Full Time scrappers - Page 2

Thanks for telling it like it is 1956!! Greatly appreciated !! Guys who are "really" making it are the scrap yards themselves !! Guys I talk to at the yard say there are a few cashing in 100 -200 daily but as we all know #1 "consistantcy" is the key !!

Full time here as well and been going that way for 2 years now. I eat a lot of peanut butter sandwiches and I will never say no to Ramen Noodles. That being said, if you're going to do this full time, be prepared to fail and fail hard. It took me a good year just to get the proper connections to keep my income cyclic and steady. If I were as estimating man, and I am a lot of the times and fairly good at it, I'd say you'd need to do this full time for a good 4-5 years just to get out of the middle class income bracket. I mean I've had weeks where I've made 2300 bucks, days where I've made 1100, and I've had whole months where I've only made 1000. I'm no stranger to working a 16 hour day and then coming home covered in grease and filth to fall asleep with my shoes on and then to wake up, shower, and do it all over again. You get from scrapping what you put into it and it's a job where your success culminates and derives from your overall experience.

You have to a lot to learn and you'll never learn it all; such as:
1) What to scrap,
2) What to tear down for higher value at the yard.
3) What yards pay (better for certain items).
4) What you can resell.
5) What you can refurbish.
6) How you refurbish it.

Now take the above points and factor in your time into all that on the occasions when you're really busy to decide whether or not it's really worth it. For instance, Vacuum cleaners? Bagless are an easy resell for 10-15 bucks on Craigslist. You can cut the cord for 80 cents, and take the electric motor out with a hammer or hatchet for another quick dollar (more like 60 cents). If you drag your feet while taking one apart, you've effectively made 2 bucks in 15 minutes, which is making 8 bucks an hour. McDonald's employees work less for the same pay. Want to make the most of your time? Find a yard that accepts Vacuums, test them at home when you get them, if they're good then resell, if they're not; cut the cord, toss them aside until you get a load to haul in. It took me the better part of a year to get that down. Now apply the same logic to everything you pick up on the job and you inadvertently become a walking encyclopedia of scrap, resells, and refurbs.

That's just the hauling and cleaning aspect of the job. That's what I consider the easy part. It gets much more complicated when you factor in taxes, advertising, dealing with clients, the unpleasant social stigma of the job, the ever fluctuating metal market, competition, and the fact that you can't sue yourself if you get hurt on the job... It seems daunting and it can be overwhelming at times, however, you need to realize that this is a career that offers you complete freedom and independence and becoming adept at this job will aid in becoming a person you never thought you could be and give you a sense of pride and self worth you never thought possible. I can run a business, design a website, put a new transmission in my truck, build a computer, fix a washing machine, and bench press 300lbs. What's my point? Scrapping taught me all the above.


How you solve your problems, your work ethic, your tools and materials, and your connections. When it comes to possibilities, the sky is the limit, only you don't have a parachute. Do I regret my career choice? No, because I love what I do. If I died tomorrow, I wouldn't regret a single thing about my job, the people I've employed, the experiences I've had, or the knowledge I've gained. Somewhere during my last breath, I'd like to think a small part of me would be fulfilled enough to know that I made this life and this living for myself with my own two hands and I never once dared to look back.

So you ask, is full time scrapping really worth it? Hell yes it is. Just my 2 pennies.