How to obtain a ton?

Hey all, as of this year I started scrapping. a friend of mine has been doing this for a couple years now and almost always makes double what he makes at his full time job.
Any ways, I have been making countless trips to the local scrap yard i was recommended, and honestly have yet to come home with over $100.00.
I've sort of gotten an eye as far as the "amount" I need to bring back to at least get my gas money, but truthfully I feel I'm wasting time.
So, my question is pretty simple.. How have you obtained a ton? Is it "easy" to do? Can it be done in a reasonable amount of time? What should I mainly look for?
Pretty much, any advice, or stories on how much you made from what is what I'm looking for.

First..pop on over to the introduction section, an introduce yourself. :) We like to know a little bout folks, and all that jazz.

Far as your questions, I suggest grabbing a comfy chair, sitting back an doing a lot of reading. The answers you seek are here, but up to you to do the footwork. Plenty of tips, tricks and advice abound. Just go where your interest is..whether it be car, electronic waste, regular metal, etc. There is a topic for each section an even one for the odd ball things like..cardboard/paper, plastic, etc.

Good luck to ya!

Sirscrapalot - What was the guy thinking who named a Bluejay a bluejay? Was he just like.."Hey it's blue an it reminds me of my cousin Jay!"

Quote:

---

Sirscrapalot - What was the guy thinking who named a Bluejay a bluejay? Was he just like.."Hey it's blue an it reminds me of my cousin Jay!"

---

Or maybe when he looked at it, it reminded him of Jay Lenno,,,

LOL...Mech..sometimes your crazier then I am.


Sirscrapalot - Thanks to Mech now has a new site to go to for crazy taglines.

like I've said to people I talk to, finding it is the hardest part, generally bigger items weigh more (some are just bulky) so keep your eye out for them but don't forget the little stuff adds up quick. for someone like me who does this as a serious hobby getting a ton at one time is tough, besides cars I think I've picked up a ton once from one person.

It's like any other business as well, it does not happen over night. It takes time,work and patience.

It's not for everyone either.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AvidAndAlive

So, my question is pretty simple.. How have you obtained a ton? Is it "easy" to do? Can it be done in a reasonable amount of time? What should I mainly look for?

---

Start with one pound, then add 1999 more. Presto! You've got a short ton. Easy, right?

Seriously, scrapping is real work, not a get-rich-quick scheme. The people who try to make it a get-rich-quick scheme are the ones who end up in jail. It's 99% hard work and 1% luck. Some days are home runs and some days are strike outs.

What's a "reasonable amount of time"? That's up to you.

What you should look for is anything that will make you money. Collect everything, sort it all out, sell it/take it to the yard, and then decide what is worth your time and what is not.


Read through this forum, it will be worth your time.

Everyone likes time travel.

You dont need a ton to make over $100 a trip.

A ton of...
Avg prices by me

#2 Cu $5400.00
#1 Ins $3180.00
Yellow Brass $3100.00
Cu/Al Raid $2440.00
#2 ins $2000.00
Al Rims $1300.00
Al Cans $1300.00
Al Ext $1240.00
Al MLC $1160.00
Stainless $1120.00
Al Cast $1100.00
Stainless $1120.00
Al Paint $1020.00
Dirty Al $540.00
Elect motors $460.00
Lead $400.00
Transmissions $300.00
Xmas lights $300.00
Auto Batt $280.00
Die Cast Zinc $260.00
Compressors $220.00
Sheet iron $172.00

A pound at a time adds up!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by AvidAndAlive

Any ways, I have been making countless trips to the local scrap yard i was recommended, and honestly have yet to come home with over $100

---

Not sure why you're asking about a ton. Don't know the answer to that anyway, but I might have some insights for that $100 mark...

The only times I've ever made more than $100 on a run was with a couple buckets & boxes in the trunk of my car. One bucket was #2 copper, one was brass, one had aluminum heat sinks. The boxes had wires and electric motors, and I think I had a loose car battery in there too. Another time it was dirty fin instead of the battery. I don't remember all the specifics but it wasn't nearly a ton.

I buy 95% of mine so putting together a ton is easy, getting 4 tons of it to fit on a car trailer and being fairly legal is the difficult part !

try??



