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Well, according to many posts, it's the end of the world for scrappers. Think of these important teasers: Darwin. Survival of the Fittest. Natural selection. This is the way it is. We need to quit complaining and get down to business, nose to the grindstone. Many successful businesses rose from the ashes of the Great Depression. I will still be here, working to get the most I can on any given day. So, my suggestion? Either lead, follow, or get out of the way. Who wants to ride Shotgun?
F1 Recycles
Electronic/Electrical/Mechanical Recycling
www.f1recycles.com
BDAScrapper, bigburtchino, BRASSCATCHER, BroJer, directrecycle, dyepes, EcoSafe, faulkne3, gorven, greytruck, HonestScrap, jimicrk, junkfreak, Kalvlin, KzScrapper, logansryche, Metalbestos, michaelcali, Mmarro89, NHscrapman, Patriot76, pjost, Rollyrogers33, ryanw, sawmilleng, scrapGAME, Sirscrapalot, sledge, SparrowMetals, submarinepainter, taterjuice
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I'm there with ya, I'm not going anywhere - I see dropping prices as a challenge and I accept said challenge.
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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It's been a hard winter and things generally look a bit gloomy this time of year. Most of the businesses in this area lose money till things pick back up again in the spring. Things will start to break free in another 30 - 45 days.
What i would say is .... keep it real. Avoid the trap of "doing more of the same harder " if it's not working for you.
Instead ... step back and make an objective assessment of where you are and where you are headed. If it doesn't look good then change and adapt to the change in your environment. That's how creatures survive & even thrive in an ever changing world.
Any business owner has to be forward looking.
Make the changes today that will be needed in a year or two. That way you're always ahead of the game.
JMHO .... but it looks like we entered the deflationary phase of the recession sometime last fall. There's no telling for sure, but the safest bet might be to assume it will last as long as the inflationary phase ( seven years ).
How have you poised yourself to survive in this new environment ?
I'm stronger than ever, and doing 3-5 times what I did in the past in terms of profit. I'm spending a fraction of the time working that I did last year. Big changes involve focusing on refining Ebay and taking better advantage of it, having someone else haul my steel, contracting out some pieces of work where it makes sense, and getting my wife to work with me more on Ebay and one night a week breaking down.
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Gives me more time to nap.
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My analogy: The downward direction of scrap metal prices and the necessary changes, corrections and adjustments needed. Are similar to a football game, the halftime adjustments one team makes often leads to that team prevailing and coming out the winner of the game. We need not give in, but make adjustments to our methods for the desirable and a favorable outcome. Could even make your overall prospects that much better!
Last edited by bigburtchino; 02-06-2015 at 10:17 PM.
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I, too, enjoy the nap time.
I've cut my expenses in half, and am to the point where I don't really need to do much to get by. By slashing our advertising (Don't run radio ads for recycling- trust me!), I'm in the black. Meet the newer, leaner business model. By changing my focus, and by diversification, I'm doing well.
If you won't change your models when needed, you'll go under. A lot of shops here are.
matador: "My business is lean and strong. Sadly, I'm not."
Video game ninja
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Plastic and low grade boards are the new steel . Nows the time to find a plastic and cardboard recycler in your area . Like others have said adapt to the change . Take the time to dot your i's and cross your T's .
Buying ewaste and video games !
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Funny how this is being brought up now... I was just researching how to melt(not burn) certin plastics. Only problem is finding a buyer afterwards lol.
Video game ninja
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We can't complain about steel prices when other more abundant commodities are available that pay more . The best piece of knowledge I have found on this site is that anything in abundance has value . Prices will continue to fall , maybe next time I will be saying electric motors / transformers are the new steel . I went to the yard today and I really should have not gone , prices were pathetic but me whining won't change that . Hold on folks we are in for a ride !Originally Posted by logansryche
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I'll grab my raincoat
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Now is the time to re-assess how far you break something down. As an example, power supplies. In the past most would cut the wires and sell rest as is. Now if prices are going down across the board it my be worth it to open them up and at least pull a few chokes and transformers now. Maximum breakdown is what I think will seperate the survivors from the ones who go under.
I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them.” John Wayne-- The Shootist
NEWBS READ THIS THREAD ABOUT REFINING!!!!
http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/off-t...ning-read.html
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As I always say: do the math - therein lies thy answer.
Spinroch - the answers to the secrets of the universe lie elsewhere.
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One word: Diversify. Don't, put all your eggs in the scrap basket
Money is not the root of all evil, the love of money is.
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I am buying aggressively........Seperating Re-sale from Scrap........Hoarding Scrap and making a few bucks off resale.......I will run out of storage and not sure if it is worth more money to get more storage so some things may go but not much in this market
BUYING ALL COMPUTER SCRAP WORKING OR NOT
CHECK OUT MY BUYERS THREAD http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...nic-scrap.html
https://getjunk.net/Knox-County-TN-0...Recycling.html
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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Stopped in at my usual gas station last month. Premium was running about 4.30 / gal. and regular was about 3.20 / gal. There was quite a spread there.
I already knew why, but i commented on it when i went inside to pay. The gal explained that she had bought that load at a certain price and couldn't go any lower without losing money.
I'm seeing something similar going on with scrap. It's a slow time of year and there's more time to network and build friendships with the other scrappers in my area. We all get together and just shoot the breeze for an hour or two every week. There's little or nothing coming in right now so they're hoarding till the price comes back up in the spring.
Wonder if we could take a lesson from the gal at the gas station ?
Commodities have been dropping for awhile now and don't appear to have hit bottom yet. Folks are holding while the value of what they have in stock is dropping daily.
Wouldn't it make more sense to turn-n-burn ? Get that stuff in and out of the shop as fast as possible so that you're not losing money on it ?
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Makes sense however it's in the nature of things(scrap, stamps, cards, etc..) to hoard it in case the price does go up so we're the first one to make money.
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I just can't see selling scrap at .04/100LB...........If the market does not turn in a month or two sure I will sell and probably get out of the biz....LOL..........It has been my plan to finish school anyway (10 hours away from 2 year degree)...........Not that the degree will get me ahead in life but kinda personal goal of mine........OH well to Each his own
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100%, prices dropping just give me a reason to work 2x's as hard and make more money! Gets some of the weak competitors out of the way too and show who is really along for the whole ride! Ill be around until you have to pay your scrapyard to take metal, until than the money is still there, so I am still there! Tough times call for tough workers
Metal Recycling Entrepreneur
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I'm actually looking for the Silver lining on this one..... If scrap prices fall, my already limited amount of scrap from picking should increase.
the low prices will turn many if not all wannabes away, just the other day, a guy called out to me while I was picking CPUS up from the dump "HEY,YOU KNOW THERE IS NO MONEY IN THAT RIGH HAH?!" I shouted back "YOU'R RIGHT! DONT WASTE YOUR TIME!" One less to worry about.....
another one bites the dust, another one bites the dust....
If it's not bolted down it's mine, if it's bolted down and I can pry it up.....it's still mine....
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