What items are actually worth the time scrapping for money? - Page 2

Originally Posted by bigfoot

Refrigerators
Dishwashers?
Electric saws?
Fans?
Light fixtures?
Scooters
Stoves
Microwaves

I don't do much with saws, fans, scooters...but I do a lot with appliances. Generally, the only profitable way to scrap appliances is by the trailer load. The best way to increase your profits on appliances is to pull the various parts out. I buy appliance parts in the buyers and sellers section for significantly more than scrap value.

Even though this is an old thread, I want to add something that is easy to scrap- Romex wire. Many times I will only remove the soft outer layer and take the paper off the one bare bright copper strand inside. If it is easy enough (and often it is NOT easy), then I will attempt to remove the plastic insulation on the other inside wires. But that one strand of bare bright is very easy to remove. I would just try to keep it out of the rain, as the paper insulation in some cases could get stuck to the bare bright and become more difficult to remove.

Another thing that is kind of fun to scrap is chandeliers, but be sure to test with a magnet to make sure it is not steel before wasting a lot of time on it.

I found this a interesting read, so a bump to the top
and then some...

Originally Posted by bigfoot

Refrigerators
Dishwashers?
Electric saws?
Fans?
Light fixtures?
Scooters
Stoves
Microwaves


Etc...

What types of metal would I find in the time worthy items?

Gold and silver and platinum jewelry seem to provide a significant scrap value when you can find it. Gold and silver and platinum items tend to be small so look for them in the bottom of the trash bags, most often found in chicken bones and used tissue and coffee grounds. be sure to rub between your fingers to eliminate the possibility that an item will be missed because of the adhesion of surface debris.

That poor, poor horse.....

Refrigerators
Dishwashers?
Electric saws?
Fans?
Light fixtures?
Scooters
Stoves
Microwaves

The list above has only one thing on it that doesn't really fit and that is Scooters"

Parts is where the money is or selling items as is or fixing and selling if there is a market.

The things besides Scooters I have plenty of as most is scrap with a few parts of value for repairs, arts and crafts and such.

I can't understand how people can make a living at scraping most electric tools, appliances and such.

That's why I've let most of that type stuff just sit until it makes sense for me to do something with it.

I just might get around to messing with some of it in the future, but life changes and things happen to where it's time to do something with all the scrap here in the yard.

I don't mind as I'm in no rush to mess with most of it as I have other things to occupy my time.

It's all paid for so it can sit as I like sitting more these days as I try and enjoy the Golden years ahead.

Originally Posted by recyclersteve

Even though this is an old thread, I want to add something that is easy to scrap- Romex wire. Many times I will only remove the soft outer layer and take the paper off the one bare bright copper strand inside. If it is easy enough (and often it is NOT easy), then I will attempt to remove the plastic insulation on the other inside wires. But that one strand of bare bright is very easy to remove. I would just try to keep it out of the rain, as the paper insulation in some cases could get stuck to the bare bright and become more difficult to remove.

Whoo boy .... scrapping wire is quite a bit of work for what copper you get out of it. The wire stripping machine makes the task much easier but it still eats up a lot of time. It's a never ending job.

It seems like no sooner do i get caught up on the pile ... that hundreds more feet will come in. I'm grateful for everything that comes in but i really don't think i would recommend stripping wire for money to someone else.

It's too much like work for most people's tastes. The sensible thing would be to sell it as insulated copper wire at the yard and be done with it.

Originally Posted by ChildhoodDream

Refrigerators
Dishwashers?
Electric saws?
Fans?
Light fixtures?
Scooters
Stoves
Microwaves

The list above has only one thing on it that doesn't really fit and that is Scooters"

Parts is where the money is or selling items as is or fixing and selling if there is a market.

The things besides Scooters I have plenty of as most is scrap with a few parts of value for repairs, arts and crafts and such.

I can't understand how people can make a living at scraping most electric tools, appliances and such.

That's why I've let most of that type stuff just sit until it makes sense for me to do something with it.

I just might get around to messing with some of it in the future, but life changes and things happen to where it's time to do something with all the scrap here in the yard.

I don't mind as I'm in no rush to mess with most of it as I have other things to occupy my time.

It's all paid for so it can sit as I like sitting more these days as I try and enjoy the Golden years ahead.

I dunno man. All bets are off after you've turned 50. You gotta some thought to to the legacy you're leaving behind. At least ... most guys our age do.

What's the most likely scenario here ?

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

with the current scrap pricing just about everything is worth scrapping if you are physically able.........highest price in years but the trend is downward from here

I dunno Mike. You have to think about the value of your time plus operating expenses. I doubt i'm making more than two or three dollars an hour with stripping the wire.

It would be one thing if you were an old guy living on Social Security. It would a little extra coming in to help make ends meet.

Could you actually make a living at scrapping ? That's your prime gig that pays all the bills with no other income sources ? That's no easy thing to do.

Just cause you're making money ... doesn't mean you're making profit.

How do you define " Worth It ". ?

Originally Posted by hills

I dunno man. All bets are off after you've turned 50. You gotta some thought to to the legacy you're leaving behind. At least ... most guys our age do.

