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Yahoo news ran a story about a 6 figure IT guy that makes $200.000 extra a year (so he says) dumpster diving at retail stores.
I hate these type stories because of how they effect us. i.e. catalytic converters, electronic scrap and metal scrapping. The effect can only be a negative effect. People with no common sense thinking they are going to get rich, and super increased restrictions on DD.
Olddude,
have a look at this post....
Its another SMF thread--I just vented my spleen on the same subject. Steam is still comin' outta my ears.
Jon.
EDIT: Maybe bad choice of words about the steam....I'm pissed about the news article, NOT at Olddude!!
Sorry for any misunderstanding!!
J.--- checking his grade 6 grammer school notes and checking for a fire extinguisher!!
somebody needs to do a story where they expose this idiot for the liar he is
and make it clear to anyone who watches that scrapping is hard work & even though we sometimes find good stuff, nobody actually makes that kind of money
I'm an open-minded person so let's attempt to analize the situation. This guy spends nights driving across Austin diving. It's entirely possible he's kept tabs on which dumpsters yield the most and only go after those. If the content is high end gear, it's entirely possible he's pulling $2500 a night. The only bad thing I see about the whole thing was that he shared it with the world so now scrappers in Austin will be paying attention to him and getting his high yield instead of him so his profits go down.
He not only cut his own throat but probably every one else too. No common sense.
It is well known that employee thieves often use dumpsters to steal.
The Yahoo title is a bit misleading. The article is taken from a Wired magazine article which you can read here: Wired...
It's actually a pretty interesting article. Definitely worth a read.
Here's my take - if the city I lived in and surrounding cites DON"T let hard up people dumpster dive for old food items, I'm supposed to believe these store actually throw out this kind of stuff? And someone can profit? Pfft.. something smells fishy here. And WTH would he ADVERTISE this???????
publicity... the root of all evil
Read the Wired article, it explains everything he's doing and what he's finding and what he's doing with it.Quote:
Originally Posted by newattitude
It seems like a lot of the stuff he grabs your run of the mill dumpster diver would give a second glance at.
And as someone in the comments thread of the article responded, while yeah, it might motivate others to start digging through dumpsters, the upside is there's then less waste going to the dump.
I suppose $2,500 is possible. My single largest net was just over $600 from one dumpster. Lot of times it's $0. Sometimes it's $200 to $300.
As for more competition. Maybe, for a period. But if they're anything like the people that sign up and want to be spoon fed info, they won't last long. What, are we gonna go diving for them?
Quote:
Originally Posted by logansryche
I think its most likely he just wanted the attention and made up the story or stretched the truth. Mike
Who knows...Quote:
Originally Posted by miked
I read the wired article--missed the reference to it when reading the first article.
Still not sure what this dude is doing that the SMF crew AREN'T doing to make the big money. Someone suggested that he's pulling stuff that us great unwashed wouldn't look at twice. I wouldn't be so sure on that...didn't read any examples in the article of stuff that the collective "WE" wouldn't think to grab.
I cringed at the veiled implications behind the assertion that most scrappers are working class people "who carry a ton of personal baggage". The example was a guy who screwed up his life to the point where he had to scrap to live and did meth for a bit. So they set the tone at who your scrapper competition is. Hmmm... we've got all kinds on SMF...guys like the star of the article (in the IT game) and others that cut across all walks of life.
So I don't think we are all joe lunchkit with PTSD and worried about aliens landing as the article implies. I resent that implication that I'm a f*ckup because I like to chase scrap.
The other thing I noticed is that it seemed that he didn't seem to care about permissions to get into dumpsters. Just dived in. He DID chase the store dumpsters and the occasional industrial dumpster, and watched out for large roll-offs appearing at stores. (watching for large roll-offs appearing is probably a good hint for us.)
Didn't sound like he dismantled much for maximizing scrap returns, instead, looking to resell for better than scrap. Do many of our guys use Amazon for reselling?
I suppose another hint from this is that driving a "nice" vehicle (I assume his avalanche was also a late model) and probably dressed decently helped keep the security and cops from hassling him much.
The major takeaway I got from this is that retail store dumpsters have a lot of new stuff in them that is ripe for the taking. It sounded like all you have to do is cruise the malls.
I'm still not sure that it all adds up. If cherry picking mall retail dumpsters is so lucrative, we all would be doing it right across North America...wouldn't we?
I'm not in an area where I can check this out for myself. Would anyone who does have experience chasing these dumpsters care to comment?
Jon.
