Dumpster Diving (My All Time # 1 Favorite!)

You’re probably thinking why would anyone want to crawl around in some old rotting food filled dumpster looking for items to sell on eBay. The answer is simple. I wouldn’t. Basically Dumpster Diving is a clean sport. Really…. I have a friend who has furnished about 50% of his house with items people leave at the curb, or that he has picked up out of dumpsters. He has regular routes that he runs each week. He has acquired antique pictures, antique electric train sets (the very original ones) antique toys, antique lamps, beds, TVs (still working), tools, etc. You name it and he’s probably brought it home at one time or another. He recently located a View Sonic VG175 flat screen monitor that someone had left street side. With the addition of a $35 power supply, I am using that monitor as I type the information in this section. This past summer I found a 1.8Ghz computer setting street side on my way home from the store. The memory card had giggled loose making its operation intermittent. It now a second computer on our home network. Dumpster Diving is an incredible sport that everyone can enjoy!

Best locations for Dumpster Diving

Don’t limit yourself on this all import resource for products. While you will rarely (if ever) support a niche business by dumpster diving, there are many locations that will prove profitable for the dumpster diver:

• Older Home areas of the City – Many cities and neighborhoods are sprucing up older neighborhoods. When builders go in to refurbish an older home, many of the vintage fixtures appear roadside.
• Day after a neighborhood Garage Sale – Plan to make your rounds after dark on the last day of a neighborhood or citywide garage sale. Items that don’t get sold often appear curbside for the next round of trash pickup.
• College Towns – College towns can be the best resource for your better dumpster diving finds. Over the college year many students acquire items to fill up their rental houses that are generally shared by two or more tenants. When summer arrives and the students go home for the summer, they find that all that stuff they’ve acquired over the last 9 months won’t fit in that little 2 door foreign car daddy gave them when they went off to college. As a result tons of great stuff ends up curb side!
• Storage Facilities – You’ve seen the rows of storage sheds. While some facilities auction off the contents of abandoned storage containers, many will simply deposit the items in the dumpster at the end of the rental period.
• Apartment Complexes – End of month is moving day for many. Especially on long weekends such as Memorial Day or Labor Day weekends. The dumpsters at apartment complexes will often contain many items that people just don’t want to mess with moving. I once found an antique dresser in an apartment complex dumpster at the end of the month.

Dumpster Diving Warnings

In some cities dumpster diving is a crime. Be sure to check your local regulations before taking on this exciting activity.