Scrapping for beginners

Let's face it. The economy is not what it was a few years ago. With the changes we are seeing between health care reform, increasing gas prices, high unemployment rates...... Shall I go on....., many people need to find ways to earn extra money? And as gas prices increase, so does everything else that we use on a daily basis.

As a kid, II used to love collecting cans to make money. The difference between then and now is that I wanted money for candy and toys as a kid. Now I have a family to support. I wanted to make some extra money, so I looked into selling scrap metal.

Metal prices are good right now. I remember selling copper wire 8 years ago for .65/lb. Now it sells for more than $3.40/lb. Soda cans sell for about .55/lb now. Scrap aluminum goes for .40+/lb and steel is selling for more than $10.00/100lbs. This is not a get rich option by no means. But if you want to make some extra money without putting out money to do it, this is not a bad option.

Here are some things I've learned that may help you make some extra cash. First, check to see where the closest scrap yard is. Get an idea of how much they are paying for metals you think you can get to sell them. Find out what they accept. Some places don't take things like food cans, batteries, electronics, appliances, cars and such. Most will take copper, aluminum, brass and steel/iron. Next, go to YouTube and search "scrapping". there are some great videos that will help you learn how to make money on things like water heaters, appliances, autos and such. It will also help you find ways to disassemble things to maximize your profits from each item. You can spend a lot of time breaking things down completely, or do basic separations to a point that increase profits without a large time commitment. For example, you can take apart a floor fan by cutting off the cord and taking out the electric motor. You can sell the motor, the unstripped cord and the left over metal as unprepared steel. Or you can go a step further and strip the copper cord, disassemble the electric motor to get the aluminum, copper and brass, and break down the rest to just metal or prepared steel (No plastics or junk left on the steel pieces). The difference in money to do this on a floor fan may only be about $1.00 for the whole break down. You may choose to just do the basics depending on your time commitment. You can do this simple or complex breakdown on about everything.

Find some sources to get metal. I don't suggest paying for it. Some things, you'll find in your own home. You can keep your beer and soda cans. If your scrap yard takes food cans, save them to add to your steel pile. Anything metal can be saved. Even small stuff adds up over time. I check the free stuff on craigslist every day. People give stuff away everyday. Just don't travel too far to get it or you''ll eat up profit potential in gas. Find local tradesmen that come across scrap metals to see it you can have them. I have a plumber that gives me all of his water heaters. He changes 2-4 per week. A HVAC contractor is a good one too. You can also place an ad on craigslist.com or backpage.com letting people know they can drop off old appliances to you if they need to get rid of them. (I would suggest you just give a phone # in the ad and give them your address over the phone if you are comfortable with them. This is a good way to get stuff dropped off to you because many people don't want to pay to drop it at a landfill and many municipalities are charging people to dispose of appliances. Sometimes, you can get good, working appliances that you can turn around and sell on craigslist, like freezers, washers and dryers.

Once you get enough metal to haul to the local scrap yard, load up and take it in. If you have qustions about how you are breaking things down, ask the people at the scrap yard. They can be very helpful.

I hope this helps you. Good luck scrapping.