Ever heard the expression "One man's trash is another man's treasure"? Well this idea is heavily based on this expression. Dumpster diving is going through the dumpsters to see if people threw away anything decent.
Before you laugh yourself silly, I would like to say that I remember reading a news article about a woman finding a rare painting in the dumpster. The painting was worth a lot of money, I am talking about over $10,000. So as you can see, dumpster diving actually works.
Why you can make money with dumpster diving?
The answer is simple, not everyone is smart. Lets face it, people don't know the value of the stuff they keep in their house and when its no longer needed, they throw it away. For electronics, it could be that the item malfunctions and the person doesn't know how to fix it, so they throw it away. The problem could be a simple blown fuse. Even if that is not the case, you would be surprised how much stuff Ebay has thats labeled "for parts/repair".
Things to look for when dumpster diving
There are certain things to look out for when searching through the dumpsters.
1. Popular Electronics - things like game consoles, handheld games, game cartridges, Ipods and stuff like that. Don't bother with CRT tvs or CRT computer monitors they are worthless. The only value these have is spare electronic parts.
2. Paintings - I am not really too sure about paintings but if you know about them, then pick them up. You can always throw it away later if its not worth anything.
3. Antiques - This one surprises me as well, I mean why would people pay big money for something thats old? The answer is either they are rich, or they can resell the item later at a higher price. Not really sure what to look for in this category, but if it looks interesting pick it up.
4. Collector items - These sometimes wind up in dumpsters, things like collectible cards, magazines, books. You might not need it but someone else will.
Ok, I found the item, whats next?
Well, your first choice of action would be to clean up the item from any dirt(trust me, the dumpster dirt stinks.) Next search Google for the item if you know what it is. Afterwards check eBay if someone sells something similar. If its antique, you can take it to your local antique store and ask the sales person to tell you a little about the item, mainly the price.
Well, hopefully you found this article of some use. Till next time, bye bye.
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