Partnership Contract - Page 2

I think you'll want to slow down and look at the numbers.

First off, how much money is a box truck (Will depend on age and make of the truck, of course). Now, what's the registration, insurance, and upkeep costs?

Second, how much do you plan to make per tube? how much for a refrigerator? A windows A/C unit? A....

Now, how much stuff per month will you need to make a living?

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I'm on the refurbishing side of E-Waste, so my situation is a little different. If I sell 10,000 computers per month, and make $10 per computer profit, I'm making 100k per month, right? Not exactly- Microsoft Excel can make anyone a millionaire on paper. It cannot count for limitations. There is no way that I could process this much, or find buyers for that much. What's your limit? Realistically.

As for trucks, as my refurbishing division grows, it will need a truck... maybe. How large will it become? I don't know. So, I can go into debt $15k for a 24' box truck (The going rate out here for a good Ford or Chevrolet- Freightliners are even higher), or I can start with what I have: a 1/2 ton pickup truck.

I'm going for the latter. When I outgrow the F150 I have, I'll be making about $7000 per month in profit. I can easily buy a 3/4 ton truck at that point, or a box van. But, there will be no debt, and more importantly, I won't be purchasing equipment for a business that isn't happening yet. I've seen a lot of places go under for that reason.

With my refurbishing business, everything will be paid for by that division. I will not leech money from other sources, sucking the other parts of my business dry in hopes that this works. If refurbishing can sustain and grow itself with no external cash input, it's likely a sound and reliable business.

I think that's where you need to start. Get a cheap truck, start in your home, and make some money. Then, as it grows, foster that business into something larger.

Someday I may be driving a 24' box truck full of laptops. Best of all, I'll have paid cash for it, and I'll always be in the black. Will I get there? Who knows.

matador: "Plant the seed. The crop will grow at it's own rate."

Originally Posted by matador

I think you'll want to slow down and look at the numbers.

First off, how much money is a box truck (Will depend on age and make of the truck, of course). Now, what's the registration, insurance, and upkeep costs?

Second, how much do you plan to make per tube? how much for a refrigerator? A windows A/C unit? A....

Now, how much stuff per month will you need to make a living?

-----------------------

I'm on the refurbishing side of E-Waste, so my situation is a little different. If I sell 10,000 computers per month, and make $10 per computer profit, I'm making 100k per month, right? Not exactly- Microsoft Excel can make anyone a millionaire on paper. It cannot count for limitations. There is no way that I could process this much, or find buyers for that much. What's your limit? Realistically.

As for trucks, as my refurbishing division grows, it will need a truck... maybe. How large will it become? I don't know. So, I can go into debt $15k for a 24' box truck (The going rate out here for a good Ford or Chevrolet- Freightliners are even higher), or I can start with what I have: a 1/2 ton pickup truck.

I'm going for the latter. When I outgrow the F150 I have, I'll be making about $7000 per month in profit. I can easily buy a 3/4 ton truck at that point, or a box van. But, there will be no debt, and more importantly, I won't be purchasing equipment for a business that isn't happening yet. I've seen a lot of places go under for that reason.

With my refurbishing business, everything will be paid for by that division. I will not leech money from other sources, sucking the other parts of my business dry in hopes that this works. If refurbishing can sustain and grow itself with no external cash input, it's likely a sound and reliable business.

I think that's where you need to start. Get a cheap truck, start in your home, and make some money. Then, as it grows, foster that business into something larger.

Someday I may be driving a 24' box truck full of laptops. Best of all, I'll have paid cash for it, and I'll always be in the black. Will I get there? Who knows.

matador: "Plant the seed. The crop will grow at it's own rate."

I understand where you're coming from. I'm more on the dismantling side of things. I'm not actually able to make any money on tubes as they cost money to process correctly. If refrigerant is removed, I can make money on fridges and a/cs but I won't touch those items until I can get enough saved up for proper equipment. I feel like i'm in a series of catch 22s. I do have a truck I've been using but the bed's literally falling apart and after the last haul, my help and I agreed that we need some sort of lift-gate or something because the truck sits high for stock height(98 f150), but I also know lift-gates aren't cheap. That's when I came up with the idea for a box van(like an ex-uhaul van) they have the loading ramps on em to make loading appliances and electronics easier so no one busts a knuckle or gets hurt, but I know those aren't cheap either.

I also understand that from a certain point of view this whole thing is silly. Silly because everyone had to start somewhere and keep at it till something gave and silly that someone would even propose such a thing(probably what Junkfreak was talking about). I don't think it's silly - I take it very seriously and still feel that with a little bit of help, alot of good can be done.

