Page 3 of 11 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast
Results 41 to 60 of 216

Garage Sales; BOO-YA! - Page 3

| A Day in the Life of a Scrapper
  1. #41
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by DakotaRog View Post
    t00nces2- You rock!!! You should team up with a guy from my trapping forum named trappintime. Very different environments (he lives in very rural east-central Alberta) but you guys both make fantastic deals!!!



    I think your success on garage/rummage/yard sales comes from a variety of things, 1) you know the value of things and what you're looking for, 2) your live in an area that's past a certain threshold of population of having lots of stuff for sale. This doesn't explain trappintime's successes but he has a lot of "down time" from his main gig (spraying crops during the growing season) so I think he uses that time to find deals, 3) you live in an area where such sales happen nearly year around. During the cold months its mostly just the thrift stores for me although there are on-line rummage threads the whole year so maybe its more a matter of time for me to find more gems for re-selling. The 9-5 keeps the household running and that takes priority.

    Anyway, nice scores and keep on keeping on!!!
    I would have to say the most important thing is to put in the time. I go for probably 3 1/2 hours Sat morns and a couple hours Fri morn. I am not trying to say I'm something special, I really like to do the hunt. It is like they say, "if you can make a living doing something you love, you'll never work a day in your life." I still have to work, but I do get to do something I love.

  2. The Following User Says Thank You to t00nces2 for This Post:



  3. #42
    junkisus's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jan 2012
    Location
    NC mtns
    Posts
    30
    Thanks
    90
    Thanked 39 Times in 15 Posts
    Sometimes those handles and feet are pewter.

  4. #43
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by junkisus View Post
    Sometimes those handles and feet are pewter.
    They probably are. Any way to tell?

  5. #44
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    I picked up a few computer parts today. Boards, processors, RAM, HHD boards, cards that had all been taken out of the machines. Included in the box were four boards I suspect are old server boards or telecom boards. See what you think...



    I also got an ATT cellphone for $1... Going on ebay
    Olympus cameral for $3... ebay
    A vending machine dollar bill changer for $3... ebay
    As well as a really cool brass compass that went on a ship wheel (thet is what I was told it was from).
    Last edited by t00nces2; 04-10-2016 at 07:00 AM.

  6. The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by t00nces2:


  7. #45
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    Scored a beer bottle I think will be a winner. I only paid $1 for it.... I know, I overpaid. They see me coming. It is a Hull's Bock Beer bottle with the paper label. I put a start price of $29.99 and got a bid in a couple hours. My gut says I will get $70 or better.

    Sorry, forgot the pic...

    Last edited by t00nces2; 04-17-2016 at 08:09 AM.

  8. The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by t00nces2:


  9. #46
    DakotaRog's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Aug 2014
    Posts
    1,611
    Thanks
    602
    Thanked 1,675 Times in 830 Posts
    Man, I could use a percentage increase score like that about now!!

  10. The Following User Says Thank You to DakotaRog for This Post:


  11. #47
    eesakiwi's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Dec 2010
    Location
    NZ
    Posts
    2,531
    Thanks
    2,909
    Thanked 2,556 Times in 1,227 Posts
    Nice 'double Gold purple chip' there. I have never seen one before. Are they rare?

  12. #48
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by eesakiwi View Post
    Nice 'double Gold purple chip' there. I have never seen one before. Are they rare?
    I have no idea. I picked that up as a lot that had already been separated by the person I bought it from. I am not sure if they are server boards or what they are. They will be going shortly when I get a couple more boxes torn down.

    I also want to crow about a curbco battery charger I picked up. On my way home the other afternoonI drove by a NAPA Balkamp battery charger, Vintage look and good color, and works to boot. I listed it on eBay start 49.99 and it just got a bid!



    Always check to see what you can get outside of scrap!

