Given the market, why are the newest scrappers even bothering? - Page 2

I'm fairly new to scrapping. I began roughly two years ago focusing almost exclusively on E-waste. For me it is both an interesting hobby, as well as a means of making some money on the side. I work in IT so getting access to junk computers and electronics was easy, and my department was more than happy to have me clear out their ever lessening storage space. I imagine most members on this forum have other income streams besides scrapping, but that's just my guess. Cheers!

I've always looked for and focused on sold more then scrap value items, over straight scrap items, but never turned down the opportunity to pick up free metal when it was $210 a ton here. Over the last year the only thing that has changed is I am getting rid of any shred items and keeping some non-ferrous until prices start to rebound. I can afford to wait 1-2 years frankly if that's what it takes, because my 90% of my profits are from better then scrap value items. Someone just starting to scrap could still do so profitably, if they focused on resale items, or they were willing to put forth the effort to acquire as much scrap as possible and have a steady supply. It's all a matter of your circumstances and what you're willing to put into it.

Like so many before me have said, it's all about resale value.

I can spend 30 minutes fixing a fridge and make $75

The other day, I bought a 1999 Ford Ranger 4x4 for $300 not running. I stuck an alternator on it and sold it for 3500 yesterday.

If you're practical, mechanically minded, and have a little business sense along with some social skills, you can make it in this business. If you don't possess one of those qualities, then, in times like these, you may have to switch careers.

Let me go off to the side for a minute.

Social skills are everything in the world of business. Are you the type of person that everyone loves, or do you have an endless supply of "haters?" Do you have an abrasive personality or do people gravitate towards you? If you have good social skills, you will make it in most business endeavors.

It's a shame that we, as Americans, have become so sheltered and so babied that when something goes wrong with a piece, we throw it away, when it could be a perfectly good item, with a little bit of money and time.

Originally Posted by SteelMill

It's a shame that we, as Americans, have become so sheltered and so babied that when something goes wrong with a piece, we throw it away, when it could be a perfectly good item, with a little bit of money and time.

I say DITTO..I find washer and dryers and repair them..it can be easy sometimes and sometimes not..if not and to expensive to fix it goes to the shred

well the state has to spend all their money every or they do not get as much next year so they waste a literal metric tons of good usable items so they can get new trinkets next year .

We are no paid no more for shred in france and belgium, you can unload it at the scrap-yard but you don't get paid, i think there will be a lot scrappers who will stop their hobby...

$33 a ton today for sheet iron sucks and sucks again!

Well little scrap drop off point (honey hole) has closed down.
The guy who owns the property, he fenced off a area and put up a sign 5 odd years ago saying. [Free drop off point for cars, no household rubbish]

Right at that point he and everyone else realised they could make good money scrapping out cars.
So he hardly got any cars, but he got metal, roofing metal, fridges, stoves, washing mc's and mucho other metal, and then CRT TV's...

I got onto it and made a deal, I take nonferrous, give him my ferrous everything, keep a eye on the area, dissuade thiefs.
He had another guy with a deal too, he brought washing MCs for $20, fixed them up, sold em, $ for family, good.

But, the ferrous price dropped, he was selling his stuff as 'shred'. We don't normally get that deal here in NZ. But his ferrous is contaminated a bit and he gets tons of it, volume counts.
But a couple of months ago the price dropped again, so he got the scrap dealers to pick it up rather than do it himself.
But, well they don"'t need the metal and too much rubbish was being dropped off.

So he has closed it.

On the other hand, I have a car now. I know I can fix flat screen TVs. I have half a ton of escrap to sort and sell. I need time to work on my house. I have a lot of #2 Copper to clean down, $500 odd. I have no debts. And very little overhead$. And its comming into summer now...

I figure, clean up the escrap, sell it. Clean up my nonferrous, sell it. Make a car trailer, I have enough parts, I relise now, to do it. Even the number plates. Advertise for metal and escrap, flatscreens, see how that goes. There's no place to drop scrapmetal off to now.
Work on the house during summer. Finish it off. Get a paying tenant to cover all my bills. And then look for work, in town or out of town.

Fixing shipping containers looks like fun. Get some hours under my belt and some paperwork cleared and its a job in any major city in the world.

Because of the shifting NZ$, only Ferrous metal has really dropped in price. Nonferrous has dropped, but by, say, 15-20%. Its not that bad really.

But Ferrous has dropped right down to nothing for light metal, HMS is very low too @ US$70-$100 a ton.
With petrol being US$5+ a gallon here... That overhead can be a game killer.

I will also be able to concentrate on ' selling for more $' the stuff I have found and put aside, on our version of eBay. That will be interesting, I have never sold anything on it before. And I have lots of stuff to sell...

This is a great time for someone to start scrapping. ( I have not been drinking)(yet)... Ask yourself what was or is the hardest part of starting up a new business ? Money!!!! When we started Urban E Recycling 3 and half years ago Gold was at 1800 Silver was at 48 and copper was hovering around 3.50 and shred was .11lb. Sounds great except we didn't have money to buy material with. I purposely avoided customers I knew I couldn't buy from yet because of that, so we had to set up a business model that worked around that point. As we developed cash flow I was able to get more aggressive on the buying side but it took time.

Now with prices so low it takes much less to buy and you can make the same margin as you did before perhaps even more. If you are never going to buy scrap then because so many have decided to "drop out" there is so much more volume out there which will more than make up for the loss of high prices. BTW gas is down over 2 dollars from the good old days also so factor that in to your CR<V=NP That is cost ratio lower than value equals net profit. ( I completely made that up and it doesn't really make much sense but it makes me look smarter than I am )

In all seriousness though, this is a great time for someone to get into the business if they are willing to commit to it,work hard and be patient. Feel free to contact me about start up experiences or just to tell me im a idiot . Good luck and sincere wishes for a happy safe and prosperous 2016 everyone