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Curb collecting in the winter

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    Scarface550 started this thread.
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    Curb collecting in the winter

    I'm in Michigan so the winters suck but is it still possible to make at least 40 a week?



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    MattInTheHat's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scarface550 View Post
    I'm in Michigan so the winters suck but is it still possible to make at least 40 a week?
    How should we know?

    We don't live there. We have no idea what gets put out, how much luck you have, or how much fuel you spend looking.
    Currently looking for a job in or related to scrap/recycling. Relocation is possible for the right offer.

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    parttimescrapperMD's Avatar
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    Start buying. Then you will have a steadier stream of scrap even in the winter.

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    I wrote a clever true line in my article about curb shopping - it has its ups and downs. Its not like everyone throws out the same amount of scrap everyday, let alone the weather conditions. I find free craigslist works better in the winter. Curb shopping is not necessarily dead in the winter, but its not like spring cleanup season either. Re-sale items are good finds in winter, people are stuck indoors and they clean the attics out.. not necessarily scrap, but good resale. Winter sucks too because someone will throw out some shelves or stuff sideways, snow covers it up, plows come by, and you wont know its there till the hole where it was shows up when the garbage man drives by

    For now, wait and see. Every area is different. I live in PA, so NY would be similar to my weather.

    Cheers

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    You could make $40 off the can and bottle deposits alone...

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    Try to develop a client list so you have know product places to drive to. Mike
    "Profit begins when you buy NOT when you sell." {quote passed down to me from a wise man}

    Now go beat the copper out of something, Miked

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    Winter brings a bunch of different items that I love. After thanksgiving smokers and deep fryers show up. Then after Chrstmas Christmas trees, lights, old bikes, old electronics all the new replaces all the old. You just have to go get it.

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    KzScrapper's Avatar
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    A week??? Got to make way more then that a day to pay the bills.
    Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesaler
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    "Give them enough so they can do something with it, but not too much that they won't do nothing."

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    Mechanic688's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Scarface550 View Post
    I'm in Michigan so the winters suck but is it still possible to make at least 40 a week?
    If you going to scrap cars then I would say yes, but curb shopping is so hit and miss. No way I could rely on just curb shopping here. That's why I do appliances, general scrap metal, ewaste, etc. And breaking everything down adds to the bottom line.
    P & M Recycling - Specializing in E-Waste Recycling.
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    DevinThaScrapper's Avatar
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    Get some contacts.... Contractors, plumbers, electricians, business's, dumpsters to dig thru. Curb shopping could easily make you $40 a week but if you drive around for a week $40 isn't enough for even some gas....

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    If you advertise in the winter that you do pickups....get way more than curbco in winter. People don't want to bundle up just to put out a dryer, but will shove it on the porch real fast if they know someone's coming to get it. It's appreciated by folks around here.




    You've got to clock the hours and pay your dues. Then eventually, people will come to you. You have to be patient and appreciative.

    Elisabeth Rohm
    Last edited by Hypoman; 10-29-2014 at 11:20 PM.
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    SNOWBLOWERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Last year we made over 1.5k in snowblowers people threw out cause it was gunked up and bad gas. I love this time of year

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    Quote Originally Posted by Hypoman View Post
    If you advertise in the winter that you do pickups....get way more than curbco in winter. People don't want to bundle up just to put out a dryer, but will shove it on the porch real fast if they know someone's coming to get it. It's appreciated by folks around here.




    You've got to clock the hours and pay your dues. Then eventually, people will come to you. You have to be patient and appreciative.

    Elisabeth Rohm
    thats a good idea-i think.

    no snow here ever, so i cant talk from personal experience but it makes sense that when its very cold, ppl will appreciate having someone they know who will pick up stuff without them having to go to the curb.

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    dalegribble's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hobo finds View Post
    You could make $40 off the can and bottle deposits alone...
    That's only if you fail to consider the fact that most people in Michigan also pay 10 cents per container at the time they purchase the beverage (so, an extra $1.20 for each 12-pack) which comes out to $0 net. If the OP isn't in a border area, this is probably the case.
    Last edited by dalegribble; 11-23-2014 at 09:00 AM.

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    Depending on the vehicles and the ditch, maybe a scrapper could make some money pulling cars out of ditches, with their own scrapping trucks or long rope around a tree. If the ditched vehicle is still driveable, then the driver may not need a standard towing service. Incompetence could put the scrapper's truck in the ditch, so try at your own risk.


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