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Not finding much lately. Making about $50 per week doing trash picking. Instead of scrapping the items I find, would I be getting more money if I just turned in the items I find whole - to the scrap yard?
Do people leave more scrap in their trash during the summer than in the spring?
I killed out scrapping in February of all months and then it slowed a bit but I've been pretty busy again every week so far. This year seems weird for me, some weeks are so busy I can't keep up hardly and some are duds. Used to be like a steady stream every week but now its either BAM!! or go home lol.
Couple of things happening in the scrap business these days. Because of the economy this forum and the number of scrappers has at least doubled if not more in the last two years also people are not throwing away things like they used to because they can't afford new stuff.
Problem:
1. total volume of scrap is down.
2. scrap price is down.
3. competition is up.
4. some haven't recovered from winter yet. I'm in Florida, and, they had 2 inches of snow 60 miles north of me last night.
Solutions:
1. expand your scrap area. When the grass gets thin open another pasture.
2. look for additional types of scrap.
3. break down your scrap and increase your income.
I own a junk removal business here in Alabama and the same thing is happening to us this year. This time last year we were running wide open and this year things have been very slow for us. We don't just haul scrap metal, we haul just about anything our customers need gone. People are just not throwing away as much stuff as they used to. Plus around here a lot of people are without work and scrap metal seems to be the go to thing.
Over all it's competition - and how you can compete - if I had a 4 banger Chev pickup
I 'll be finding it any place I can.
A V8 pickup I find less But more large bulky items .
Curb hunting can dry up at times and thats just
simple logic . Eventually people will settle down and get some use out of there purchases .
By all means finding 5 tv's 10 vacuums and some mix per week
is not gonna make scrapping worth it .
some how EACH DAY you need go out empty and come home full .
Olddude, I also noticed that (and I cover 8 cities) I pick things up in cycles. The first year I scrapped for example I think I picked up 80% of everyones old grills it seems. Now, those aren't as plentiful in the first area I scrapped in before I expanded. So when I do that nights route in that city I know I'm not going to be getting as many of those as I used to. Same with fridges, those items last longer and won't be available again for a while.
It's also the competition like you said. When I started 5 years ago, it was only myself and one other truck and maybe a second every once in a while. Now, its myself and like 5 or 6 other trucks out or more! I used to load my truck up 2 or 3 times a night in one city, now I'm lucky to get one full load and maybe another if I go out again at night and in the morning before the garbage truck gets there.
bigfoot, depending on the items you pick up, IMO, its still more profitable to break things down if they contain copper/brass/aluminum because in the long run your turn ins will yield higher returns.
Competition has caused me to make more runs but also try and time it where I'm there first. Of course, someone else will also be thinking the same thing lol. I've also made many contacts and eventually you might also which helps.