full time

i know this has been posted before but was hoping for some new light shined on this topic, anyone doing it full time?? what roughly is an annual profit margin?? how steady is your work?

i've been mostly doing it full time for about 4 1/2 years ,.....depending on how you manage the stuff ,spread out cashing it in and how much room you can store stuff without someone calling the townships, is what factors in and depends on how steady the work can be ,....depends on the area you run and how much compition you have too
....for me ,my first year sucked but i was starvng and homeless so i still did it cause i didn't have any other work ,....probly put in 30 to 40 hours a week ,made about 15,000 that year ,...........second and third year ,i moved to a new region that didn't have hardly any compitition ,....there was flooding in my area for the second year also ,....but i put in about 35 to 45 hours a week in and made probly close to 40,000 each year .......for the last year and a half ,compitition and other work non scrap related slowed me down scrapping but i still probly made 25,000 last year ,putting in an average 20 to 30 hours a week

i imagine it's different for every scrapper and for every area ,.......the circustances of my area helped for me ,....but i do know other scrappers that do it sistered to other buissnisses or do nothing but scrapping making 40 to 50 a year and staying working all year ,.....but there usually folks that been at it a long long time and have built up alot of connections to get stuff

right i had no plans of quitting college haha i have just always liked the idea of working completely for myself doing this

Originally Posted by jennija

right i had no plans of quitting college haha i have just always liked the idea of working completely for myself doing this

I would never count on it as a fulltime job. too many variables. If you did computer work with scrapping on the side, or mechanical work, or carpentry, or plumbing blah blah blah.

I am in the process of attempting this as a second job.

thanks mechanic688, I will for sure look into this, the problem is going to be how to obtain "stuff" from people at the college, I cannot imagine many people contacting me from a flyer that says "hey ill get rid of your old computer stuff, old cellphones, ect." there has to be an incentive for them too right??

Good post mech, I wasn't saying don't proceed jen, just proceed with caution, and take each step one at a time. You can build some good solid pick-ups by being honest, dependable, and ready to work. I like using the term "helping to keep these items out of our landfills and ground waters"

if you have any computer knowledge, college towns are great for buying broken laptops and reselling working ones. Students just have their parents or student loans buy the next one.

As Cory said an others...it's really what you make of it. I do it full time, I pay for some stuff, other stuff I get for free. If your on campus, don't sell your fellow students short, or assume anything doing that your already setting up for failure. It doesn't hurt to hand out flyers, cards, etc. Tell people what you do, an the benefits of what you do. I never thought businesses would just hand me free stuff or people, but yet..I'm constantly and pleasantly surprised that they do.

Find a niche, an make it yours. Yes, lots of folk scrap metal, an do cars..so I focus on ewaste. An not just computers. Focus on just computers an you may face a tough uphill battle. Find a niche within computers, or focus on other electronics. Thing my clients/customers love about me..is I'm not really picky. If it's got a cord/or had one..lol..it's welcome in my eyes.

It's not a easy business to take full time, it's constantly looking for a source, or developing an maintaining current ones. It takes hard work, long hours( breaking down, taking photos for resales, making ads, etc), an to keep going when things seem hard. You will bleed, sweat, cry, curse, an then some!

At the end of the day tho..you'll make some money, an have the benefit of helping this dirtball we call home.

So yea..you can do it. It won't be easy, nor will it come quick. With the proper time spent learning about the industry, an the ability to talk to people, you can do quite well. Your here, so your about to learn a whole heck of a lot, you may not see results right away but if you continue to follow this forum, ask questions, read the archives, an listen to the tips an advice..not just hear, but listen...you will do well, whether full time or part time.

If you truly want to do this full time, take the time now to learn everything you can, an apply at it as you go. An perhaps in the future you'll be telling us how you graduated an are doing this full time. An passing on this same advice to future folks getting into this game.

I wish ya much luck, an keep us informed on how your doing. I for one enjoy following our members an how they grow. Specially the younger folks. Good to see them working outside the box. An we have plenty here that are youngsters, an doing quite well. Kochy, Jord, Red, an several others I can't remember! ( sorry guys, I'm getting old!) Some even still in High school.

So yes, it can be done. Hustle, hard work, good customer skills, a bit of thick skin an knowing it's all on you will shape your results.

Sirscrapalot - Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm. - Winston Churchill

I'm sorry Mr. Cory, I won't let it happen again.

Serious, helpful..gah! I better watch it, I might no longer find myself under the group of "The people your parent's warned you about". /Sigh



Lots of good advice your getting here OP. These folks know what their talking about.

Sirscrapalot - The final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands. - Anne Frank

Being full time, I dont think I could make it if I just recycled everything. I tend to market myself as Asset Recovery. i bring everything in, assess its value, and move forward as needed. Its no longer the case of just driving around filling a truck up. I market myself on several online venues, including craigslist, facebook, ebay, and website. I have joined the Chamber of Commerce and looked into other local networking groups as well.

You guys give **** good advice to newbies on here! I wonder if they realize this "is" the education you can't buy or go to school for?

Welcome aboard from a fellow Minnesota (Central) Scrapper. I've been at it part time for 3 years. I wanted to get into it full time when I started but ended up putting in more quality in my part time hours.