Think
BIG!!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Scrap Master J

Everyone likes time travel.

---

I thought this was something only scrap room members knew about. How in the world did this information leak out?

double WHHHHHHHHHOOOOPPPPPSSSSSDDEDDDDDDDIIIDDDDOOOOOO

Obvisouly he traveled to the future, bought a membership, an then came back..Duh! ;)

Sirscrapalot - Glad to have fellow crazy person on the forums, welcome Scrapmaster J!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by greytruck

You dont need a ton to make over $100 a trip.

---

1 pound of scrap can bring over $100, i love escrap

I was talking with a re-marketer I purchase lab equipment from, he was complaining that about a quarter of his giant warehouse is filled with junk he can't use. I'm currently trying to set something up where I can truck it away to another company that will break it down for me, but a lot of it is just stainless steel and other metals, not electronics.

Point is, if you get in good with people who sell remarketed equipment, they always have junk, scrap etc laying around and are always producing it. Specially in this day and age. Remarketers often purchase entire businesses, or in the case of the one I mentioned above he purchases entire manufacturing lines, lab rooms, and businesses that are relocating in Silicon Valley.

An easy way to find remarketers near you, because they often do not advertise in the yellow pages, etc, is to go on ebay and change the search settings to look for people in your area. Then type in heavy equipment that you see scrapped on a regular basis, or other search terms like hospital equipment, etc. You will of course come up with pages and pages of stuff. Then you look for an ebay seller that has hundreds of items up for sale, this is most likely going to be a remarketer. Then email them and just simply as if they have anything they want hauled away. These individuals are usually pretty savvy, and are most likely going to want something for the material so be prepared, but still, you never know. It's just another place to find scrap, and most of it is fairly higher grade.

I'm going to show an example of what I am talking about, here:

All I did initially was type "fume hood" as my search string because I know from experience that people who sell used fume hoods, are usually also buying and selling other lab equipment. This is what I come up with:

fume hood | eBay

The first one on that page is a 4 ft fume hood, so I look at that posting, I have no idea yet who is near me I am just making a point in this:

Hamilton 4 ft Fume Hood | eBay

Then I check their items for sale and get this:

alternativelaboratorysolutions | eBay

So now I know this person is a player, they are buying and selling equipment and more likely than not, have scrap laying around that needs to be removed.

But still I haven't found someone close by, so now I change my search from "best match" to "Distance nearest first" and come up with this:

fume hood | eBay

A few down I find this company, and check the items they are selling and see there are a lot, so this is a potential source for scrap, it looks like he's moving a lot of material, on a regular basis, his ebay rating is good. So this is someone who I might call if I were looking for scrap. Their facility is 60 miles from me which isn't too bad.

Anyway, just another way to find high grade scrap, hope this helps.

Scott

Stockpile, stock pile, stock pile, go about your normal day when you see metal ask if you can have it through it in your truck and then throw it in your scrap pile. Look for appliances. Appliances add up quick. I usually take a load when I have about 10-15 appliances.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by taterjuice

I buy 95% of mine so putting together a ton is easy, getting 4 tons of it to fit on a car trailer and being fairly legal is the difficult part !

---

fairly legal lol, but your right :)

no getting 8 tons to fit and be legal is hard 4 takes practice

You need to advertise, I remember calling trading time, a buy and sell radio show my small town has every day looking for scrap. Yes there would be dry spells but then again sometimes I'd have so much metal I almost couldn't handle it. Offer to pay, who doesn't like free money? That's what you paying them is, free money to them. Have you tried CL?

Are you breaking things down and how are you separating?

My first trip was 10 pounds of copper pipe I asked the plumber to leave from a job on my house. I think I got $28 as copper#2. Knowing what I know now, I could have spent a few minutes cutting off the solder joints and cleaned the pipes to get $32 as #1. Small and simple example, but multiplied over years you can get more money for the same scrap.

you have to know where to look .... like others have said buy it if you have to

I find charging to remove scrap and what some would call trash I make the initial fee, then sort, scrap and resell. Some people fell they get a better service if they pay for it.

I get literally tons of metal from dumpster diving. But the dumpsters im diving into are legal for me to do so. Make sure you get permission first or check local laws on that.