  13. The Following User Says Thank You to t00nces2 for This Post:


  14. #49
    DakotaRog's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Aug 2014
    Posts
    1,611
    Thanks
    602
    Thanked 1,675 Times in 830 Posts
    Well, I got my itch scratched yesterday by doing my first run of Sat. rummages in my metro. No scores as nice as what t00nces2 usually finds but because I have a lower dink factor than most, I think it was worth my time.

    I hit about 15-20 sales, about a dozen or so listed on-line and another 5 drive bys, and because I'm not into contemporary home decor or clothes, most stuff gets passed by quick. I spent a total of $5.50 and had 2 freebies as well. Here's the breakdown:

    3 car parts/motor sports/sports teams baseball style hats 75 cents total. Clean them up a bit and sell them at our bedroom town city wide rummage is a few weeks time. We usually have Mexican construction workers come through and they like these types of hats, sell them for 75 cents to a buck a piece.

    I found a nice queen conch shell 9 inches long, 6 inches tall for 50 cents. It has some gold paint splattered on the back that I can probably gently scratch off. These go for between $8-15+ on ebay. The same place had a Westbend bread maker that I bought for $3. I've done ok selling the pans and paddles if they're in good shape on ebay but it can be hit and miss depending on what you paid for the machine. I typically scrap the rest. And finally at this place they had a free single-sink resin vanity top with faucet. Heavy beast getting it into my trunk. I'll take the whole thing into Habitat for Humanity Reuse place and get a $20 tax credit for charity for next years taxes.

    I had made arrangements with a guy on craigslist to pick up some computer parts he wanted to get rid of so it was in the middle of my rummage run so picked those up. He had an Antec fusion black Quiet Media Center Case w/ 430 watt Ultra Quiet Power Supply. I don't know if this thing has anything besides scrap value to it but it was free. He also had a Scythe Ninja mini CPU cooler (see pixs below) that I think he used but still looks like its in good shape. Maybe I'll ask $6+ on ebay for it and see what happens. Probably better than scrap value.

    My final purchase was 2 Franklin Covey leather bound organizational pieces for $1.25 total, one a small zippered attache case, another one smaller hand held case. They're in good shape although they might have come from a smoking household, that smell seems to be in the leather. Probably obsolete stuff, especially the phone contact zippered case because everyone has all their stuff on smart phones nowadays but maybe someone will like them for whatever reason. If I could get $6-10 for them total, I'd be happy.

    So maybe I will make $20-30 for me for 2 1/2 hours running around town and $20 for the wifey in next years tax return. My 30+ miles are recorded for my taxes. Happy rummaging!!!



    Last edited by DakotaRog; 04-24-2016 at 08:50 AM.

  15. The Following User Says Thank You to DakotaRog for This Post:


  16. #50
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by DakotaRog View Post
    Well, I got my itch scratched yesterday by doing my first run of Sat. rummages in my metro. No scores as nice as what t00nces2 usually finds but because I have a lower dink factor than most, I think it was worth my time.

    I hit about 15-20 sales, about a dozen or so listed on-line and another 5 drive bys, and because I'm not into contemporary home decor or clothes, most stuff gets passed by quick. I spent a total of $5.50 and had 2 freebies as well. Here's the breakdown:

    3 car parts/motor sports/sports teams baseball style hats 75 cents total. Clean them up a bit and sell them at our bedroom town city wide rummage is a few weeks time. We usually have Mexican construction workers come through and they like these types of hats, sell them for 75 cents to a buck a piece.

    I found a nice queen conch shell 9 inches long, 6 inches tall for 50 cents. It has some gold paint splattered on the back that I can probably gently scratch off. These go for between $8-15+ on ebay. The same place had a Westbend bread maker that I bought for $3. I've done ok selling the pans and paddles if they're in good shape on ebay but it can be hit and miss depending on what you paid for the machine. I typically scrap the rest. And finally at this place they had a free single-sink resin vanity top with faucet. Heavy beast getting it into my trunk. I'll take the whole thing into Habitat for Humanity Reuse place and get a $20 tax credit for charity for next years taxes.

