Switching gears a bit

Decided it was time to start targeting some of the local scrappers in my area. After some research i figure that i can beat most of the local yards pricing on ewaste. I started with a few cl ads in the wanted section and snuck in a few in the free section. As of today I have made contact and bought towers from two scrappers and have meetings set up with two others to buy towers and boards. I also met with a guy who works for an IT company that is able to take what he removes during his jobs. He usually resells after fixing them but said that if i am willing to come to him and save him a trip to the scrap yard, then he will sell all the stuff he cant use to me at my prices. the next taget group I want to get to are the computer repair shops. I am hoping that by offering to pickup and saving them a trip to the yard might be enough to get them to talk to me. BTW I would like to thank Geiser for the inspiration. Not looking to go as big as he wants to be, but just looking to get a steady stream of stuff coming in.

I have seen in other posts that people have had lots of luck with trading good parts for junk parts when dealing with repair shops. Good way to make a friend, or even just sell the good stuff cheap, make them happy, get more than scrap, save some gas.

craigslist has been dry here latley, i keep putting out ads and everyone wants me to come pick up and pay for 2 computers. So i tell them to wait till they get more stuff then contact me again. Ill pay cash or trade or whatever needs to happen but its not worth driving around town picking up small lots. Im thinking about setting up a flat $10 pickup fee that would be taken out of the scrap value plus a certain amount for longer drives.

I always take fuel and time cost off the top on pick ups. No matter if its 10 or 100 computers

I dont mind making the drive if its a reasonable distance. My rationale is you never know who or what you may come across. Every person i meet is a possible whale or knows one that they dont have the resources to make a deal with. The IT guy i met may be my foot in the door to a place that is looking to get rid of a server system or multiple towers that they are replacing. If he cant move large quantiy then he calls me. I pick it up for free since it was going to get trashed anyway and cut him a finders fee.

I get location and quantity before taking price, and my ads state that travel and quantity are factored into my pricing

Update..the scrapper i am mtg tomorrow texted me saying he picked up 18 complete towers this afternoon and that they are mine if i want them too...may have to think about this one:cool:

Well almost 4 weeks since I started my CL campaign targeting local scrappers here. As of today I have 3 scrappers who are within 10 miles of me who are supplying me with a steady flow of towers and other ewaste. The IT guy that answered my ad has a load ready for me to get this weekend. I have a thrift shop owner that has agreed to sell me all her ewaste that she cannot get rid of. I have a pick up scheduled with a computer repair shop for a few towers and they want to go over pricing for motherboards and laptops that they say are taking up space. One of the scrappers that has become a regular pick up has passed my name and number to his cousin who works for another IT company. I have a nice stack of 25 p3,p4 and dual core laptops in the garage that have to be sent to one of the buyers here. My pile of harddrives is growing steadily as well as 4 milkcrates of floppy/dvd drives that have to be broken down and starting tomorrow I have a friends son who will be working for me on an as needed basis when I need an extra set of hands breaking stuff down.

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Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

I dont mind making the drive if its a reasonable distance. My rationale is you never know who or what you may come across. Every person i meet is a possible whale or knows one that they dont have the resources to make a deal with. The IT guy i met may be my foot in the door to a place that is looking to get rid of a server system or multiple towers that they are replacing. If he cant move large quantiy then he calls me. I pick it up for free since it was going to get trashed anyway and cut him a finders fee.

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Yes, possible, but have you ever crunched numbers for whales vs. time wasters? Just curious.

Thanks for the update BC.

If I'm not doing anything and I get a call for just a single tower I will typically make the trip even if I simply break even. I might burn an hour of my time to make $0 but like others said, it can pay off. People often get the "selling" itch after making a sale and call their buddies to see what they might have laying around. I can guarantee you if that person comes across any more ewaste he is going to call you.

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Originally Posted by BurlyGuys

Yes, possible, but have you ever crunched numbers for whales vs. time wasters? Just curious.

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No I havent but as of today I havent been skunked when i went to pick up some ewaste. They have always had what they said they did and a few times by asking the right questions they had more than what they thought they did. I try to speak to people who answer my ads before I decide if i will take the trip and try to get a feel if its worth it or not. I ask for a name and contact number when they respond or I dont get back to them.

Cool deal! BC :)

Brasscatcher, congrats. sounds like your well on your way to a good year. Keep up the good work.

Good going, sounds like your well on your way to establishing yourself in your area. I have been working that same routine in my own area started off small now looking to expand. In my state electronics aren't supposed to leave a transfer station but i have 3 of them in my back pocket:cool:. You may want to look into making good with some guys from your local transfer station. they have a constant flow of computers coming in.

CT...neighbor works for town sanitation and they are allowed to seperate wires and metals and take them. They use what they get for their Christmas party at end of year. Spoke to him yesterday and said he would grab all the towers he can get and drop off to me once a week if I wold make a small donation to their fund. To bucks per tower as long as it has a mobo in it is the deal we made.

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Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

CT...neighbor works for town sanitation and they are allowed to seperate wires and metals and take them. They use what they get for their Christmas party at end of year. Spoke to him yesterday and said he would grab all the towers he can get and drop off to me once a week if I wold make a small donation to their fund. To bucks per tower as long as it has a mobo in it is the deal we made.

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Guys around here cut all of the wires and motors out of the stuff they get and stick it in a milk large crate on the steps of the trucks. They stick the larger stuff (Pots and pans, etc.) behind the packer blade. Maybe I need to talk to the trash guys around here about their towers? :confused: I really need to talk to them about it, maybe the whole trash company!

My neighbor does the same thing, cuts wires and they take the towers and it goes in with the rest of the trash. He said they only take the easy stuff to bring to the scrap yard. He said they only get 2 a day but will throw them on the side for me and drop them once a week. If your trash guys can take what they want, they are probably turning them in with lt steel and getting crap for them. 10 a week for $20 bucks ill do the rest of the year:cool:

It's amazing what people throw away, even the garbage man before he knows what things are worth. For years my Dad left computers in the trash, and myriads of other kinds of scrap. It wasn't until the last couple years that we even had an outlet for more of the obscure scrap that we came across, as soon as we learned though... "The hunt was on" haha.

That's a sweet deal! I'm giving my guys the usual $5 per tower. Which for them is all profit but leaves plenty of meat on the bone for me:).

Another idea, I Got my foot in the door at the local yard buying all their cd/dvd drives .18/lb(which is more than they get for light iron) and reselling them the shred. We all have to start somewhere. Hope it leads me to the promise land!