Maximize Profits

The secret to successfully scrapping lies in maximizing the profits while minimizing your effort. You have to ask yourself just how much work is involved in getting the scrap?

Shredder feed is generally iron and steel. It can be mixed with other materials just as long the the bulk is metal. Currently the price for shredder feed is 9.5 cents a pound. To make any money, you need a LOT of scrap.

Old appliances are perfect candidates. Old metal sheds - as long as you can dismantle them quickly enough to make the work worth while. It takes over 300 pounds of scrap to make 30 bucks.

But stop! Before you go tossing that old fridge, maximize your profit. The fridge has a compressor. That compressor is worth 15 cents a pound! Remove and and separate it. The compressors are usually secured with four cotter pins, sometimes with four bolts.

The copper tube will fetch you $2.70 a pound, well worth the effort to separate. Old electrical cords go for 70 cents a pound, worth cutting off of appliances and putting in a separate pile.

There are some times that just take too much effort to separate. I had two edgers with gas motors. The engines are cast aluminum, worth 70 cents a pound. If there was a way to easily remove the engines, it would be worthwhile. It took me close to an hour to get the heads off. Five pounds at 70 cents a pound for cast aluminium  - is an hour of your time really worth $3.50? 

The idea is to look for the easy money. Otherwise, it is better to get a job at WalMart!