Finding good scrap items that can make you money at the scale is one of the most exciting parts of scrapping. Besides making the money, discovering what one’s trash can be worth is a very motivating part of recycling scrap metal for a career or just a hobby. If you are looking to make some real money from items you find in scrap, selling your scrap online could be a good option for you.
Let’s Start Making Money
With the New Year already a distant Memory, making the goal to make more money through scrapping is a great New Year’s Resolution. Many scrappers don’t realize what kind of money they can make by reselling scrap items to 3rd parties rather than to scrap yards. Sometimes you can find good treasures on your scrap hunts that can be worth much more money if they area reused or resold.
How to recognize a keeper: You found something unique while on your hunt for scrap or while you were cleaning out a junk-filled space, now what? Is it really very special? What was it used for? Is it still functional? If you think it may really be something that can be used again or can be worth a good amount of money to a collector you can be looking at extra money.
- Do Research: After taking the scrap item home, and taking a closer look at it, it’s time to figure out exactly what it is. If you have some equipment like generators, AC units, electric motors, car parts, or computer parts, they may just need a little tuneup and you can get them up and running again. If you have collectibles: old brass plates, lamp, tool, or something else look for printed information. If you can find a company name, model number, year of production, or other clues you may be able to do some research on the item and find out its origin.
- Is it worth it? Now that you have figured out how to fix the item or what it is worth, you have to figure out if it is worth your time. For items that need fixing, it could cost you money to buy new parts and also can waste time fixing it while you could be scrapping. If it is a collectible that can be worth a great deal, you have to think about if it is worth it to find the right person to buy it, sell it with confidence at that price, or if you want to keep it for yourself.
- Sell, sell, sell: After you have spent the time fixing the equipment or cleaning up the collectible, now is the time to find the right place and person to sell it to. There are many sites online that you can sell used equipment and collectibles like eBay, Craigslist, Amazon, Etsy and others. You can also figure out if you want to try to sell your items to antique stores, garage sales, pawn shops, or find a collector in the area that is willing to buy your item.
For more information on selling scrap specific findings online, you can refer to our good friend, the Bigger Hammer on YouTube for eBay tips and tutorials. So start keeping an extra eye out for special items while on your scrap hunt, while we always want you to be scrapping, you may come across a treasure once and a while.
