Craigslist 'CURB ALERT' pays off!

Browsing the internet late at night, I decided to do a check on Craigslist. I never find anything good, so I wasn't holding my breath. Nothing good in the computer section, so I click on the 'free' section. Sometimes there is scrap metal, but it is always gone, ESPECIALLY those dreaded 'curb alerts.' "If the post is still up, it’s still there!" BULL ****.

Anyway, first thing I see is: LARGE QUANTITY of Desktop Computers & Printers At The Curb

So, naturally, I click on it: CURBSIDE ALERT: About 20 Desktop computers along with some hockey sticks at the corner of....

I looked at the time. It was posted 20 minutes before I saw it. I might have a chance! I grabbed my GPS, called a friend, and we were on our way. 30 minutes later, we pull up to a neighborhood with its trash out. First thought: **** it, another scrapper must have gotten it by now. It’s trash night! I don’t have a chance. Well, we pull up to the house anyway… and my jaw drops. It’s still there! I jump out and run up to the pile and start loading it up. About 10 computers, 6 keyboards, and a printer. So the guy exaggerated...so what? I still ended up with more than what gas cost.

The next day, I crack into the pile. First one I pull, and this is what I see:

http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/q...-35-33_949.jpg


My heart drops. I start clawing at the case desperately trying to get it open. Finally I do, and sure enough:

http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/q...-39-54_449.jpg


Only one, I was hoping for two, but I can’t complain! The scrap gods are thanked for my great fortune. Haha. I wasn’t THAT lucky with the remainder, but I raked in a lot of ceramics, green fiber, black fiber, and slots.


Moral of the story is to stay positive. Sometimes you need to take risks if you expect to score big. I had a gut feeling, followed it, and had a great outcome.

Hey Caniscrapit

Good find! It's nice to know that once in awhile things can work out! I have the same issue you do with the curb alerts, but you give me hope!

****! I saw that post too, but Redford is too far to go for something that might not be there. Glad you got lucky with it!

Could have been 20. Someone might have grabbed all they could fit in their vehicle.

Good score.

Good for you. I don't much like the "dreaded curb alerts" myself. I only go if it is recently posted and if the potential payoff is worth the risk of coming up empty. I once responded to a curb alert and saw someone was already there. I drove past him and turned around in a driveway, and as I was backing out I saw the other guy pull off. Lucky for me, the other guy left behind a printer, a monitor, and a TV.

My neighbors kid who helps me sometimes gets excited when he sees curb alerts. I tell him if it's more than 20 minutes old forget it. I've had to prove it to him 3 times because he wouldn't shut up until we drove by to see...not a flippin thing.

I've had that happen under similar circumstances. A huge trash pile was left in front of a house in my neighborhood, unfortunately, somebody beat me to it, but he only took the obvious metal stuff and left behind a few monitors and computer towers. Although he cut the cords from the monitors, he left them whole in addition to the computer towers. Either he didn't want to be bothered with them or, for my sake, he was ignorant of the fact that by going the extra distance and picking them apart you can get more bang for your buck.

He may have stiffed me on the monitor cables, but I got one or two up on his largely shred load that he had by getting at some good copper and high grade circuit board, so more bang for the buck for me with more valuable material that he left behind, either unknowingly or out of laziness in tearing them down...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CanIScrapIt

those dreaded 'curb alerts.' "If the post is still up, it’s still there!" BULL ****

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People have good intentions, but Curb Alerts are really a terrible waste of resources...people's time, fuel, and heaven forbid somebody has an accident driving through an unfamiliar neighborhood. Not to mention the potential for problems upon arrival; curb alerts can lead to fights, and also can be used to lure people to bad situations.

I flag them. It's in the upper right hand corner of CL. It says PROHIBITED. I have no qualms about clicking that because curb alerts are not in line with the spirit of the CL community.

I once posted a curb alert myself, years ago. It kept getting flagged. I didn't know why, and I went through a lengthy learning process via the CL forums. Many avid CL forum users despise curb alerts, or anything that resembles a curb alert. I was told, "the Craigslist community has flags, and they don't hesitate to use them, especially for curb alerts." Now it takes a certain number of flags to kill a listing, but in the Free section, it doesn't take many.

So I say flag those curb alerts.

I would have made them fit somehow lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

Could have been 20. Someone might have grabbed all they could fit in their vehicle.

Good score.

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