I have been scavenging in junk yards for around 5 years now and it has become so successful that I have managed to give up my day job in order to scavenge full time. I love the thrill of finding something exciting or valuable and I also love learning about new things which I may have missed in the past. A prime example of this would be lab equipment, I was never much of a scientist so I had no idea about this stuff until I picked up a book and read about the value in things like refrigerators, lab ovens and things like the PCR thermocycler. These were items that I have seen almost everyday and had no idea what they were, or what value they held.
There are many skills which you need if you want to scavenge full time and knowledge is only a part of it, if this is something you’d like to get involved with then here are some tips on making money from it.
Get Permission
You are going to need the junk yards way more than they need you so you should always act in the right way when dealing with them. You will often need to have written permission or buy entry into the junk yard before you start scavenging and in all honesty, it just makes sense to do this so that you can keep your hoard. Maintaining good relationships with the invested people is the best way for you to keep on scavenging.
Make Contacts
As you scavenge and then try to sell your goods, you will encounter many specialists and it is important that you form relationships with them so that you can sell to them when you make a find. A prime example of this would be the science stuff that I mentioned before, I knew there was value in it but I had no idea who to sell it to. Thankfully I met a woman who dealt in this sort of stuff and I instantly had a channel to sell these goods when I found them.
Be Persistent
Don’t get confused into thinking that you are going to enter a junk yard and spot a million dollar item because it is highly unlikely to happen. You will however make some big finds but in order to find them you have to be persistent and spend a great deal of time rooting around for that pot of gold. It van be easy to get discouraged if you haven’t found something for a while but you must keep pushing on.
Up Your Knowledge
Finally we come back to knowledge, the absolute key to scavenging and you should always try to pursue more knowledge about the things that you are seeing around you in the junk yards. Once again I go back to the science example, I hate to imagine how much money I have lost out over the years because I was walking past these pieces of lab kit that I had no idea about. Do your homework and make more money, it is that simple.