Hi Glen, well you know a girl can't give up all her secrets
. Best advice I could give to someone wanting to get into the surplus equipment biz is find some cheap storage, buy it cheap and stack it deep is the motto. And if you are in Texas keep in mind that if you have over 20K in business assets/inventory (scrap metal counts too) you are supposed to do inventory every year and send it to the county so they can tax you on it, and they have no problem taxing you on the same scrap every year, and if you do not file they can send you to prison
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Never, ever, EVER scrap something without doing the research to figure out what it is, and what its worth. I got my start in 1990 working for a military surplus buyer, went solo in 92' because he went to prison. But looking at millions of pounds of stuff daily, and researching it nightly, got me where I am today. I still don't know everything, but any time I see something that I cannot figure out I research it, and its shloads easier with the internet.
My main market is new/unused industrial parts and used/tested parts if they are pricey new, yet there is also a market for industrial antiques. I don't ever want to hear of any of you guys scrapping old flywheel engines, there is a market for all of them. #1 mistake I see of scrappers selling old engines is that they want to fix/paint them so they look purdy, but the guys who collect do not want them fixed, they want the project of restoring them, and they worry about non-expert fixes, so they will not bid as high if its been fiddled with. Here is a prime example of something most scrappers would have scrapped, no I did not bid on it, but I'd love to find one
Vintage Stationary Inverted Tangye Gas Engine RARE Find Collectors Must See | eBay
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