    I had made arrangements with a guy on craigslist to pick up some computer parts he wanted to get rid of so it was in the middle of my rummage run so picked those up. He had an Antec fusion black Quiet Media Center Case w/ 430 watt Ultra Quiet Power Supply. I don't know if this thing has anything besides scrap value to it but it was free. He also had a Scythe Ninja mini CPU cooler (see pixs below) that I think he used but still looks like its in good shape. Maybe I'll ask $6+ on ebay for it and see what happens. Probably better than scrap value.

    My final purchase was 2 Franklin Covey leather bound organizational pieces for $1.25 total, one a small zippered attache case, another one smaller hand held case. They're in good shape although they might have come from a smoking household, that smell seems to be in the leather. Probably obsolete stuff, especially the phone contact zippered case because everyone has all their stuff on smart phones nowadays but maybe someone will like them for whatever reason. If I could get $6-10 for them total, I'd be happy.

    So maybe I will make $20-30 for me for 2 1/2 hours running around town and $20 for the wifey in next years tax return. My 30+ miles are recorded for my taxes. Happy rummaging!!!



    Nice scores. Anything you can flip to make a buck. I will have to keep my eye out for a conch shell. Here in FL, good chance to pick one up for change.

    A quick update on the beer bottle, it wound up going for $117.50. Not bad for a buck on a bottle I had no idea about.

  17. The Following User Says Thank You to t00nces2 for This Post:


  18. #51
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Jacksonville, NC
    Posts
    4,917
    Thanks
    15,632
    Thanked 5,861 Times in 2,713 Posts
    My harry daughter has several conch shells in her toy box. I'm not sure why she likes them so much.

    IMG_3717.JPG


    Hopefully I can get the photo over here soon.


    Last edited by miked; 04-24-2016 at 12:51 PM.
    "Profit begins when you buy NOT when you sell." {quote passed down to me from a wise man}

    Now go beat the copper out of something, Miked

  19. #52
    DakotaRog's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Aug 2014
    Posts
    1,611
    Thanks
    602
    Thanked 1,675 Times in 830 Posts
    Update: the queen conch shell went for $10.50 on ebay so I think a nice return on my 50 cent purchase.

    We had bedroom town's "city-wide rummage" this past week (Thurs. & Friday are the big days, starts petering out by Sat, afternoon). Overall, we did great considering our largest sales were $70 and $65 for some old tables, lots of $2-5 items. The SiL & wifey did most of the work and made most of the money but I still pocketed just under $200 moving stuff that didn't sell on ebay or from last year's curbside shopping (the $65 old table was mine). I didn't take any time off of work like I usually do so only went to about 15 places in a couple of half hour jaunts and only bought 1 bag of old spice tins to try and sell.

    New rules in the garage laid down by wifey. I can't have a "net" addition of stuff waiting around to be processed. I basically agree with her that my space in the back of the 3rd stall will look nicer without stuff piled up for me to get to when I have time but she still doesn't understand that a guy can't run in every week to drop off 2 lbs. of this, a 1 pound of that etc. Anyway, I'll try to make it work for domestic "bliss".

    I cruised around bedroom town Fri. night and all I saw were old tvs and Christmas trees. I don't mind medium to smaller tvs because I still have a way to get rid of the tubes but I'm not busting my back anymore on larger ones, the scrap yields don't rise in proportion to the weight. My metro hasn't gotten to the point yet where people can make any money charging for to get rid of big tvs for other people because the people still have the option of getting rid of them for free if they can get them into a vehicle.

    This morning I ran a round between 7-8 and got a smaller car load of stuff. Nothing spectacular but enough to be me occupied for a bit. I was surprised how dirty inside that flat screen tv was when I took it apart. It had been outside for a while...



    Last edited by DakotaRog; 05-08-2016 at 01:36 PM.

