People have no clue what it takes to haul their stuff

I get calls all the time to haul away scrap. Snowbird season is the busiest. This morning for example a lady texted me saying she had a large load of scrap metal. I wrote back telling her that scrap prices are really low and unless she basically had tonnage it was not worth my time. She responded telling me what she had which consisted of old patio chairs and chain link fencing and some other stuff. Maybe a couple hundred pounds. She was not to far from my home but when I declined she wrote me back and was mad. She went on to tell me all about what the city wants to haul the stuff away and since I had an ad looking for scrap to haul for free she felt I was obligated to haul her stuff. She black balled two of my Craigslist ads and got them removed. People amaze me and have no clue what it takes and costs to haul their stuff for free. I had tried to charge a fee early on but in my area every illegal alien out there hauls scrap. I have scaled way back on my hauling and dropped the Craigslist ads. Just not worth it right now. I just haul for three regulars. One loads me up with about a thousand pounds or more each time. The others are aprtment complexes.-****(Guess I should have been more specific. My CL ads are very specific with load limits. What I will and will not pick up and most of all my pick up area even providing streets that surround my area. I even list what I get for scrap steel. All people see is free. They do not read the ads. It was suggested by a member to charge half of what the city charges. Tried that. Like when I tried to charge a fee. It did not happen).

Not totally disagreeing with you...but...was your ad specific about any requirements/limits? Can't blame a customer for not knowing what it costs you to remove stuff if you are advertising.

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Originally Posted by Repurposer

I get calls all the time to haul away scrap. Snowbird season is the busiest. This morning for example a lady texted me saying she had a large load of scrap metal. I wrote back telling her that scrap prices are really low and unless she basically had tonnage it was not worth my time. She responded telling me what she had which consisted of old patio chairs and chain link fencing and some other stuff. Maybe a couple hundred pounds. She was not to far from my home but when I declined she wrote me back and was mad. She went on to tell me all about what the city wants to haul the stuff away and since I had an ad looking for scrap to haul for free she felt I was obligated to haul her stuff. She black balled two of my Craigslist ads and got them removed. People amaze me and have no clue what it takes and costs to haul their stuff for free. I had tried to charge a fee early on but in my area every illegal alien out there hauls scrap. I have scaled way back on my hauling and dropped the Craigslist ads. Just not worth it right now. I just haul for three regulars. One loads me up with about a thousand pounds or more each time. The others are aprtment complexes.

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I understand your frustration, but she had no idea what your requirements are. Please give her some grace. Yes she was childish to blackball your ads.

She doesn't do it for a living. She has no idea what we go through to make it. She merely saw an ad to haul stuff away and she figured "oh, hey, I have stuff I need hauled away". Then she had a tantrum when you wouldn't do it. Personally I don't think you're in the wrong but I *do* see both sides. Maybe she was having a bad day. Maybe she is old/lonely and has no family to help her haul it away and then you wouldn't do it and it made her cranky. Who knows?!

Perhaps unwise business, but I still haul stuff for free. I more than make it up elsewhere. In fact I've gotten really nice leads from "dead end" loads. It's rare, but it happens. Who knows. Maybe her son/daughter/nephew/niece/whatever is some big wig at a company and could've landed you some sweet deals.


Who knows what lies around the corner. That's what makes life interesting.

Now I'm just prattling on. :)

Tell her that you can do it for 1/2 of what the city wanted to charge her.

Yes. Very detailed with specific cross streets in my area and what I will and will not haul and what a minimum load is. For example I won't go any where except maybe next door for a dishwasher or water heater. I even went as far as to state what scrap steel actually pays per pound. I actually have people wanting me to buy their scrap.

My ads are very specific with cross streets in my area. What I will and will not haul and I have minimum load limits. I even tell people what scrap steel pays per pound trying to explian my reasons for a pick up area and for being so picky about what I will and will not pick up. Yes i go out of my way to be specific but people do not even read the ad. All they see is free.

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Originally Posted by hobo finds

Tell her that you can do it for 1/2 of what the city wanted to charge her.

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Tried that. The city gets good money for special pick ups. People only see free.

When Hillary becomes president, the illegals will taking more of your business.

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Originally Posted by APA

When Hillary becomes president, the illegals will taking more of your business.

