improvise, addapt, overcome

in these hard times it is something we must all do if we are to survive. for example do you realize what you have learned as a scrapper puts you one step away from being an old time blacksmith hone your knowledge, learn from others here, they will be glad to help.

volunteer one afternoon or morning in return for training in a skill you lack. learn how to cast metal. look for other more profitable ways to utilize some finds. another lost art is repairing small appliances, a used toaster is worth $5 in a yard sale .06 cents at the yard.

others please join this thread with other ideas.

Unless you are a WELL KNOWN metal smith ( not a metal fabricator ) in a city with many wealthy people, that 'skill' will not get you anywhere. Most folks are perfectly happy with their cheap machine made junk !

As far as yard sales - people in my area won't buy anything unless it's given away for almost free !

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Originally Posted by RLS0812

Unless you are a WELL KNOWN metal smith ( not a metal fabricator ) in a city with many wealthy people, that 'skill' will not get you anywhere. Most folks are perfectly happy with their cheap machine made junk !

As far as yard sales - people in my area won't buy anything unless it's given away for almost free !

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Then you need to broaden your horizons. Get a bunch done and take them to the nearest larger city swap meet...sell on ebay (even parts...like say vacuum cleaner hoses, cords, and plastic pieces and craigslist. Get a bunch and take to an auction. I have NEVER seen a place where yard sales can't make money (unless you live in a very small town). My town in medium sized and the last one I did (and it wasn't all that big), I made $500 or so. Also sell on FB yard sale groups. ALWAYS an outlet, just need to find the right niche.

Money is EVERYWHERE, you just have to know what to look for and where to resell it. Hell, even buying form other pickers and taking the big load to the big city for resale...easy money.

I sell auto parts, tv parts and appliance parts. I stopped everything except auto parts cause most profitable at this time. I may get backnto scra tvs in upcoming winter months when too cold to work outside.

If you're able to get these two items from your scrapyard as I do, you can turn them into profit. Air compressors and kerosene space heaters seem to be thrown away while yet repairable. I learned much about them from YouTube and have put a few back in service. I don't like the oilless compressors as the parts don't interchange as easily, but if you have the room and can collect the others, you can eventually make one out of 2 or 3 or more. At the least, there are small parts that can be saved from them. You might even run an ad and acquire the same items for very few $$. I've seen perfectly good air compressors given away when the only thing wrong was a hole in the tank which I brazed shut.

Lawn mowers and chain saws are other items if you have the room. If you can learn to repair small engines, you'll never be out of work. The problem I found is that once you sell a lawn mower, the next spring when it won't start, you're going to get a call and be expected to fix it for nothing. I guess they expect free lifetime service...!!! This problem if probably related to my low population area though.

I easily make as much money from selling old or desirable items as scrap. Wheelchair $5 scrap easy $50 used. Golf bag $0 scrap $20-$100 used.

If you can fix a toaster and sell it for five bucks, unless you took less than thirty minutes to fix it, you are probably better off getting an entry-level job selling coffee. At least you might get a decent tip. If you are doing scrap arbitrage, a better turn would be cleaning up vintage cast ironware. They are easier to rehabilitate and can sell for tens or even hundreds of dollars to a dedicated collector's market.

I don't fault alternative economic models out of hand but I see it time and time again that the first casualty tends to be the valuation of one's own time. I've been subject to the same fallacy. If you can't make ends meet with a $12/hr job, how could spending three hours to salvage an appliance ever be worth less than $40 to you, minimum? And if that appliance is a toaster, can you demonstrate to a consumer that your salvaged, refurbed unit is worth their $40 when they can get another, newer one for much less?

I hate being a Negative Ned but I was driving, yesterday, and I saw a 10-foot tow-behind full of satellite dishes and sheet steel in someone's yard. Probably less than a half ton but the nearest yard is an hour away from their house. $10 to show for two hours drive, thirty minutes at the yard, and however long that eyesore sits in front of your house. This thread just sort of brought it all back to mind.

It's like with anything else in business .... you have to ask yourself if the juice is worth the squeeze. Pay careful attention to your operating expenses and the time that you're putting into a project. Be mindful that you're under time pressure to perform.

We all have monthly expenses like rent/mortgage, utilities, taxes, vehicles, medical, personal, and so on. If the money going out is more than the money coming in you're in trouble.

I think we've all heard the saying " Jack of all trades but master of none ". You can get by that way when times are good.

The hard times quickly separate the wheat from the chaff. Only the best survive in the business world. The rest fall by the wayside.

Your best chance at success is to be uncommonly good at something that is marketable.

What kind of appliance do you want? I have about 25 of each at any given time ..Washers, Dryers, Fridges, Stoves, Dishwashers.. $5 each. lol

`Buddy of mine hits up the yards near the sandbar, an buys their propane tanks to make pig cookers.(Big tanks, not the iddy biddy grill ones) He does well with it.

Another one does fire pits.

