24 Hours In My Life:

Starts out yesterday ,
actually 36 hours ago. I got up Sunday morning (Sundays are crazy for scrapping):
Ran out door to get to my thrift-store early before the wierdos who always show up (only on sunday since they Know the store is closed all day).

All new regects there (from the shelter/rehab or wherever they come from) so No steel stuff left for me. Opened the one dumpster and there was over 15 lb.s "55% copper" cords sitting there, and bunch of x-mas lights (.25/lb) .

Dug more, noticed about five TV's which I've learned to smash the back open with my Klein hammer, knock the copper coil off and much glass as possible, then yank the copper cable out of and then rip the transformer(?) whatever the heck it is I sell with motors...Working fast, searching for toys for my girls and two boy nephews...quick before the sunday santa looking guy rolls up and as usual asks, "been here long? found much???" (One day I'd like to beat him with one of the eight or so aluminum bats I've gotten from there ...Yes seriously...), left all my finds in my truck...

24 Hour part:
Decided one of the other five+ scrappers nearby might get on to my spots IF I didn't pick-up, Went by one of my demo jobs (where the superintendant loves me to go) , Nothing. went by latino club and got bunch of red-bull cans they mix with drinks...(cans suck!) ...decided to pick up two steel displays that were sitting there for over month...stress. Picked up two more not sure If I should have.
Got home. Guy in a Lotus pulls up ("OH, sh*T !!!" boss???) Nope he says ,"are you THE SCRAP GUY???" ...Why yes I am...Good Follow me my buddy has a bed frame for you...(weird older guy like he just did a big "bump" of coke or something).

Wrestled with wife ALL night till she finally gave in and gave me s*x at 5am ...TMI.
Ran to sell the 430lb.s steel and X-mas lights by 7am. (EDIT:$19 )
Circled my monday morning route (low-income apartments mostly with high move-in/out rate , and a rich area on the way).
Picked up few things (D*MN trash truck beats me every week there)...found two car batteries in route, stainless sink, some brass lights, coax cables, stripped aluminum off three sliding glass doors, cut more 55% copper (power cords off vacuums etc.).

Phew got home logged in here to check about obtaining copper from a huge new microwave I pulled from dumpster at thrift-store yesterday...no luck.
Drank a 40 oz. beer, disassembled stuff.
Scrapped that stuff (and rest from sunday) for $72.
(Drove just 12 miles total).
Visited with 2 year old daughter ,ate a left-over cheeseburger, explained I had to work...ran again.



Went by one of my auto repair places ...Nice Iranian owner had his four latino guys move the cars out so I could back in and load the entire front (minus motor) of a large SUV into my Ford Ranger.:eek:
Strapped it in , Noticed HUGE cables and several aluminum pipes as well as solid aluminum...D*MN @#$%, %^&**^&^ S$%%%^^!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!! Somebody stole my cable cutters!!!
Cut as much as possible, then drove to scrap and dumped the rest cursing the ENTIRE time!
(EDIT: 550lb. steel and 7lb. "dirty #55 , = $26 urghh!)

I don't know , I generally consider myself a Christian and the luck I have is like EVERYTHING comes from the Lord ...I just CAN'T waste stuff like that.
Trying to still feel blessed about the other good stuff, still ticked.
Feeling like I've been hit by a truck right now.
Got some beer for the muscles...hard work is excellnet exercise.
I'll probably scrap past my seventies I guess , and will be cursed to own atleast one pick-up truck FOREVER!

Well that sums up my day (hard to explain it ALL and this is getting too long).
Got a bunch of left-over stuff to disassemble/ scrap for tommorrow, and some nice light fixtures for my electrician brother.
Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Wearing a hard hat at the scrap yard is not a bad idea...I wear one at some of the yards and the workers there will fly stuff over your head all the time and it ticks me off everytime as well...but hard hats are cheap and not to hard to slip onto your head when popping out of your truck when unloading..just my two cents.

Easy I think the problem wasn't about wearing a hard hat but the fact they wanted to sell him one.