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No doubt but they are also in a large part responsible for the scams I feel the repprecussions for ever time I sell scrap. Cannot sell Cat converters, cannot sell more than a little copper wire or scrap an AC unit unless you can prove you have a business dealing with that very item.

Speaking of leads I had something interesting happen to me last month. I had a call from a lady who wanted a refrigerator hauled off. She was about a mile out of my area so I told her that. She then said what if I can get you some more pick ups making the trip worth it. She went on facebook to all her friends and said I would be there in the area picking up old scrap aplliances etc. I went with an empty trailer. 7 stops later my trailer was over flowing with stuff not just appliances. That was nice of her to do that. For doing so I told her if she needed anything hauled away just call me. Really smart on her part because she turned a problem for her in to a windfall for me. .

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Originally Posted by IdahoScrapper

I understand your frustration, but she had no idea what your requirements are. Please give her some grace. Yes she was childish to blackball your ads.

She doesn't do it for a living. She has no idea what we go through to make it. She merely saw an ad to haul stuff away and she figured "oh, hey, I have stuff I need hauled away". Then she had a tantrum when you wouldn't do it. Personally I don't think you're in the wrong but I *do* see both sides. Maybe she was having a bad day. Maybe she is old/lonely and has no family to help her haul it away and then you wouldn't do it and it made her cranky. Who knows?!

Perhaps unwise business, but I still haul stuff for free. I more than make it up elsewhere. In fact I've gotten really nice leads from "dead end" loads. It's rare, but it happens. Who knows. Maybe her son/daughter/nephew/niece/whatever is some big wig at a company and could've landed you some sweet deals.


Who knows what lies around the corner. That's what makes life interesting.

Now I'm just prattling on. :)

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Repurposer- I don't live in your shoes and wouldn't expect you to cut everyone slack in your dealings but sometimes a little grace now and then goes a long ways. You might never know which one will lead to mighty things...

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6).

Not touching the political side...both sides would kill me. HA!

Anyhow...I agree with people have no clue what us Scrap Metal/Ewasters go through. ;) People swear up an down what we do is easy, cracks me up. They see my work shop or me moving stuff, etc etc an then it dawns on them...we actually work more then just picking up free **** off the curb. Doing this work..ewaste an regular scrapping...I've moved fridges, stoves, dryers, washers, water heaters, hundreds of computer towers full still, hundreds of monitors and tube tvs, big ass projection tvs, even bigger ass old school or reproduction wood console ones...tell me I don't work, or it's easy..lol.

I laugh straight to the bank, and cooler, an not give them the benefit of ruining my day. Life's to short.

I tried to say on topic..if I didn't I fully blame Jimi and Hobo. Dam goats.

Sirscrapalot - Yea..it's all peaches an cream.

Maybe your add had to much info and she has A.D.D.?

Imagine how I feel? No one wants to sell me a crate (1 ton)of spent casings as they say shipping will cost to much. But wont even give me a quote to deciede myself. AND im licenced to get it here in Australia.

Just add a caveat to your ads that unless the load is of a certain size, there will be a transportation and loading fee associated with the pick up. Tell them that if they bring the items to you and load it on your vehicle, the fees will be waived.

It's the same with computers and phone systems. People paid thousands of dollars for them years ago and they think they are still worth a lot to someone or they think there's a ton of gold in them. People ask me all the time how much am I going to pay them for their old computers and phone systems. I tell them nothing, how much are you going to pay me to haul it off? I know a company that has a big phone system and I offered to haul it off but they are trying to sell it on ebay. I told them good luck with that, here's my number and give me a call when you change your mind.

If you're stuck doing the free pickups :

Is there some way to run things more efficiently ? Maybe schedule your small job pick ups for a certain day of the week and hit ten or fifteen stops along the most efficient route ? By the end of the day you might have a truck load of material.

to OP
so now u know better

be sure to word ur ads properly so EVERYTHING is clear
and let it be a lesson to all who read this.

we cant expect everyone, esp old ppl to know what life is like for us

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Originally Posted by t00nces2

Just add a caveat to your ads that unless the load is of a certain size, there will be a transportation and loading fee associated with the pick up. Tell them that if they bring the items to you and load it on your vehicle, the fees will be waived.

