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Being asked what I'm doing with the ewaste

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  1. #1
    copycat started this thread.
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    Being asked what I'm doing with the ewaste

    So lately been picking up alot of ewaste from people and I'm asked what I'm doing with the stuff. One person asking how much I'm getting for the boards. Should I be truthful? So what are you others telling people? Didn't want loose any contacts or make more competition.
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    Copycat



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    due to my loaction i have no compitition .but when customers ask my im partaly honest .i tell them i make about 40% profit based on investment.but i also tell them the time it takes me to tear the items down

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    I just tell em you got to accumulate quite a bit before the refiners will even look at it ; )
    They don't much proceed with that line of thought from there
    Last edited by Bear; 04-29-2013 at 04:04 PM.

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  5. #4
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    lol I tell them its like real gold minning it takes a lot of effort and sweat blood and yes tears to accomplish something that resembles a job and then when you get that far you have to jump though a lot more hoops before ya can crack the whip on the ring master and it gets laughs and sometimes even more stuff as for what I do with it I recycle it even if some of what I do toss gets burned to make our electricity crts and such things get separated out because of the value of the lead and glass and what ever other metals I toss as for plastic I wish I had someone I could save it for I have buyers but to far away. trying right now to build my own type of shredder for this since I only do 500lbs a week or so and save it up that way. I do hate tossing it because plastic would pay all my overhead costs that way

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    Look at harbor freight I got a shredder for 300 works great for plastic it has a wide mouth and the stuff that doesn't fit you can break and then it will fit.

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    I have been told that shredding plastic cute the value by over 1/2, as it makes sorting out unwanted material almost impossible

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    My buyer does not want the plastic shredded. I have to save up 10 gaylords though for him to pick up...lots of space for what the plastic is worth.

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    Tell them you have to pick it up, lay out money up front to buy it, take it apart, sort it, store it, ship it, make contacts, etc. And you feel you make a decent hourly wage after you calculate all the hours and expenses.
    Last edited by MattInTheHat; 04-29-2013 at 03:00 PM. Reason: poor spelling lol

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    Where is it written that you have to answer them?
    People may laugh at me, but that's ok. I laugh all the way to the bank.

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    I just tell them that I am recycling the waste. No one has asked me the price I get. I probably would tell them it depends on where I sell them and leave it at that.

    Of course you can always just answer their question with another question like "why does everyone always ask me that?" or " Why? do you have some to sell?" I've noticed that people get irritated when you do that and leave you alone lol.
    Last edited by Scrapette; 04-29-2013 at 04:21 PM.
    Success consists of going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm...... Churchill

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    I engage in misinformation, as the government calls it. No good business man reveals all his secrets. I never outright lie, to anyone. Lying is different, You catch my drift... Its not really anyone's business how much a business person makes anyways.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Russell View Post
    I engage in misinformation, as the government calls it. No good business man reveals all his secrets. I never outright lie, to anyone. Lying is different, You catch my drift... Its not really anyone's business how much a business person makes anyways.
    soooooo kinna like a politician. Ya just talk a lot anddddddd don't say NUTIN! got it

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    Happens all the time, this is what I say.

    1 - We break them down, recycle everything individually, and decommission the hard drives.

    2 - The prices vary everyday, but it's worth our while.

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    I have a customer who actually got prices from a buyer on here and I had to explain the troubles involved in storing, sorting, processing etc.... to merit the profit margin. In explaining everything, I actually learned that I didn't make enough on a few items, and not enough at all to buy 3.5 floppy drives so I cut them off my list.

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    I tell people the truth...that I sell the cases as scrap metal, and fill up totes in my basement with boards until I have at least around 100lbs, then I ship it to out of state refiners. I will even say that boards are worth about $3/lb. Once folks do that math, they generally see that I am on the bottom rung, and am not making a killing on their old clunker.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Pnutfarmer View Post
    I have a customer who actually got prices from a buyer on here and I had to explain the troubles involved in storing, sorting, processing etc.... to merit the profit margin. In explaining everything, I actually learned that I didn't make enough on a few items, and not enough at all to buy 3.5 floppy drives so I cut them off my list.
    Thats about what I tell them too but most are just curious and happy to get rid of them since in my area they charge about $15 per tower to get rid of and people love saving cash.

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    i'm honest with people. I have two price lists in my truck, what I pay (based on a single pickup) and what I get. and then I explain what goes into it with the sorting breaking down and shipping and then waiting for a week for a check. and with all that i'm making barely more than min wage, but it's something I can do during the day when i'm home with my boys. I've never had someone say I was taking too much of the profit after I explained what I do. 90% of the people who ask just want to know if your a trust worthy person, to give the rest of their scrap to. as there is always more that they have to get rid of, but they want to know your not going to rip them off.


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