What's the most likely scenario here ?

I'm just living my childhood dream in that I've never put much thought into getting rid of stuff as my place is like a salvage yard theme park.

I created my own world here. I figured that I would get stuff sorted out so that if I had a auction in the future the scrap would most likely sell by the pallet or pile to others that were interested in scraping it out.

I got rid of most of the copper pipe and heavy wire. Some I stripped if easy, but I sold off many pounds of the wire they use in houses and well pump wire. Then there were the radiators and cats. Plus the battery piles I got rid of. One load of batteries was just over a ton.

I haven't messed with aluminum much as the price is so low.

The scrap is just extra stuff sitting around.

It's my hobbies that make me the BIG bucks.

I just might die here someday. Or I might move on and do something else. Don't matter much to me as I'm still living my childhood dreams and then some.

Motive is what makes things so different for me as my motives are on a different plane then most others.

My salvage yard is my home, simply put.

Originally Posted by hills

I dunno Mike. You have to think about the value of your time plus operating expenses. I doubt i'm making more than two or three dollars an hour with stripping the wire.

It would be one thing if you were an old guy living on Social Security. It would a little extra coming in to help make ends meet.

Could you actually make a living at scrapping ? That's your prime gig that pays all the bills with no other income sources ? That's no easy thing to do.

Just cause you're making money ... doesn't mean you're making profit.

How do you define " Worth It ". ?

I 100% agree!! The number of people who do scrapping that don't take into consideration that making money does not mean making a profit is huge. It's all fun and games on making money ignoring wear on vehicles. As soon as major repairs show up, things get serious very quickly. I cannot tell you how many scrappers I've seen lose significant business/no call, no show for their customers simply because their vehicle wasn't reliable enough to make it to the pickup location.

Full time scrapping is an interesting allure. I'm not full time, but I have seen a bunch of people who are. When prices are high they can make money. As soon as it drops though, times get financially slim very quickly. Especially if you're one of the "churn and burn" scrappers. I'm not saying churn and burn is the wrong way to do recycling, but you're at the mercy of the scrap prices. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around spending all the time collecting/taking trailer loads of metal to the yard when a single refrigerator will pay the same amount of money. For me, the scrap metal (especially steel) is just the last pile of material that can't be fixed/resold.

All that being said, I would honestly say the biggest thing that people don't do is define what they want to/set goals for their scrapping.

My perspective is a bit different CD. I'm getting to be an older guy and i've accumulated a lot of things over the years. I try to do the things that make me happy and live every day as though it were my last. There's really no way of knowing. Today might actually be my last.

Gawd ... i see it all the time. An older fulla dies and his wife & children get stuck doing the cleanout. It's an awful lot of unfinished business / unfinished work to leave as your legacy. Half the time they just scoop it all up into the back of a truck and haul it off to the dump.

Been making a conscious effort to reduce the volume of "stuff " over the last few years as well.

Originally Posted by hills

My perspective is a bit different CD. I'm getting to be an older guy and i've accumulated a lot of things over the years. I try to do the things that make me happy and live every day as though it were my last. There's really no way of knowing. Today might actually be my last.

Gawd ... i see it all the time. An older fulla dies and his wife & children get stuck doing the cleanout. It's an awful lot of unfinished business / unfinished work to leave as your legacy. Half the time they just scoop it all up into the back of a truck and haul it off to the dump.

Been making a conscious effort to reduce the volume of "stuff " over the last few years as well.

I have had many ask me what will happen to all the stuff I have if I died. I would tell them that when I'm dead I have no use or interest in it anymore.

I have let those I know well know what to do when I'm gone. Now getting sick in a bad way would change everything, but I have a good idea of what I would do then.

I don't put much thought into the things that most others do as most of my thinking is off on another planet as far as most others are concerned.

I have learned in my older age that I can't do as much as I did in the past, but that don't matter much to me as it's the way things go.

I mostly do what I feel like doing, or need to do. I have many projects that need attention, but I just mosey along as I do my work/play in a interesting way.

I don't have a wife and children so I have no responsibility in that area.

In the past when I had dogs I would put thought into what would happen to them if I died. Big part of the reason I don't have dogs anymore. Didn't want the responsibility.

I'm wired VERY differently then most others, always have been. We all live in our own little worlds. My world is just far beyond the worlds of most others understanding, simply put.

Ummm .... maybe not all that different from others CD.

What it all boils down to is " I'm dead so it's somebody else's problem ". Just gonna do my thing and call it good enough.

Originally Posted by hills

Ummm .... maybe not all that different from others CD.

What it all boils down to is " I'm dead so it's somebody else's problem ". Just gonna do my thing and call it good enough.

Not sure what you are saying there. Could you expound on it?

Well ... a lot of people are selfish. The world begins and ends with them.

Kinda getting into junkyard philosophy again ... but have you ever read the writings of Ayn Rand ?

She had quite a bit to say on the matter and extolled on "the virtue of selfishness".

It's a somewhat different view on morality & ethics but not unique.