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Part of the problem with that is some people think they have a sizable load. Then you show up and see it could have been hauled away by a small child with a wagon.

I've had people describe what their "ton of stuff" is and it seems large enough to need to bring the truck and trailer, only to find out it would fit in a trunk.. Other times people are modest in describing what they have, so I come with too little to haul it away. Some are helpful to snap a few pics so I can see what I am dealing with. Others just move on to the next person.

Ain't that the truth. Had it happen both ways. I try to explain to people what that little pile is worth at 3 cents a pound but they won;'t hear it. They want me to drop what i am doing. Drive 5 miles for a hundred pounds of old lawn furniture and pissed when I won't. I flat will not make a drive to a pick up that is unknown anymore. People think they are doing me a favor giving me their old water heater that is worthless really except for when they leave a few brass fittings on it but they are basically worthless as well. During the summer I got a call from a lady who literally lives five blocks west of where I live. She said they had a pile of scrap and radiators they needed to get rid of. I have a dually truck with a 20 foot flat bed trailer. I can carry a lot but the load the lady said they had was way understated. I did get it all though. There were 7 brass radiators and at least ten aluminum ones plus transmission cores, rear axles, lots of scrap aluminum, at leest two 50 gallon drums full of aluminum cans and lots of scrap iron like brake rotors etc.

QUOTE=IdahoScrapper;272873]Part of the problem with that is some people think they have a sizable load. Then you show up and see it could have been hauled away by a small child with a wagon.

I've had people describe what their "ton of stuff" is and it seems large enough to need to bring the truck and trailer, only to find out it would fit in a trunk.. Other times people are modest in describing what they have, so I come with too little to haul it away. Some are helpful to snap a few pics so I can see what I am dealing with. Others just move on to the next person.[/QUOTE]

TMI (too much information) in your ad. Customers don't need to know what current scrap prices are unless you are competing for the aluminum can market. Better to describe your services and basic pricing. And maybe something like "call to find out if you qualify for a free pickup".

I have an VOA Home I pick up many things Unless it is a couch or a big CRT I never charge , I just like the stories and cookies !!

Sounds like a good idea. I have never charged however I have done pick ups for a fee. I hauled a 2000 gallon water tank to scrap for a lady who not only paid for my gas and time she gave me a bunch of really neat old road and advertisement signs plus about a hundred pounds of heavy aluminum angle. When I resume my ads I will re-word them using your suggestions. Might just work to help weed out the undesirables. The ones who get mad when I won't drop what I am doing and rush over to pick up their old worthless water heater. .

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Originally Posted by diesel1

TMI (too much information) in your ad. Customers don't need to know what current scrap prices are unless you are competing for the aluminum can market. Better to describe your services and basic pricing. And maybe something like "call to find out if you qualify for a free pickup".

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I run into the same "ton of stuff" people on occasion. I now ask them to text me pictures of it if they can of the stuff they have. It works for me most of the time . It also give me an idea of what equipment I need to pick up the "ton of stuff"
I still don't usually turn down anything if I have the time because I am always trying to cultivate new customers and you never know what the next load will bring.

Sometimes the occasion yields rewards far and beyond the initial purpose. For instance, I drove 50 miles pulling an empty 20 ft. trailer yesterday to take a load of bicycles across town to a scrapyard. The guy threw on a 4 cylinder motor to add to the load. It all yielded $17.25 of which I gave him $6.00. While at the yard, I collected a nice stainless steel bucket with a handle and some huge bolts that I'll give to a customer to use on his farm for hitchpins. Also saw a Murray riding mower at the yard which I need for steering parts and will have a chance to buy that.

Oh yes, my original purpose for travelling 50 miles was to bring home a load of crushed rock for my driveway and to take the wife to the chiropractor. Multitasking makes it work. How did I unload 2.74 ton of crushed rock? Kept driving the skidsteer on the trailer and taking loads off with the bucket until I got down to the last 100 lbs or so when the shovel and broom were necessary.

Did the wife help? No..........she just got a treatment. Remember ? :-/

https://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a...D720/ry%3D480/

Pulling with a Dodge Ram 1500....................traded my 2500 off to my son. :)

How's the business still going?