  20. The Following User Says Thank You to DakotaRog for This Post:


  21. #53
    jimicrk's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Sep 2013
    Location
    Tennessee
    Posts
    2,825
    Thanks
    2,917
    Thanked 4,838 Times in 1,877 Posts
    I remember the day me and my wife sat down with the contractor to look at some plans on the house we were having built.

    We agreed on the house but she didn't see the need for an attached garage but I did.

    She said we didn't need it but I got MY garage. A big 2 car garage that was made a little bigger because that's what I wanted.

    I told her I would let her park her car in it but the garage was mine.

    25 years later and she will comment about something in it and I jokingly remind her that it's still my garage.

  22. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by jimicrk:


  23. #54
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    I went out this weekend with my uncle. We had a great day together.He had a bit of trouble with his eye and they wound up doing a temporal biopsy. Everything was fine and there is no problem. There was nothing super, but a bunch of stuff that will wind up being cha ching in the garage sale purse. A bunch of brass, a few extension cords, a socket set for the new shop (SAE and Metric... $1). The best part of the day was being able to spend time with my uncle. We went out saling and the wife and I had dinner with he and my aunt. The older I get, the more I enjoy the time spent with those I love.

  24. The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by t00nces2:


  25. #55
    DakotaRog's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Aug 2014
    Posts
    1,611
    Thanks
    602
    Thanked 1,675 Times in 830 Posts
    Some freebie (well, one cost me 50 cents) ewaste items I found while out rummaging on Sat. The one I paid 50 cents for was the Interex power controller emi/rfi filter model pc-0061 pi). I had never seen one before. All electronics are checked out for activity on ebay before I scrap them. I could have had another 3-4 crts but I don't want to overwhelm my ability to get rid of them or the wifey's tolerance of how many are in the garage at one time.


  26. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by DakotaRog:


  27. #56
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    A couple weeks ago I picked up 8? 9? laptops for $10. Thus far I have put the power supply to five and determined they will start, POST, but no load because of HDD issues or start file corruption. I have sold two and have two more posted on the bay.

    I woke the next one up (a newer Dell) and it went to a battery incompatibility warning, so I F1 continued and it had a fault with the startup file. It have a Vista sticker on it so I stuck my Dell Vista disk in it to see if I could do a repair. Well, it told me it could not repair the OS because it was 7 and the Vista disk fixed the start issue. I ran my password cracker and viola! It is a great computer... lighted keys, 400GB HDD, premium sound, 6GB RAM. It actually smokes the laptop I regularly use. I think I will work on moving over to the new laptop and retire my old Compaq. It was such a win I bought a battery for it... and I still have three more computers to sell on the bay or scrap.

  28. #57
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Jacksonville, NC
    Posts
    4,917
    Thanks
    15,632
    Thanked 5,861 Times in 2,713 Posts
    I revived an ASUS laptop with dog damaged battery and power supply. Also the hard drive was BAD. So with Windows 8 coa embedded in the motherboard it was awakened upgraded for free to win 8.1 then to win 10. Great laptop for a little money and a few hours of updating. For me its entertaining so it keeps me going. When I run low on project computers I can go back to yard sales they do work. Mike

    ps: how did i learn how to do all of this? read read read the old threads. Mike

  29. #58
    t00nces2 started this thread.
    t00nces2's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Sarasota, FL
    Posts
    1,693
    Thanks
    1,187
    Thanked 2,341 Times in 958 Posts
    Well, it has been a rough couple weeks. Since the post I made regarding garage saling with my uncle Rich he was diagnosed with lung cancer on June 3rd and after a rough 7 weeks, passed away Wednesday this week, July 20. He was the most honorable gentleman, my friend and was the dad for me here in Florida.

