Fresh Ideas on Where to Find Scrap Metal

THRIFT STORES!!!

I've gone out of my way since the day I started scrapping to go to thrift stores and check their dumpsters (with permission of course). But recently I've spent an our or so a day cruising the stores themselves. Look for the following:

• Brass Figurines / Candlesticks - Many times these are priced at below scrap value.
• Silver Plate Items - Usually the base metal is Copper, Brass, Cupranickel (Copper/Nickel alloy), or Stainless
• Sterling Silver mistakenly priced as Plate. You'd be surprised at how many times this happens.
• Vintage Computers - late 80s to Mid 90's PC's and Macs have processors that have between .2g of gold and 1 gram of gold per processor chip. That's between $12 and $60 worth of gold per chip!
• Anything else cool that can be resold at a profit.

Here's the kicker - almost all thrift stores will have weekly or "special event" sales at prices up to 90% off. This Saturday a local thrift store is having a 98 cent "back to school" sale. All clothing and "miscellaneous" (which includes all small stuff like brass items, copper pieces, etc. will be a whopping 98 cents each. I'll be wiping out almost all of their brass and copper, and probably most of the larger Stainless and Aluminum pots/pans.

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Originally Posted by ScrapperNJ26

Kegs are aluminum. They run 25-30 lbs empty

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My scales say 30.69 lbs. I got one with a piece of press board on it as an end table in my living room. This used to be a party house. Goes along with the tap, beer bongs, and Crown Royal bags hanging all throughout the house. Anywho, someone told me you couldn't legally scrap kegs. Never looked into it though. I figured when I didn't pay the deposit back I was buying the keg. It's kinda part of the theme of my house but I could almost get as much out of it in scrap as the deposit was in the first place 3 or 4 years ago. Give it awhile...maybe it'll end up as an investment some day.

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Originally Posted by ScrapperNJ26

Storage Companies
I've contacted probably 30 or so storage places and have got a response from approximately half of them wanting me to come get stuff. Mainly its customers who haven't paid their bill and when they had an auction and didn't sell the storage units at auction they just want to get rid of the items. Just contact the manager at the facility and see what they say. A lot of them don't have dumpsters on site so the customers cant use them. So to save them money on dumpsters and keep recyclable stuff out of landfills call them.

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This is very good advice. I contacted my local storage company and got a reply within a few hours asking if they could take my name and phone number so they can call me if they have any electronics that people left there. Both parties benefit; they don't have to pay to dispose of it. Yet, you make money.

Very solid advice. Great idea.

someone mentioned earlier that thrift shops are o.k to hunt in..

Well I had a late start at work today, so went to the local Opp shop (oppurtunity Shop - thrift store - aussie term is Opp shop)

there are 4 within 8 miles of my place...2nd one I went to had had their lease cancelled, so were closing down.

A Pity as they had been there since 1981 raising money for local hospital.

anyway! They are on their last 3 - 4 days, so anything in the store was $1 a bag! so they supplied bags and off you go. got three bags

#1 bag full of pc cables, and some small extension cords
#2 bag full of old taps, door knobs, hinges, and some rass candle things
#3 bag full of alluminium towel rail ends, and a few pots and pans.

only small, but I will turn my $3 into at least $50, so its worth dropping in to these places.

I love church rummage sales also. Free will donations. You pay what you feel is right so you can make some money on it. I love these for cords, cables and christmas lights for cheap. You can also show up right before they close and offer even less just so they don't have to move the stuff that's left.