-Matt

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

I'm going to give my opinion and take it for what it is worth.......Laws here may be diff but anyways..........Monitors are the absolute last thing I work on.........I work the re-sell first (separate it first).....Then on to the bulk scrap or towers whichever yields the least waste.......After that I work any items that may yield minimal waste but mid to high grade boards I can send to a buyer on the forum (Office Phones, Routers, ETC....).......The next item I usually work is the printers.....I buy a large amount of industrial printers and re-sell what I can the rest gets stripped for parts or scrap..........Eventually when and if I ever get this done I move onto CRT monitors.......I never want to do less than at least 15 at one time and by then something better usually comes up (Re-sell item gets a call off CL or something sells on EBAY)...........Anyways my point is this.......Monitors as a biz plan are a waste.........I do them because I can get rid of them but I currently have them in 3-4 diff locations piled up.......They are all stored out of sight or in unmarked storage buildings............Please re-consider your biz plan.........You have been talking about this for weeks and have collected 3 monitors..........I can drive around my neighborhood and collect that.......I don't even stop to get them as I have so many.............When I buy gov't surplus they give them to you for free by the pallet............I am far from the best scrapper here or the biggest money maker I know that but take it from someone that has literally torn down at least 10,000 monitors in the last five years it is not something you want to do............These numbers are not inflated as that is 5.75 monitors per day which is probably about right.............I had a partner for the first two years but the last three I have done every single one myself and moved them all by hand............PLEASE re-consider this............I wish you all the luck but I am going to try to figure out how to block this thread because I can't read it anymore.........Note I'm not blocking you Logan (my little son's name) just this insane thread about some company named Nu-Life (NOT EVEN A MEMBER).....and these CRT monitors

It is true the laws on monitors are different here then in TN. Up here people aren't putting them out at the curb or setting them outside or any of that is because of the E-Waste law that went into effect on the first(people seem to be forgetting this even happened). CRTs aren't my main business model by any means. I buy whole electronics based on what their going for on the market, scrap them down to their components, then sell them on ebay for projects or whatever. My issue with that lately is the soldering pot I ordered before Christmas hasn't arrived so I have boards in boxes ready to go but nowhere to go, and i'm starting to have an issue with ebay their failing to rectify so I'm on the hunt for a place to sell the components I have. I only even started accepting appliances from people because they wanted them gone but I've even restricted myself as to which appliances since I don't have the proper equipment for refrigerants. I've been hammering CRTs for the past few weeks because it became a hot topic and I thought I found the solution. Someone on here mentioned NuLife Glass to me as a processor for them and that's how I came to know who they are, what they do, what they charge, etc.. their process for seperating the lead from the glass is this country's answer if their willing to pay, but thanks for the kind words.

-Matt

I know your truck pains. When I first started recycling, the first thing I did was purchase this:


It's a 15' Box van. It was very similar to your U-Haul trucks. It's was a 1997 Ford E-350. It had the 5.4 Triton and the 4R100 transmission (Same setup as the 17' U-Hauls for sale). It was the largest piece of junk that I've ever owned. It was a Pennsylvania truck, so it was rusted out badly. I pulled it off the road for my own safety eventually. And, it was always broken.

But, that truck never worked. Every time I needed it, I ended up relying on the green Chevrolet pickup there. The box van was always broken. My $2000 truck had taken me for over $3000 in repairs when I finally sold it. This is how it was removed from our place:


Notice the tow strap. I ended up with a piece of junk that cost me way more money than it created (I was only able to drive it for 800 miles total). I ended up using a trailer we had on the farm, and I came up with this:


That photo was before I sold the van as parts. It's the same setup I have today. If your F150 has a strong enough frame, I'd look into a trailer. The rear is close to the ground, and they would work fine for appliances. It wasn't my first choice. But, it was the only thing that I could afford at the time. It works pretty well, so I still have it.

I'd do that if you can. If your business starts to grow, then I'd look into something else. I would skip a small box van, though. Mine was rated for 10,700# GVW, allowing for a maximum payload of 2900#. I have 3500# of stuff (Servers are tucked behind the TVs on the trailer) on the rig in the photo. The rig would do about 55MPH only, but that's not too bad for a Chevrolet with a 305.

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If you aren't making a profit on CRTs, they can't be your main focus at first. I do more refurbishing because I do better with it. I still do collection events, but I don't put much money into them. For me, the money isn't there. I've never been to New York, though. Things may be different there.

But, the refurbishing has to pay it's own way. I'm looking into a larger truck, but I won't be going in debt because of it.

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I wish the best for this. I'm glad that there are people who care about CRTs, and doing it right. I want that place to profit. I just don't think that a worn out $4000 truck that can only haul 3000# is the solution. It wasn't for me.

Right now, your volume is low. I'd set some money aside for a truck if you can, but I wouldn't spend it. When your business grows, you'll have a better grasp on the right truck. I jumped early, and it was by far the worst thing I've done. I just don't want to see you make the same mistake that I did.

Best of luck in your new business!

Originally Posted by matador

I know your truck pains. When I first started recycling, the first thing I did was purchase this:


It's a 15' Box van. It was very similar to your U-Haul trucks. It's was a 1997 Ford E-350. It had the 5.4 Triton and the 4R100 transmission (Same setup as the 17' U-Hauls for sale). It was the largest piece of junk that I've ever owned. It was a Pennsylvania truck, so it was rusted out badly. I pulled it off the road for my own safety eventually. And, it was always broken.