    Thursday, I took a trip to the scrap yard. My uncle would sometimes go with me, but after a trip, I would stop by to have a beer with Rich and show him my ticket for what I had and what I got. It was tough holding the ticket he would never see. Friday morning I drove around and went to a few sales. As I drove, I would pass houses and think of the day Rich bought that here, or the day I bought that with him there. They are all good memories and bring a smile and sadness. Today I will go with my cousin Jen (his daughter who is down from N.Y.). She used to go to sales with her dad, too.

    Anyway,the hard part watching him struggle is over. Now time will have to pass to take the edge off the loss. I was looking back at the post where I talked about the day with my uncle and how I mentioned spending time with those I loved and how the affirmation of out relationship was there in black and white. What are the chances, but what a timely tribute that I am very glad I wrote.

    Enjoythe time you have with those you love and let them know how you feel. You never know when the words "I love you" will be the last words you will say to the person.

    Please don't say that you are sorry for my loss, tell me to enjoy my day.

  30. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by t00nces2:


  31. #59
    DakotaRog's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Aug 2014
    Posts
    1,611
    Thanks
    602
    Thanked 1,675 Times in 830 Posts
    t00nces2- Go and ENJOY your day, Uncle Rich would have wanted you to do so!

    I had an Uncle Rich(ard) as well. Wiry, small build German farmer. He won a Bronze Star in WWII which he never talked about until he opened up to my brother after bro came back from Iraq. I'm down to my dad's youngest brother as the last sibling of that family alive, along with 3 aunts by marriage. Yep, treasure the time a person has with the older crowd because they keep getting older as well.

    Take care and hug your cousin bunches before she leaves town.

  32. #60
    HoustonJunkCarBuyer's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Jul 2016
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    15
    Thanks
    37
    Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by t00nces2 View Post
    Well, it has been a rough couple weeks. Since the post I made regarding garage saling with my uncle Rich he was diagnosed with lung cancer on June 3rd and after a rough 7 weeks, passed away Wednesday this week, July 20. He was the most honorable gentleman, my friend and was the dad for me here in Florida.

    Thursday, I took a trip to the scrap yard. My uncle would sometimes go with me, but after a trip, I would stop by to have a beer with Rich and show him my ticket for what I had and what I got. It was tough holding the ticket he would never see. Friday morning I drove around and went to a few sales. As I drove, I would pass houses and think of the day Rich bought that here, or the day I bought that with him there. They are all good memories and bring a smile and sadness. Today I will go with my cousin Jen (his daughter who is down from N.Y.). She used to go to sales with her dad, too.

    Anyway,the hard part watching him struggle is over. Now time will have to pass to take the edge off the loss. I was looking back at the post where I talked about the day with my uncle and how I mentioned spending time with those I loved and how the affirmation of out relationship was there in black and white. What are the chances, but what a timely tribute that I am very glad I wrote.

    Enjoythe time you have with those you love and let them know how you feel. You never know when the words "I love you" will be the last words you will say to the person.

    Please don't say that you are sorry for my loss, tell me to enjoy my day.
    I go to "shopping" to remember my Grandmother. (Granny called yard selling, shopping.) This is some of the best times I had with her. The years have gone by and I live in another part of the city but every once in a while I pass by a house we went to together. Always makes me happy and I feel like my Granny is with me! I know how you feel and enjoy your day!


  33. Similar threads on the Scrap Metal Forum

    1. Ebay sales
      By GeorgeB in forum Off Topic Discussions
      Replies: 10
      Last Post: 05-19-2013, 02:40 PM
    2. garage sales today
      By Ecycle Atlanta in forum A Day in the Life of a Scrapper
      Replies: 3
      Last Post: 09-14-2012, 11:20 PM
    3. Boo! Did ya miss me?
      By Julie in forum Off Topic Discussions
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 05-25-2012, 11:31 AM
    4. First time advertising at garage sales
      By Hypoman in forum A Day in the Life of a Scrapper
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 05-12-2012, 11:58 PM

Page 3 of 11 FirstFirst 12345 ... LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook