Hey, all. My name is Mike and at the moment, I am a part time scrapper. While I'm a newb to this forum, I'm not new to forums in general so navigating this site has been pretty easy (I think I've read just about every current thread on the board).*I do a lot of working on cars, so I had a small junkyard of old parts behind my shed that I just cleaned up and recycled around a month ago when prices were at their highest. It was around 20 years of stuff. I speacialize in water-cooled VW's, so a lot of parts are re-sold or kept in storage for those "just in case" moments. The only thing to hit the scrap pile are unusable/unsellable parts, misc metal & the ocassional vehicle carcass.
I regret not finding this site before taking in 2 5'x9' U-haul trailers of metal, because I would have processed some things further. Like the 7-8 radiators that I got charged dirty price for because I was in too much of a rush to try to pop the end tanks off :facepalm:. So I ended up grossing around $500 for the 2 trips (had a couple cats and a good pile of #1) and instantly I caught the bug..
Now I realized a long time ago that I can't work for other people. Not so much can't, more like I didn't want to work for anyone else. A lot of my bosses hated that because I was usually one of the better workers that they have had. I flip-flopped between full time gigs, and eventually started my own screenprinting/graphic design company. I had a brick and mortar shop at the Jersey Shore for a few years, but a seasonal crowd mixed with a tanked economy led me to shut down after 2 years. I needed a better way to make money so I turned to eBay.
My primary source of income now comes from selling vinyl decals and t-shirts on my eBay store. Business is great but there is also a lot of overhead. Me and my fiancée did score a great deal on a 2 unit office space to work out of (she also has a screen printing/design business). Since catching the bug I've quickly filled the side of the building with about 1000 lbs of metal and I have designated an area inside for sorting and processing. I plan to make this a legit business.
I am only able to work 3 days a week since the addition of my baby girl last February. Shes partly the reason for me scrapping. At the moment I am limited to "going out" on trash nights and the occasional "scrap lap" on off days. I use my fiancees mom's SUV when I can, but I also use my Golf with no front seat and roof racks to scrap in. Hopefully next week I will be buying a small trailer, and after that a truck or van. Business cards, shirts & a website are on my to-do list. I also plan on searching for some steady customers to get scrap from.
I have already learned a ton of valuable information on this site and I appreciate that everyone is open to giving it. If I have questions I will be sure to search first, but I plan on also contributing whenever possible. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and I'll see you around!
Mike
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P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling. 
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