chest and legs, as well as internal injuries and broken bones. At the time of his treatment — which saw him stay in an intensive care unit for three months — Robinson said Weiss’ injuries were “much worse.” Robinson made his return to public life following his injury, serving as a brand ambassador for the Sherwood Valley Casino in Northern California.
In 2021, he eventually returned to Storage Wars in typical Weiss fashion, pulling up in a lavish Lincoln Zephyr and asking the cast: “Did you miss me?” Weiss has since rejoined the show as a main cast member, returning to his usual antics of ferociously outbidding his competitors and scoring expensive finds in the process. As of 2023, Weiss is 64 years old and currently unmarried. He has an estimated net worth of $10 million, much of which was derived from his previous line of work in the produce business.
Weiss’ future on Storage Wars, and indeed the fate of the show itself, is somewhat in limbo, as A&E has yet to announce whether a sixteenth season is confirmed. Weiss formed the main cast of Storage Wars alongside fellow fan favourites Brandi Passante, Darrell Sheets and Ivy Calvin, as well as antagonist Dave Hester.
