partnerships dont work sometimes

This is the second time I got screwed over by a partnership.
Worked with him for a year now. Had him pick up about 70 pounds of telecom boards from a guy who bought a house from someone who did repairs on computer related stuff years ago.
Anyways he didnt come back with it instead takes it to a yard getting $2.50 a pound for it doesnt know anything on computer stuff just knew I was making money on it.
Anyways claimed he needed the money and he was going to the scrap yard to drop off metal he placed on the boards and claims he couldnt get boards to me with his stuff on it.
blah blah so im out on the boards no way to prove they were mine then to add to it I get a text from a client upset he contacted her to get stuff instead of me as all my clients talk to me not him so he was just trying to take a client away from me.

Im upset needless to say but I think its time to go solo without a partnership as it just doesn't work.

Get a paid help, it is a better way to get your company growing.

Good luck, and thanks for sharing.

I think hiring out help when needed is a good idea and certainly something ill look into if I need to.
Mike im glad its working for you it seems to be a rare thing that partnerships last.
But I hope it continues to work for you.
I really don't get it with some people greed really tends to show some peoples true colors.

Originally Posted by IAscrapper

I think hiring out help when needed is a good idea and certainly something ill look into if I need to.
Mike im glad its working for you it seems to be a rare thing that partnerships last.
But I hope it continues to work for you.
I really don't get it with some people greed really tends to show some peoples true colors.

Greed? He jacked you for a few hundred dollars, that's just stupidity. I never could understand petty theft, word gets out fast and follows you around in the digital age. Hired help can rip you off just as easy, but only once, and you tend to make it harder for them to try.

"the only ship that won't sail is a partnership" -Dave Ramsey

Originally Posted by unknownk

Greed? He jacked you for a few hundred dollars, that's just stupidity. I never could understand petty theft, word gets out fast and follows you around in the digital age. Hired help can rip you off just as easy, but only once, and you tend to make it harder for them to try.

The reason why I say greed is because in our agreement since he didn't want anything to do with computers I helped put gas in truck when we went for pick ups and gave him all the metal while I dealt with all electronic stuff etc and eventually he got greedy and couldn't be happy with the metal and decided to take stuff that wasn't his and yep stealing but greed led to that.

I would have preferred to do this solo but I didn't have a truck and trailer to handle the bigger loads so now time to look into getting that taken care of.

Partnerships, out of pure necessity, must work both ways. It seems he brought the bigger part(truck and trailer) and was getting the smaller part(as far as the electronics go, and that's mostly what you've discussed here). If we took a load of electronics, heavy on the computers and their peripherals(a mix we all know well), and separate the scrap metal from the boards, who here wouldn't (even blindfolded) choose the scrap boards part.
All the time yall have been working together, when he brought the truck and/or trailer. he also brought the work he'd done to own it, the money he'd spent to maintain it, and all he'd been through to keep them going. You simply got in and set down, and paid part of the gas(according to a previous post)
I'm not intending to judge you, or to excuse him, and no doubt there are countless more details, from both sides, which could be evaluated and re-evaluated till doomsday(or til the tax man cometh, whichever happens first ; ) I'm just offering a suggestion that in all fairness, you consider more of his point of view, as this most recent partnership goes to the scrap heap

I am the only one in my area doing what I'm doing. I am afraid to hire someone and them see how its done and start there own business. If I do need help I hire my neighbors kid that I have known for about 6 yrs. still in highschool. I don't worry about my truck or anything. he's very happy for the extra pay. sorry about the partnership, but if you have to hire someone, highschool kids will bust butt for you.

Originally Posted by Bear

Partnerships, out of pure necessity, must work both ways. It seems he brought the bigger part(truck and trailer) and was getting the smaller part(as far as the electronics go, and that's mostly what you've discussed here). If we took a load of electronics, heavy on the computers and their peripherals(a mix we all know well), and separate the scrap metal from the boards, who here wouldn't (even blindfolded) choose the scrap boards part.
All the time yall have been working together, when he brought the truck and/or trailer. he also brought the work he'd done to own it, the money he'd spent to maintain it, and all he'd been through to keep them going. You simply got in and set down, and paid part of the gas(according to a previous post)
I'm not intending to judge you, or to excuse him, and no doubt there are countless more details, from both sides, which could be evaluated and re-evaluated till doomsday(or til the tax man cometh, whichever happens first ; ) I'm just offering a suggestion that in all fairness, you consider more of his point of view, as this most recent partnership goes to the scrap heap

Your right his truck and trailer which is why the partnership formed that and I knew my way around networking with a computers so he could get his scrap metal copper brass etc which all went to him when we did pick ups for people. I did all the tear downs of computers he is old school and stubborn sort he wanted no part of computers didnt understand them or want anything to do with them now guess he does and he was aware what I made after all the work of network the dealing with clients and the tear downs he was happy having something to do and get his scrap and copper which only copper I got was out of the monitors and electronics I broke down and there was many pick ups where I netted a tower or 2 and a vcr while he picked up a car or a load of scrap from a business and what not so he did alot better then me sometimes lol

Like I said IA, I'm not trying to judge or to knock you, just sayin

Originally Posted by Bear

Like I said IA, I'm not trying to judge or to knock you, just sayin

I understand bear I just didnt want you or anyone else to get the impression I was getting all the goodies while he got nothing so was just explaining things better.
He didnt go hungry ill say that much lol.

Originally Posted by parrothead

Partnerships can be necessary. I have had good ones. Running alone at this point on scrapping and e-waste. I will bring someone in once in a great while just for 1 deal and that is it. And that is if they have something to offer other than just labor. If it is just labor that you need, then good help can be found at a decent price.

I had one great deal that had to be moved out quicker than I was able to get it. It required an additional truck and trailer in order to complete the deal and get it all in the time allotted. We did the deal, split the money, and are still friends. He always offers to help again if I get a deal like that, and of course I will call him when I need another truck and trailer.

Working on another deal with someone else currently, but again, it is just for that deal because he has some knowledge that I lack in that department.

There are lots of options out there in the scrapping world without going full blown partners with someone.

my 2 cents

I tried to get it set up that way just so happen alot of calls would be to pick up a combination of both scrap and computers and at the time I didnt have the space to deal with extra scrap so at the time seem to be a win win situation little did I know things would come to this. I think limited partnership such as what you mention seems to work out better and if I need some extra help for a few hours just hire a high school kid as trot suggested seems that way a person can avoid a huge headache.

Well he probably didnt know that you ship all the boards to make it worthwile. I wouldnt keep him around as a partner, but id still use him as a gopher. And tell him that you will buy ewaste from him, but dont waste your time riding around in his truck. Even a dog that bites can be useful when on a leash. Let him do the work and you make the money.

I wouldn't take on a partner, I work by myself. Over the years I've had to fine tune what I'm doing and every time I did I started making more money. I'm getting ready to fine tune my operation again. When I first started scrapping I was curb shopping and dumpster diving then I started getting scrap from regular pick ups and that aloud me to stop curb shopping and dumpster diving saving on gas. Now I have just a few places that I pick up from on a regular bases but also have people that call me to pick up scrap. Now I'm getting ready to go with just e-waste and cut out all the other stuff that takes too much time and not enough money. I've heard too many stories about scrappers bringing in help and teaching them what to do to have quit and start scrapping on their own. I think you can make just as much money working on your own as you can with a partner. Just my .02