Partnering up?

Well it seems like a lot of auctions for E-Waste right now. The problem I am having is with larger lots of 40+ towers. Ive been lucky in the past getting the towers for $3-5 Each, but Im looking into getting bigger.

Financially, I just can not afford to bid on these larger lots. I can possibly push $250-$300 a week on bidding but then I have labor time to take them apart and turn around time shipping them in. In the end it seems I can only do one larger auction every 2 or so weeks without starving to death and I miss a lot more auctions.


Now if you were in my shoes would you look for a partner for financial help> And if so what would be the terms? I want to be the major player in my business making most of the decisions. I also dont want a partner using me to get the sources of my auctions and computer suppliers.

Any ideas?

steady as she goes. Keep doing what you're doing until you can afford doing more on your own ; )

I vote for working into it on your own, buy what you can when you can afford it. Expand your business when you can afford it.

Its said that a partnership is the only ship that won't sail. I am not against a partnership on an auction I would want to put in half the money and take half the towers and be done with the partnership. Of course you may just be training your newest competition by including someone else in your deals. Independence is very valuable to me. Best of luck and keep at it, Mike.

40 towers at $3 is 120.. If you cant afford that, id be looking for free stuff..
Just saying...

Now if you could get 400 towers for $1200, id assume maybe someone on here would split 50/50...

If I was in ur shoes n looking to borrow like $300, id ask a friend or family member...depends on ur situation I suppose

You are looking for an investor not a partner. Now that that is out of the way have you tried to get a small business loan?

Stay out of debt. Dont get a partner. Grow at a slow steady pace and do it with cash. I started scrapping here about 2 years ago and now I spend $1000 at the monthly auction. Not to mention all the money I pay the people here who send me stuff.

PTS said it well. Cash is the way to go. Personally i finance absolutely nothing. What I did with my scrap money was keep back 50% of all money that came from the scrap yard for future scrap purchases. As my profits go up so too does my buying power. If there was ever a profession where you needed an extremely detailed and planned out budget, it's scrappin'. Make sure you know where all of your profits are going, and keep a percentage from each sell for purchases, even if it had to start at 10% you'll do better if you put a value on it.

in my experience ive never enjoyed having a partner.ive tried it once back when auto bodys first hit 7.00 per hundred.(thought id be a millionaire in a year) i didnt mind sharing the profits at all.but it was having to consult someone else about big decisions i didnt like and also my partner was learning as we went and constantly wanted to try things i already knew from experience were not solid ideas.it just didnt work out.my final and last partnership was a good one.i had a neighbor who had several kids and was a single mom and needed extrta money.she ran a small local garbage route.i took her under my wing and eventually we split everything 50/50.i taught her every trick i knew.then i got called back to work so we went our seperate ways.so as someone stated earllier in this post i trained my competition.we are still good friends and sometimes we still do cars and trailor frames together,but we know alot of the same folks so she ghets alot of junk i would have gotton if id not have taught her.the great thing is since i started the e scrap i get all her electronics scrap. she is a guaranted truckload of tv,s , keyboards , towers,and satelitte boxes every week.all she asks is that i leave the cords there.she never asked me to but i bring her back all the shred from the towers and vcr,s and satelitte boxes that she gives me.i also started giving her my cans.i hate cans..anyhow long stoory short having a partner isnt for me at all.if i need help i get it from my wife or i pay a younger cousin to do it..it maY work good for you but id take the advice given earlier and just go slow and build up yourself,especialy if you just want an investor not a full partner

that is a very good point, training up your future competitor, that is why i would prefer an investor/banker over a partner

im not as experienced as most of u guys but this is my opinion:

most of the people who do this job are doing it because they want independence 7 flexibility

and if u partner with someone- then u wont be independent anymore

added to that is the possibility that ur new partner could work u out of the equation and do what you are doing all by himself

I pay out about 1500.00 a month here at our facility.. and I'm growing little by little.. dam.. I'm out of room.. Time for a bigger warehouse..

Keep it going.. Man.. You can do it on your own.. little at a time.. a penny save is a penny earned..

like smith Barney use to say.. You want Money You got to earn it the hard way.. WORK FOR IT.

must of you have heard my story ad-nasium so I won't tell it again. for you newer people, just suffice it to say from absolute 0 $ and no prospects to five Gaylords going to ewasted this week in a year and a half and, a contract for 400,000 lbs of servers this year, took only hard work a never give up attitude, what I have learned on this forurn, my good friends here, too many to be named, and a great buyer to do it.

that said I do take , on occasion, a financial partner, but only for that deal and it is strictly a money in and money out situation.

So much wisdom in this post, most of which I would've said if it hadn't been said already. Minus the last trailer i have bought all my equitment cash money. Two pickups, torch, sawzall, car trailer, chop saw, stock trailer to name a few. Owning all your equitment, ESP for a part timer like me, makes it easier to weather the dry or low priced times. Beleive me kinda wishing I hadn't bought the last trailer right now but I'll be glad when the price comes back around. Got it setup on a 18 month loan so payments are low enough it won't kill me. Minus stuff that's given to me or a cheap car here or there I don't plan on doing much til price comes back.

All of the above advice is great stuff and heed to it strongly.

Being able to have a one time investor for that one big deal may be something you need to do if that deal falls in your lap. I had that happen once and had to bring in a one time partner for a pretty big deal. He has lots of other stuff going on and has no great interest in getting in the e-cycle biz and he has a truck and trailer. I needed him for that one deal because it required both of our trucks and trailers. It had to be gone the next day. (killed me inside when we get there and the guy says that we have an extra day now, I could have done it alone had I known that.) Oh well. It all worked out and we made some big bucks.

With that being said and seeing your location, If you get a handle on a giant mother load, let me know. My brother-in-law is in that area, and would be willing to help out if I approved the deal. (hopefully) He has no interest in the computer stuff. He clears out households and resells with an inventory larger than you could imagine.

Ever heard of Colonel Chuck's auction in Monee? It is no longer open, but he is the son of Chuck and has his fingers in all of the resale and auctions in that area. So if something bigger than life pops up, give me a tell and we shall see if I can help you out with that.