Dumb D I wonder if you may have been able to ask to borrow one from the guy, but you had already soured the deal by arguing the point of there "was no sign or previous warning". Maybe if it went something like this,
" No sir I was unaware of this new policy . If you would be kind enough to loan me one as I drove a long way to come to your yard and have a couple hard hats back at my shop."
That encounter cost you profit by losing your cool. Being in business you take even more crap from people then if you worked for someone. If you work for a boss you only have him to answer to. Being the boss you must answer to everyone in a professional manor.

The yard you are dealing with must be some very nice folks! They are paying about $0.047 a pound for your steel, that is less then half then the current going rate! I bet they would loan you a hard hat!

Well welcome to the board. Hope this will help.

As per post #6 , I find all yard people seem grouchy to most of the clients & even if there in a nice mood they are ready be nasty I think it might come with the territory of working with metal. Even I used to be this guy nice to all people & now i seem more like them I kinda like it. But DumbD I say this as the truth regardless of personalities The yards are your - BANK ACCOUNT - WHERE YOUR MONEY IS AT - YOUR BREAD AND BUTTER - YOUR MONEY TREE - OK enough said , NEVER fight with a yard guy they are your ultimate boss - treat them as such . they are never wrong. Even if they get you on a few pounds the next day you will get them .It's really just a big game, of selling items we find and with luck find some more .When you get a chance I would apologizes and say man i was in a bad mood this happened that happened i will keep my cool in the future . The grouchy yard people tend to forgive very well - thats the good news .
I wonder if the yard you use takes your license as some yards that pay less seem to be the ones that absorb that requirement.

Originally Posted by Area67

O.K. let me stick up for small yards (that is me)! We can offer convenience,honesty,and education...we can not match the shred price of a larger yard,,,period! I only get $20/ton for handling shred...but I pay a bit more for appliances and complete cars. I make a point to educate my customers on how to sort their product so they get paid better. I also honestly tell them what materials they have. Now on the topic of grumpy yard workers..2 factors 1-scamming tweekers it is a plague on the industry and dealing with them will burn you out 2-It is really hard work all day long. From a yard owner perspective, the stress of not getting burned by market shifts is high and you sweat some ginourmous load coming in that wipes out your account. I do my best to be friendly to all customers, and I hope they forgive me for being snappy! Scrap on..

I fully understand what you say , I wish a yard like you was about also . I really don't care if workers are grouchy I am there to make money. A smile or 2 is fine. By me it is a game, one yard for instance I'll bring AL or copper in a 4# bucket I know weighs 4 LBs . I see the total weight of my product as per there scale but I also see them take off 6 lbs on my bucket, this has happened plenty. I wont start a fight of 2 or 3 lb . But next time they are getting Tweaked. I have had a bucket of clean brass 36# with one of the pieces a little bit of steel, I get to the window and it all was listed as dirty brass. Well you just can't start a fight since there are people lined up 10 deep/ One or two good fights & they will tell you "your done " . There are other yards who are honest but they also might not want the tire on wheel ever so often.
SO i feel it all evens out I try for 95% metal but a bunch of office chairs lowers that a bit . The yard guys watch so I know what goes . I have talked to others and heard stories of what they have pulled but I will never take that kinda chance. But if i have predominantly a nice load over 95% true, i feel no guilt in a few pieces lower in % as they got the shredder & a few # on me.

it's the 4 G's
get your product
get it to the yard
get you money
get more product

Originally Posted by Area67

.....From a yard owner perspective, the stress of not getting burned by market shifts is high and you sweat some ginourmous load coming in that wipes out your account. I do my best to be friendly to all customers, and I hope they forgive me for being snappy! Scrap on..

This is one of my biggest stress levels that never seems to go away unless the market is on the up and up....hardly ever....we all know there is that HUGE drop thats going to slap us RIGHT after we get that large pickup....But thats the risks the yards take...and some you all may or may not know that all of us yard owners know all to well.