Say i was driving and saw a bunch of old rusting metal sitting outside someones house, would it be wise to ask them if i could haul it away for them for free and drop them a business card? Has anyone had luck with this?
Experienced Scrapper
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Say i was driving and saw a bunch of old rusting metal sitting outside someones house, would it be wise to ask them if i could haul it away for them for free and drop them a business card? Has anyone had luck with this?
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It would be wise, but put a little twist too it like "I was wondering if you needed someone to get that stuff outta your hair....." Make it seem like you are doing them a favor.
New Guy
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It works! My bf and I have been looking around as we go here and there for houses with junk metal outside. We've stopped and asked a couple people and finally got one. It'll be about 3 truck loads. We're picking the first load up Friday and have to schedule another day for the rest. The guy said he has to sort through everything to find out what he wants to get rid of and what he wants to keep.
Experienced Scrapper
When I see dumpsters in the driveway I usually take a look at whats in it and if theres metal , I knock on the door and ask if I can take what I can get and promise not to make a mess of any kind... Also if I see stuff from the road in their yard that looks like junk I don't mind knocking on the door to ask... as a matter of fact I have a house I'm going to knock at Monday.. they have a weight bench, some barbells as well as some weights over by their pails behind the fence... going to see if they will let me take it... should be a few hundred pounds easy !
Knuckle Head Scrapper
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This is a very good topic. I haven't approached anyone yet, but there is a LOT of rusted metal visible from the road where I live and I have been pondering the best approach. Keep the experiences coming! A big thanks for posting!
I drive around with my GF. She goes up and flashes a cute smile and asks if they want the stuff hualed off. We found a swamp cooler driving the alleys the other day. I saw he had a trailer, asked if he wanted to get rid of it. He said he wanted what he put in to it and that was $60 he had paid for gas to go get it. It never hurts to ask the worse they can say is no.
Experienced Scrapper
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Thanks for all the feedback guys, I think i will go out tomorrow and ask some people. I live in a pretty rural area but there are alot of houses with huge piles of old farm equipment thats just been rusting and sitting in the same spot for years. I'm talking a few thousand pounds of metal at some of these houses just laying there waiting to be taken.
Experienced Scrapper
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Where i live several people doing this has been shot and shot at so they can do alot more then just say no lolOriginally Posted by j&jscrap
Get outtta here you scrapper
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The teritory you are in requires different tactics. You will have the grateful and you will have the old farmer that will not budge because that old piece of crap out there has a piston that can quickly be replaced in the tractor that he is driving now if there was a problem.
Does not hurt to ask. It can not hurt to build a relationship for further down the road.
Last edited by parrothead; 03-06-2011 at 11:57 AM.
Experienced Scrapper
Me and some buds in my area have a lot of luck with this in fact its how we get most of our scrap..... one has a lot of luck riding his dirtbike down the railroad tracks to look for scrap in farms and backyards. we rode down an old long deaend road lfew weeks ago and pulled 2 truckloads off the side of the road then found an old farm at the end with a massive pile righe driveway knocked on the door... turns out its owned by a retired doctor whos trying to clean the place up he was going to bury the steel!!!. he gave us a quick tour of the farm theres atleast 30 tons of steel junk dumped all over the place and he has buildings hes paying us to tear down were gonna be there a long time
Last edited by decjr2006; 03-05-2011 at 11:47 PM.
Experienced Scrapper
Also a gas powered cut~off saw with a metal cutting blade is nice to have when getting scrap this way cus you never know what kind of heavy equipment your going to run into
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Knocked at a door yesterday at a house that had a small dumpster in front of it with a gas stove sitting beside it, i got the gas stove and asked if they minded me dumpster diving for any other metal, got the green light and low and behold, in that treasure chest was all the old copper water lines from the house...thought this was pretty cool considering i get embarressed asking for the junk...not anymore...hahaha
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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Free is nice and happens to me sometimes. BUT. try offering to at least "Buy them dinner" by slipping them a little something. It makes for GOOD relationships that will pay off in the long run!! Cheap advertisement !
Good Luck!
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a little off topic but tomorrow on my way to the yard im going to stop at my local pathmark (going out of business in april) so i know the manager and im going to have a nice convo with him regarding the shelves and other misc scrap as to what they will be doing with it when the close the store, wish me luck!!! hopefully i get the gig that would be SWEEET!
Experienced Scrapper
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Old story.....When I was younger a buddy and I used to drive around our hometown and look for scrap. We would stop at various houses and businesses and ask if we could haul away their scrap...At the time we concentrated only on aluminum and copper because tin was bringing only 1/2 cent per pound...I think we were getting .35 for aluminum...Amazing how high the prices have gone...Anyway, we stopped at one house that had some huge aluminum windows sitting back by the garage...We were stoked when the guy said we could have them....We went back and grabbed one and started walking towards the truck when the guy asked if we were building a greenhouse or garage with them...My buddy said no we are scrapping them...That was obviously the wrong move because the guy told us to put it back and leave.
Experienced Scrapper
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this is what ive been doing. bought a 82 ford f150 off an old lady for $100, and just scored some thick copper wire by a torn down house. all by asking. sometimes im nervous as hell to do it, but i suck it up and usually it pays off. but the worst they can say is no, right?
also like said above, i try my hardest to keep "scrap" out of my mouth. i usually try and say im looking for something to work on, and being 17 people usually treat me nicer then a 42 year old looking to make a living. but also, im trying to get my name out there that i scrap metal. i was thinking about making flyers and put them up at the local stores??? and business cards
Last edited by vamped400; 03-15-2011 at 07:58 PM.
New Guy
I agree totally, the people have the stuff there for a reason, they are keeping it or don't know how to get rid of it. So you will tell them you will help them get rid of it 'cause you don't know hy anyone would want that junk in their yard- right.
timscrap2
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
I have my business name on the side of my truck as well as a website set up. I advertise on local boards and get a lot of referrals when I give them a card to show their friends.
I also try not to use the word "Scrap" I say either junk metal or call myself a "Metal Recycler" on my business card.
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I'm pretty new to this...but thought I would share. I live in a rural community with thousands of farms/farm-like places, with many of them having obvious scrap on their property or in an open shed. Anyway, I finally decided to pull over and ask one that looked like an absolute honey hole. After talking with the lady who answered (the wife), she said that her husband has been sitting on it with the intention to eventually trade it all in....but she's been on his ass about it because he's not taking any action. I could see the conversation, while pleasant, was quickly about to end, when I spoke up and said that I'd be glad to haul it all off and offer a percentage of the revenue. Her mood changed completely (in a good way), and I offered her a business card. She was going to talk to her husband about it and get back with me.
So I mean who would turn that down? I think it's a win-win for each party. I do all the work, and they get a little payout. I mean seriously, it changed the conversation into one of interest on her part.
Anyway, I also hit a few other places that had TONS of scrap, and they were VERY welcome and pleased to talk to me. Generally speaking, folks around here are nice (there are always exceptions, I know), but I scored some majorly hot leads that I expect will turn into a phone call or two within the next week or so.
So yeah, get out there and scout and talk to people! I know it's not easy if you get nervous about it...but you're seriously doing a lot of these folks a huge favor. It seems easy to us, but keep in mind: to them it could be a logistical nightmare to figure out how to haul everything, especially the older folks.
Lots of "pie" to be had out there - go get your slice!
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