I took a job away from the big guys

I got a call from a lady whom had 3 bbq grills and a mini fridge that she wanted taken away.



My buddy just happened to be with me so we stopped at her house on our way back to the shop and started loading up our booty.

We got to the last piece - the fridge and who should come pulling up?

800-G*T-J*NK... She said she called them earlier but they wanted $120 to take it away and then stumbled upon my advertisement so she said she called them back and canceled.

They stopped and walked half-way up the driveway before she stopped them to tell them she already canceled. They didn't look to happy that I was there.

It's kinda of amusing because I've ran into them a couple of times at the scrap yard so I know they're charging and then making more money off the back end.

And it turns out the grills this woman gave me were AWESOME!!! 1 electric grill, 1 smoker grill and this round grill I had never seen before.

It has 2 grill rings. An outta one and an inner one. And has 4 different inserts to use. I've never seen anything like it. It's called the Globe Cafe, apparently made by Grand Hall. I couldn't find any pictures of it and it's too dark to take my own.

The electric grill worked and the smoker grill was in like new condition but unfortunately the fridge didn't work .

Fantastic find, though it was more priceless that I beat the big guys out for a job.

Very cool! How do those guys work? Are they independent contractors for GOTJUNK, hence seeing them at the scrapyard, or do they have standing orders to sell metal for the company at the yard? Interesting.

The scrap business is all about first come, first served.

What a ripoff, paying people to take away something that is worth money.

The technical term is information asymmetry. The people in the scrap business have the information on what metal is worth and the average person has no clue.

They're a franchise. They pay the company the franchise fees and stuff.

Someone we know works where they unload their stuff and says that when the trucks come in the employees have first dibs on anything good.

Yeah, it is sometimes very amusing. Although sometimes I will charge people depending on that it is. Like I charged a guy $30 the other day to take away a swing because he was about 35 miles from my house. Then he tried to talk me down to $10! It costs me about $25 just in gas to get there and back. Not to mention the time I couldn't spend scrapping cause of travel time.

Originally Posted by jeb1212

The scrap business is all about first come, first served.

What a ripoff, paying people to take away something that is worth money.

Technically speaking, most people pay yearly for trash pick up, and millions of people STILL throw away useful, worth money things. So that theory goes out the window.

I worked for Got Junk for 3 years before starting my own removal company. They charge by volume, doesnt matter if its a load of gold or a load of feathers. You can look at it as theft or smart business tactics. I do payed junk removal, but advertise that I do free scrap metal removal as well. If I show up and haul away a few appliances and don't ask for cash 3 out of 5 times I get a cash tip. Today I got a $40 tip to pickup an engine, cat, steel shelves and 2 transmissions.

nice job richard