One can sell anything..as WBSTS said, you just need to know the outlets to sell them. My sandbar, yard sales can bring good business. Spring, Summer or Fall. Winter times not to many as we got some nice and cold winds out of the NE here. Not a lot of wind blocks on a sandbar. ;)

If one is wasting their time spending 3 hours on a toaster...I'd have to say, you should find something else to fix up an sell. I know folks who spend time fixing washers & dryers, Fridges, Flat screen TVs, Cell phone screens, etc. They get a lot of the stuff as scrap. Washer & Dryer guy gets his stuff from the curb, or buys it from one of the yards here. Fridges..same deal for that guy. The Flat Screen tvs, an cell phone guy buys a bunch from me. Why I never have tvs to ship out. Heh. Cell phone guy buys phones from me(parts)screens, batteries, etc. I never know what he'll ask for, but most the time when he calls I got what he needs.

So yes value your time, pick things you can do fast. As one of our posters like to say...Turn n Burn. Not only applies to scrapping but to rehabbing/fixing items.

An thanks Eco/Olddude, for reminding me...I need to schedule some time with one of our blacksmiths down here. I've been wanting to do so, so I could learn about some of the things I'm interested in the smiths do. We've got a couple down here that know their stuff.

Sirscrapalot - Only you can decide what your time is worth, not me, him, her or any other poster. - One of our members.

"if your doing nothing with your time, then it dosent take long to figure out what your time is worth." mcw

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Originally Posted by rca987

What kind of appliance do you want? I have about 25 of each at any given time ..Washers, Dryers, Fridges, Stoves, Dishwashers.. $5 each. lol

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I sell my metal wash tubs to a guy for 10 bucks each and I keep the rest, You get faster and more efficient the more you do, I wait till I got at least 6

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Originally Posted by EcoSafe

"if your doing nothing with your time, then it dosent take long to figure out what your time is worth." mcw

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I'm going to further immortalize you. Saved to the quote file. ;)

Sirscrapalot - Stick with me kid, we'll go places. - I dunno who but it sounded good.

all that paper you pull from scrap printers is worth $100 per ton

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Originally Posted by directrecycle

all that paper you pull from scrap printers is worth $100 per ton

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or $1 per pound if it's in good condition !

If there is ink on the paper will they dock the money they pay?

Sirscrapalot - Serious question or not....magic 8 ball says...find out tomorrow!

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Originally Posted by Breakage

I hate being a Negative Ned but I was driving, yesterday, and I saw a 10-foot tow-behind full of satellite dishes and sheet steel in someone's yard. Probably less than a half ton but the nearest yard is an hour away from their house. $10 to show for two hours drive, thirty minutes at the yard, and however long that eyesore sits in front of your house. This thread just sort of brought it all back to mind.

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Maybe that's why it's still sitting there. Waiting on the $200/ton dream! :D

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Originally Posted by Yunkman

I've seen perfectly good air compressors given away when the only thing wrong was a hole in the tank which I brazed shut.

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Maybe it's just me, but I'd be nervous around a pressurized tank that had a repair. Do you have a way of testing them?

@breakage Were the dishes the actual dishes or was it the arm/LNB*?

Never take the arms/LNB to the yard. Pop them suckers open an pull out your boards..you'll thank me later. For those who not know what I speak of...I'm sure a forum search for LNB/DISH/Directv. I know I posted plenty on them when I first started getting them.

I never found dishes tho to be worth the effort of taking in. The steel attached to them..sure, but the actual dish, the ones I've dealt with weren't even metal. I think the ones I've had, have all been fiberglass. Only metal was the arm they were attached to for me, of course YMMV.

But yea..those LNB boards...lovely things. Bad thing - Their very light. Good thing - All the ones I've pulled with the exception of 2, have been plated. Search the forum for pics. ;) An the two that weren't platted...were like some weird plastic/cloth hybrid. lol. Very hard to describe. I think I still have them somewhere, as a memento.

Love me some LNBs!

Sirscrapalot - We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. - Plato

* - LNB = Low-noise blocker

They were DTV dishes on someone else's trailer.

I see a few dishes and LNB's. You'll hate me for saying it but I usually toss them in the dirty Ali. The first one I opened was a pain to clear off the plastic. Then, I saw that tiny, tiny, shiny, shiny board and was like, "Shazam!" But try as I might, I could not get it free from that weird epoxy seal. I couldn't even get a pocketknife underneath to pry. I let it go and haven't tried again, since. I would love to know the trick of it.

And now, back to the thread.

On topic, are Hamfests still a thing? Are they well-attended? I know exactly one operator.

You'll hate me but it's easy...

a chisel or flat edge screw driver will get rid of the epoxy crap on the outside, use said screw driver or chisel to pop the back. Once in..grab the torx screwdriver..a cheapie from lowes will do just fine. Remove the 30 **** screws, an bask in your fully gold plated on one side, an generous amounts of gold on the other.

Or send them to me. Nothing makes me happier then gold.

I could stay on topic..but eh..my bursts of wisdom come randomly. You'll survive as the others have for the last 4 years of me being here. ;)


Sirscrapalot - Friends don't let friends throw away easily gotten gold boards.