But, that truck never worked. Every time I needed it, I ended up relying on the green Chevrolet pickup there. The box van was always broken. My $2000 truck had taken me for over $3000 in repairs when I finally sold it. This is how it was removed from our place:


Notice the tow strap. I ended up with a piece of junk that cost me way more money than it created (I was only able to drive it for 800 miles total). I ended up using a trailer we had on the farm, and I came up with this:


That photo was before I sold the van as parts. It's the same setup I have today. If your F150 has a strong enough frame, I'd look into a trailer. The rear is close to the ground, and they would work fine for appliances. It wasn't my first choice. But, it was the only thing that I could afford at the time. It works pretty well, so I still have it.

I'd do that if you can. If your business starts to grow, then I'd look into something else. I would skip a small box van, though. Mine was rated for 10,700# GVW, allowing for a maximum payload of 2900#. I have 3500# of stuff (Servers are tucked behind the TVs on the trailer) on the rig in the photo. The rig would do about 55MPH only, but that's not too bad for a Chevrolet with a 305.

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If you aren't making a profit on CRTs, they can't be your main focus at first. I do more refurbishing because I do better with it. I still do collection events, but I don't put much money into them. For me, the money isn't there. I've never been to New York, though. Things may be different there.

But, the refurbishing has to pay it's own way. I'm looking into a larger truck, but I won't be going in debt because of it.

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I wish the best for this. I'm glad that there are people who care about CRTs, and doing it right. I want that place to profit. I just don't think that a worn out $4000 truck that can only haul 3000# is the solution. It wasn't for me.

Right now, your volume is low. I'd set some money aside for a truck if you can, but I wouldn't spend it. When your business grows, you'll have a better grasp on the right truck. I jumped early, and it was by far the worst thing I've done. I just don't want to see you make the same mistake that I did.

Best of luck in your new business!

I appreciate the encouragement from alot of you, it does help. The truck I use is a 98 f150 which was built in Canada and has over 280,000 mi on origional engine/trans but as I said, the bed's falling apart(it's the bed, frame's in really good shape).

If I gave the drivers side a good tug, i'm sure it'd come off, but I will say it did move us to TN and back without major issue(truck hates hills). Truck was suppose to go up on the lift today so I could see everything else it needs(I think something is binding somewhere when going into 4h, notice it more when turning) but NY issued a state of emergency for Fulton due to this storm. I really don't want a box van, I saw it as an option but I might look into some sort of ramps or something because if I'm up against any more new appliances I don't want to kill myself getting the things into the truck.

Your business plan doesn't make sense. I've never heard of any business starting out with a tax write off as their main objective. Go after the scrap that makes you money from the start. Save up for another truck or fix the one you got. Let Nu Life do their own promoting, unless they are willing to pay you to do so. I scrap for several reasons. But the main reason is profit! I have a place to drop my CRT glass and plastic for free. Even with that I make less on them than anything else,given the extra handling and fuel cost.This will be my last post on this thread. You either get it or you don't. Anyway good luck.

Is there a problem with CRT glass I am not aware of? I thought it was just glass. I figured it would need to be processed and that was why it was not really desirable to go to the landfill (even though decades of TV's have gone there).

The glass is leaded. Which, makes it considered hazardous by the EPA.

There are processing restrictions, and trucking restrictions (Especially if you cross state lines).

There was an electronics recycler in Cheyenne that dumped box truck loads of the stuff in a Colorado landfill. The EPA closed them down for it.

There's a reason that I won't touch CRTs anymore.

Originally Posted by logansryche

Never said it was my main business model if you bothered to read, but whatever. I was offering it as a sure fire way to know that this stuff doesn't end up in the landfill or foreign soil but since no one cares, I know where I stand on the matter.


-Matt

Matt,

I care very much about the proper disposal of CRTs. The reason I have been asking questions is for my business model. If I were to enter into an agreement or contract with you, i.e. helping you get this off the ground, I would need to be sure that your model was sustainable for the duration of our agreement. I can't go into something assuming that you will take my CRT tubes at no charge and then a few months later, find out that you are out of business or bankrupt.

Originally Posted by Longhairboy

Something to think about is how can you justify and show us that this is sustainable. How do you know you'll be able to get enough scrap to need all this?

I think by answering Thom below, I kind of answered your question.

Originally Posted by mthomasdev

Matt, I care very much about the proper disposal of CRTs. The reason I have been asking questions is for my business model. If I were to enter into an agreement or contract with you, i.e. helping you get this off the ground, I would need to be sure that your model was sustainable for the duration of our agreement. I can't go into something assuming that you will take my CRT tubes at no charge and then a few months later, find out that you are out of business or bankrupt.

I can understand that. After talking with the realtor on that building, I decided to base everything here at the house. This would bring overall costs down by not paying for a second building. Only thing I'm teetering on is wither to use the basement or build/have built a building on the property. Both cary their own sets of requirements, but to answer your question: since the house is paid for I don't foresee going out of business or bankrupt. Liverpool would have to pull some nasty stuff for that to happen.

-Matt