# Keep your eyes opened



## DaddyD (Oct 21, 2021)

The best way to find scrap is to keep your eyes opened as you drive or walk up the street


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## justinhcase (Oct 21, 2021)

Actually I tried that, and car boots. As well as door to door flyring and advertising in the local papers.
The story of _Dick Whittington_ and His Cat in English folklore, surrounding the real-life Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) is brought to my mind.
A young man who went to London because he was informed all the streets were paved in gold, He at least was saved by his magical cat who saved his aspirational rear end.
We are not so lucky as to have such a cat!
None of them produced much value when compared to the time and energy expended.
Unfortunate, gold is quite a unique commodity when compared to most other advertising targets.
Whereas most other activities can be promoted in a general way, spraying out as much promotion as you can afford, knowing at least 5% of the people reached are potential clients.
But out of one thousand people on average not very many will have gold they can sell, even fewer will have a realistic valuation of their property that can be coaxed to a resolution.
So I find the best way to find scrap is to build a local reputation for paying people well and let them come to you.
Advertise sparingly and to promote your position as the best local service, then expand that catchment aria.
But even once they come to you to ask for help most will have quite a delusory idea of how you should operate and most will simply try and demand payment in line with their aspirations, not what you can prove readily.
So good conflict resolution skills will help you harvest more, but by no means guarantee a good acquisition.


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## Starting out (Oct 25, 2021)

justinhcase said:


> Actually I tried that, and car boots. As well as door to door flyring and advertising in the local papers.
> The story of _Dick Whittington_ and His Cat in English folklore, surrounding the real-life Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) is brought to my mind.
> A young man who went to London because he was informed all the streets were paved in gold, He at least was saved by his magical cat who saved his aspirational rear end.
> We are not so lucky as to have such a cat!
> ...


Well said Justin,

In my case, I just started scrapping electronics maybe a 6 months ago. I work for a condominium complex and I have found it to be a veritable gold mine. Many people are just throwing away their electronics in the garbage and I always keep my eyes open. I haven't paid out any money at all for any scrap. The other day, there were 6 bins of computer scrap just sitting there for the taking. I'm not quite ready to use aqua regia but almost. I figured if I can scrap the parts and focus on recovering the foils and pins, I can refine them in a bigger batch later when I find a source for nitric acid. I am not equipped to work indoors and with the weather cooling down, I will probably wait until spring. 

Dealing with a large number of homes, I tell a few and they tell a few that I am scrapping responsibly and any electronics can be picked up at their door. They don't need to drive their ewaste to any facility. They get someone willing to pick it up and they can rest assured that their crap won't end up as land fill. They are happy to give it away. I strip it down and collect any parts with precious metals and then I can sell the rest to the scrapyard. Everyone wins.


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## justinhcase (Oct 25, 2021)

Starting out said:


> Well said Justin,
> 
> In my case, I just started scrapping electronics maybe a 6 months ago. I work for a condominium complex and I have found it to be a veritable gold mine. Many people are just throwing away their electronics in the garbage and I always keep my eyes open. I haven't paid out any money at all for any scrap. The other day, there were 6 bins of computer scrap just sitting there for the taking. I'm not quite ready to use aqua regia but almost. I figured if I can scrap the parts and focus on recovering the foils and pins, I can refine them in a bigger batch later when I find a source for nitric acid. I am not equipped to work indoors and with the weather cooling down, I will probably wait until spring.
> 
> Dealing with a large number of homes, I tell a few and they tell a few that I am scrapping responsibly and any electronics can be picked up at their door. They don't need to drive their ewaste to any facility. They get someone willing to pick it up and they can rest assured that their crap won't end up as land fill. They are happy to give it away. I strip it down and collect any parts with precious metals and then I can sell the rest to the scrapyard. Everyone wins.


Back in the days of the 286 and 386 processor, electronic waste was fishing in the dry season.
Ponds full of fish to catch.
Now I am afraid the content is very different, less and less value with each passing month.
I shut down all my electronic processing as it just was not economically viable for me to waste my time on it.
In the UK we have a whole host of problems with legislation and a thing called waste electrical and electronic equipment legislation.
Working on turning that whole side into a charity giving work to adults on the autistic spectrum.
The legislation left a set of holes you can drive a very large charity through with considerable advantages over a comical operation, and I like the idea of giving people who would normally not have a chance of building themself a life a good chance.
Also, I know they will enjoy ripping apart computers and learning to refurbish them.
Some things you build to let go of.


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## Starting out (Oct 26, 2021)

Yes, it's nice to see that some are getting a chance at a normal life and are able to work. I'm all for the charities and for helping those in need. In Canada, we don't have the same legislation regarding our recycling and ewaste. We have recommendations telling us what we should do and a huge portion of our old computers ends up in landfill.


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## justinhcase (Oct 26, 2021)

Starting out said:


> Yes, it's nice to see that some are getting a chance at a normal life and are able to work. I'm all for the charities and for helping those in need. In Canada, we don't have the same legislation regarding our recycling and ewaste. We have recommendations telling us what we should do and a huge portion of our old computers ends up in landfill.


Well the fact is that what ever system exists impacts you.
Do we adapt to the local environment or lament what could have been?
Make the most of what you have around you, and do not chase other people's ideas.
If there was that much value, they would not throw them away


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