Who else goes out on trash night?

[BurlyGuys]

Since moving to Florida getting junk removal jobs is slim pickings, which I believe is for two reasons: 1.) Curbside pickup takes ANYTHING here that you can get to the curb, and 2.) There are no basements here! Thank god my business in Michigan is going well!

As an experiment I was trash-picking the other night and scored three appliances, several vacuums, some aluminum and copper, some tv's I haven't decided if I want to break down, a couple of microwaves, a gas grill, and miscellaneous assorted metal items. I was stunned by how much was available, got a couple hundred bucks worth of stuff.



I am quickly getting over my perceived stigma of being a junk picker, but getting the wife over it is another story. :-)

Is this a profitable thing to you by you, or did I hit a lucky fluke?

I'll be going out again soon.

[BurlyGuys]

BTW saw a couple of tv's with the backs busted off as mentioned on other posts.

[PartTimeScrapper]

I go out on trash night in my hood every weeks. Average about $100 a night for 2 hours of driving around.

[greytruck]

I go out every Day/night execpt Fridays and Saturdays sence there's no garbage pick ups on sat or sun mornings. I still will go out on the weekends when I get boared for people who cleaned out there house or garadge over the weekend and put it out early. Thats how I find most of my appiances, The day before trash night.

[Dunemaul]

Welcome to FL, trash nights are your running cost/ petty cash. Your call ins are your profits. this place is assbackwards but you gotta love the weather.

[phillg]

Just to many full time scrappers in sarasota. Drive by Mlk and 301 And you'll see a truck load every ten min

[ScrapYaHerd]

Curb picking for me turns out break even more often than not, except during the summer months since college kids move out and they would rather throw things away than move them since it's parents $$$$. I had to come home unload and go back out over summer, now I'm lucky if I find even 1 item with more time spent on the road. I find some useful items for myself, stuff for other people, and sometimes I get lucky that is why I continue to do it.

Have you ever tried picking beach side?

[Bull0525]

My finds on trash night have gone way down. Never seen an appliance besides a dishwasher around here. Just the other day I passed 4 scrappers on the way home from work. A 5 mile drive, guess when you have 4 yards within 3 miles of each other down the road everyone can do it themselves.

[Russell]

It's hit or miss. There are several scrappers that run the same hoods around here. So its a matter of a little luck and knowing how to play the game. I filled my truck full in an hour this tues evening. This morning only found 1 dishwasher after an hour. I scrap before and after my full time job.

[skylinejack]

I still do it about once a month or so. Lots of competition. Always make a few $$ profit, but for me it's more about just the time with which ever one of my kids is riding along with me.

[duece2000]

I go out to select areas and specific Apt. complexes that seem relatively unknown (out of the way for most people since I live in a well off and remote suburb). Otherwise I only stop and grab random items I see when I'm on the road. Majority of what I do comes from people wanting items removed for free.

[Modmod]

Personally I don't think there is enough time in the day to go out looking and gambling.

[mikeinreco]

Personally I don't think there is enough time in the day to go out looking and gambling.

HUH how is it a gamble....I have never lost money trash pickin but I take everything when I go into pickin mode.....

[ScrapYaHerd]

^ You're not in Fl. Today I drove around in the morning for 30 minutes on one side of town where it was trash day, and found nothing at all. Tonight I drove around for 45 min on another side where it's trash day tomorrow and I found maybe $4 in shred, and $1 in wire from some crappy light fixtures, it was a total of 45 miles and my truck gets 18mpg, I filled up last at ~$3.68, so I spent $9.20 in gas and found $5 in goods leaves me in the RED -$4.20, put that in yo pipe and smoke it.....

[Russell]

How is running in the red for 1 1/4 hrs a gamble? You need a much larger sample than that. If your area is not dense enough, or over saturated with competition to produce positive results. You A: run in the red until you starve your competition out. B: Find a different area, If its under populated C: Stop altogether, and find a diffrent hobby/ job. On a side note: when you find the appliance worth 20$ immediately after being in the red $4.20 I guess you wouldn't be $15.80 in the black? Perhaps at 420 you just give up and go smoke up.

[BurlyGuys]

Tonight was a total bust. The area where collection is done tomorrow morning is all gated communities. Drove 30 min to get there.

[KzScrapper]

If all else fails, buy low...sell high.

[ScrapYaHerd]

I started scraping on a electric scooter with a 6 mile range it soon became overwhelming amounts of stuff I carried on it, maybe I should go back to that method, it didn't cost me anything.

[Russell]

Maybe you could upgrade and attach a sidecar to your lil' scooter. Don't forget your helmet...beep beep.

[mikeinreco]

If you keep running scrap the numbers will equal out....When I first started out I had a partner and we would spend 10-12 hours a day in the truck and just keep running.....Sure you might run some gas but it takes money to make money....Don't get frustrated