Dumpsters for scrap is one thing , But major stores seem to have sealed compressor dumpsters , wall-mart - Target - Cole's - Sam's
I don't know a huge amount about retail, but here is what I do know. Let's just say that this guy does find this stuff on more than one occasion, there are two possible reasons for it. First, if the store has an inventory to do, anything that does not show up on its computer inventory but is sitting on the shelf can make for an accounting PITA. So, to avoid problems, stores will first try to sell them for ridiculously low prices just to move them out (I have picked up lots of stuff at Lowes for a penny or two) and if that does not work, they will toss them in the dumpster rather than have to try and account for them. Often this will happen if something is returned after it has been discontinued. The other scenario is when an item I s discontinued and discounted, the remaining items have to be pulled from the shelves and returned to the manufacturer who gives credit to the retailer. Well, these days shipping costs more then the item is worth, so the manufacturer will simply give the refund with the directive for the store to field destroy the item. The store can no longer sell these items (would be stealing) so again, into the dumpster they go.
The thing is, this could account for a certain number of great finds, but there is no way it would be constant and continuous. I thing the guy just had some good nights (as we all have) and has extrapolated the entire year based upon that. It is just not realistic and will not happen. Why he would shoot himself in the foot by telling the story is beyond me, unless he is really just trying to pay it forward. Still, I am suspicious...
I see a book in the making
"How to make $2,500 a day from trash"
That's my thinking, he's factoring in the amount he's going to make on his future fiction book "Dumpster Diving for Dollars", one of those "Self help Books", that help some, but mostly help the authors. I will say, I have made some money from dumpsters, none of them from retail stores.
Funny I check dumpsters every single day, retail, apartment complexes, commercial, repair shops, and have yet to make 2500.00 in one day. A lot of the stuff i find gets used by me or my family. There is a lot of good stuff that gets thrown out and i do ok selling things at the local weekend flea market that i do find and can't use but wow. I must be doing something completely wrong. Every single dumpster I check I have asked permission and been given the ok after i explain to them how it saves them money by not having to have their dumpster emptied as often and offer to sign something stating that if I am hurt it is my responsibility not theirs. If i am told no i leave my number with them and tell them that if they need anything hauled off in the future to give me a call. Usually within a month or so they end up calling me for a pick up. This method has worked great for me but not 2500.00 a day great
I expect something like that to become more common, either sealed or gated and locked. Lost revenue won't be ignored forever by businesses with shrinking profits.Quote:
Originally Posted by Copper Head
I've looked in a few, but climbing in is easier than climbing out. A scrap pool ladder would be a useful tool.
According to the article, the gentleman in question is not dumpster diving for scrap at all. See when scrappers dumpster dive we typically hit up residential complexes. This man is almost exclusively diving into the dumpsters of commercial retail dumpsters and finding "allegedly" brand new or returned/clearanced items that are still very functional or in need of minor refurbishing.
Quote:
Later, in the dumpster at yet another Office Depot, Malone finds a brand-new office chair with a claim slip indicating that some parts are missing. When he returns to his office and looks up the serial number on the Internet, he will discover that the chair—which retails for $339—is only missing a pair of washers. “I’ll probably sell it on Amazon for half of what Office Depot charges,” he says, “but that’s still $170” for what he estimates to be a total of 20 minutes of work.
That's one example. However, I believe he is describing a time long past. Nearly every Retailer in Urban Florida, or at least Tampa, that I know of are using enclosed compactors. Not to mention he admits to trespassing, although not outright, in many of the enclosed fenced off dumpsters or those with no trespassing warnings. His rationale is:
Quote:
Trespassing, however, is a different story. If you dig into a dumpster on private property—one that’s up against the side of a building, within a fenced enclosure, or marked “No Trespassing,” for example—you could get ticketed or even arrested. In Matt Malone’s experience this is uncommon: “I’ve never even had a cop ask me for ID.” Most police couldn’t care less about dumpster diving, Malone says, “though I have encountered a couple of cops who did care about what I was finding. I usually give them something, and it makes them really happy.” A few municipalities have passed ordinances against dumpster diving that have not yet been tested in federal court. Malone encourages divers to follow what he calls the Move Along Rule: If a store employee, security guard, or police officer tells you to “move along,” you should—without arguing or trying to explain the law to them. —R.S.
So in regards to the claim of his fortunes in dumpster diving, the dollar amount is very feasible, but he breaks the law many times that is typically ignored by many officers. Of course we can see how him giving the cops something to make them happy can easily be interpreted as a bribe.
If you find stuff like that in dumpsters around here, someone has a crooked employee.
Has happened more than once and that's how they got bagged. caught red handed pulling items out with the tags still on them.
If I come across such a score I leave it be.
No real chain stores here (yet) with orders from management to purge, just local owned and operated and tossing inventory does not happen.
Protect Ya Neck;)