Rant: Hit 50 pounds of junk scrap from one dumpster, is that a win or a problem?

Last Saturday I pulled 50 pounds of old cords, broken fans, and rusted tools from a dumpster behind a strip mall in Tacoma, sold the copper for $38 and kept a weird brass frog. My buddy says I'm a genius for that, but my girlfriend saw the pile and called it a hoarder's starter kit. So which is it, we hunting for treasure or just moving trash around?

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1 Comment

the_holly18d ago

I read a piece last month about how scrappers in Seattle are pulling way more copper out of commercial dumpsters since the tech bust, so your $38 is actually on the low end for that weight. The real value here is that brass frog, honestly. Those old cast brass figures go for stupid money on eBay if you clean them up right, I saw one sell for $60 last week. Your girlfriend has a point about the pile though, 50 pounds is a lot to keep around if you don't flip it fast. The trick is selling the metal the same week you pull it, then you're just a scavenger with a hobby, not a hoarder. Keep the frog, sell the rest, and tell her the dumpster is basically a free hardware store if you know what to grab.