Newbies First Day Results

Not the best time to get into the game with metal prices down and gas prices going up but I am sure you will appreciate when the price goes up if you stick to it. To be honest if you are ready have more bad days like the first day then hang in there this is a tough job. I am a newbie still at about a year of doing this full time and have made so many mistakes but keep doing it. My day starts at 1 sometimes and goes into the evening sometimes i I start in the morning I go 12 hours but got to pace myself. Look in every dumpster check any construction areas look for aluminum, brass. copper and other light metals that's where the money is right now. I don't bother with metal for now except what I take apart fans. lights. heater. microwaves, CPUs etc. Good luck and look for a part time job to fill your 12-5. LOL

I scrap part time and have read a lot of the forum tips, but the two most productive and lucrative things I have come across is:
1. Like everyone else said Network, Network, Network... I have a handy-man carpenter that gives me 5 gallon buckets of stuff left over from old jobs, he has supplied me with old furnaces, rusty nails, copper wire hinges, etc., one lady brings me aluminum cans and 3 miles of electric fence rope that I am not sure what I am going to do with, but I didn't have to spend time or money to go get and she gave me a bunch of old brass canteen lids.
2. The other one is to hit yard sales late day when they are really trying hard to get rid of stuff. Last weekend I bought for $2: a truck toolbox filled with some rusty old tools, 2 working cordless drills, router, and 200 feet of heavy duty extension cord that looked like my Dad had been using to power his lawn mower (he got tired of flipping the cord, would just run it over).

We've started small. The wife works as a cook, she's been bringing home #10 cans for a month or so now. Keeps them in a garbage can in the sun porch. She also saves the food cans we use. We rent so we can't go too big. We save soda cans. I get the occasional pick up from craigslist and side job tossed to me by friends who don't bother with it. There are so many scrappers here and I'm so new to it that I couldn't do it more than part time. I'm not sure how to go about networking. I'm pretty new to the community. I have been tearing down a mobile home for a friend which has netted me some aluminum, copper wiring, and some beams. Beside the trailer are 2 sheds and a carport of sorts made out of 16ft beams. I haven't torn it down yet, but will soon.

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I'm not sure how to go about networking. I'm pretty new to the community.

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Start by making up some home made business cards with who you are and what you do, what your scrapping.
Then start handing them out to everyone you meet and know (family-friends), Go to yard sales and hand them a card, their easy to approach cause their already out in their yard. That's the beginning of networking.
People know people and they talk.
http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...ess-cards.html

If the carport is yours..don't tear it down, use it for your breakdowns, an storage. Drop 20 bucks on some blue tarps, an cover it up, an clean up after yourself. I rent, in a tourist town no less, an do exactly this. Granted I'm not in a trailer, but still same concept. As another has said in pas threads on this subject..Out of sight out of mind. You also have the option to budget some funds for a small storage unit, an upgrade as funds allow. Also get you some totes, or whatever works for what your breaking. Several totes, for your coppers, alum, etc if broken down small enough isn't gonna get you kicked out if you have it properly stored an covered.

Edit : On the tarps, I'm saying to cover the stuff your breaking down..not the carport..lol. Figured I should clarify..

Just some ideas. Don't use renting as an excuse to not do it. Find away around it, that won't get you in trouble. I must say..I've never found a trailer park with a HOA...heh. Unless it was a 55+ park. An again..out of sight..out of mind.

Sirscrapalot - Tarps an totes can be your best friend

And like Sir was talking about, We had one of our members that was running a pretty good sized business (escrap) right out of 2 big storage units with a pallet jack. He did pick-ups and sales and breakdowns right there. I noticed right close by that our units have a electric plug-ins about every 3rd unit, nothing an extension cord wouldn't cure. That way there's nothing stored at your trailer.

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/day-l...ny-update.html

It's not a real carport, just didn't have another explanation. It's I beams, cinder blocks, and sheets of tin cobbled together to make a very tall shelter of sorts. It's on the property I'm clearing. As for the trailer park, let me elaborate. I can't leave trash cans in front of the house or my kids' Powerwheels and bikes. Their playhouse and swing set must be out of sight. No flower beds, gardens, or digging of any type. Satellite dish was installed with owners present to oversee digging. No watering the lawn, swimming pools, sprinklers, washing your car, or car repairs that can't be done within an hour. No dogs outside without a leash, no tie outs allowed. Lawns mowed once weekly no matter how little growth occurs. My yard has deep cracks in it, but hey, let's not water it! Let's let it die! I hate where I live, but I'm stuck for now.

I have a 16ft car hauler that I'm not allowed to keep in my driveway... 2 vehicle maximum. The owners are older and very strict. There are only like 5 of the 20ish tenants here that are under age 30