More competition

I work in Dallas, TX and today during my lunch break I decided to drive through a nearby apartment complex to see if there was anything at the dumpsters. In this complex there was 5 trailers parked full of scrap!!! One dumpster was a Guy breaking down a weed eater on the spot. I left there and drove to the nearest commercial area and found 3 dumpsters each with a vehicle parked next to it and someone sifting. I have seen the posts in support of low metal prices means people quiting and more metal for us, but you have forgotten the economy we are living in and I'm afraid that more job losses will mean more competition. You can forget about the price for metal. So am I quitting? You bet I am not! Just don't focus on alley drive byes guys network advertise and get it before it gets to the curb.

I work at a luxury car repair shop. At least 3 times a day people stop asking for scrap. They always want to leave a barrel or some such object to hold scrap. I tell them that the scrap is handled on a contract basis (me) and there's no reason to leave the barrel.

Then I always put it right back on them such as "What do you have? I'll buy your scrap cash money right now." 9 times out of 10 I buy what they have on their truck.

Point being, the scrapper quotient has increased in my area within the last 3 months and some are getting desperate. The shop across the street from us told me about how 2 scrappers got in a fistfight over 6-8 brake rotors laying out by their scrap bin. Because of this I picked up that contract too.

There are more scrappers now in my areas as well. They are just expanding their areas and working even longer. Eventually most will burn out from the grind of doing this everyday. It's just not a sustainable living at less than 150 a ton. Even with lower gas prices the point of minimum wage will turn upside down on many of them and an 8$ or 10$ an hour job will start looking good. I'll keep my full time job with my seniority and benefits. Scrapping is there when I need it. I would never rely on it long term as it can be too volatile.

Scrap ya Herd is what I say! The world works in your favor when your not a dirt bag.

The price drop is actually a god send in my parts. The drop in scrap price will knockout the "guy with a truck" scrappers and most of the farmers will holdout for the price to come back up. All you have to do is offer them more than the other guy can afford to pay and just take a little less profit.

One of My Buddies is losing an average of 4 Tractor Trailer Brake Drums a weekend , the cops told him to just watch the pile and call " when the drums are in the truck " and there heading down the road ( 1/4 mi. from fuzz station .
Last Sun. they hit around 2:30 am. as a neighbor heard noises but couldn't wake her husband up to look , so she went back to sleep ?
Bandit
Ps
On Holiday weekends , they really hit him ( X-Mas , Easter , Bird Day etc. )

The problem in my area is scrapping for the last two years was providing an above the minimum wage payday. Why work at a min wage job when you can scrap and be your own boss is the way many look at it, and I agree. Until you can find a job that pays more or scrap prices fall people will go back to working those kinds if jobs...As much as I hate my job it pays my bills. Scrapping is there when work is slow and keeps me above water.

I'm just getting into scrapping, but the competition thing doesn't scare me. I've always considered myself smarter than the average bear, with better marketing/word of mouth generating skills and a better work ethic. Sure, I'm not going to get everything all the time, but it's still enough to make it a worthwhile part time job in addition to my 9-5.