posted on January 9, 2001 11:38:07 PM
PS: By the way, a couple months ago I was walking home and saw in the garbage on the curb this really nice baby's crib... wooden one, painted white, really beautiful...my head started spinning "EBAY EBAY EBAY"... I dragged it home (not easy) and pulled it into my livingroom. I looked at it for a long time. Then I thought "Am I really going to be able to ship this thing??" Hmmmmmm. "This sure is taking up a lot of space in my livingroom." Hmmmmm. "Is it possible I'm getting a little carried away with this ebay thing?" My cats looked at me... ya know that disgusted look that cats give you when you just did something really ridiculous. They looked at me... I looked at them. I dragged the crib back outside and put it back on the curb. Of course it was gone in a couple hours. Has anyone seen it?
posted on January 10, 2001 12:33:27 AM
My heaviest find was a couch. My largest find was a roll of carpeting from my neighbors. Those two were for temporary use. My best find was a leather office chair in perfect condition. I also got an alarm clock.
I don't dive in the dumster for anything, that's gross. I just take what's next to the garbage. Nice apartment buildings are the best place to search as those people move more often and dump whatever they can.
\"It's lonely at the top, but you eat better.
\"
posted on January 10, 2001 01:32:14 AM
I have a neighbor that puts a case of beer bottles out on the ground by the dumpster about every two weeks. He is just too lazy to take them back. If I see them I take them back because I am going for myself anyway. It is just a free $2.40 to me.
posted on January 10, 2001 02:45:06 AM
Okay, since nycrocker asked for it...
The reason why the companies "changed" over to those Overpriced Compactors was that a guy was Dumpster Diving in an Open Bin, and while he was digging in the Bin, the Trashmen came with their truck that uses the forklift thingy to dump the trash into the back.
Anyway, the story kinda blurs here, but, he claimed her never heard the truck came, and by the time he figured it out, he was under a foot of trash in the back of the truck.
The trashmen said something different to the effect that they didn't see him or whatnot...
He sued for among other things:
Personal Injuries
Medical Expenses (one was for a rather pricey Psychology Exam assesing he was suffering "Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome"
Neglegence on the part of the comapny (Like they would actually look in the thing anyway?!?!)
There were 7 different things he was suing for.
The Jury gave him the cash (6 figures, wasn't fully disclosed), but the Cops arrested him a month later for Trespassing after one of the Hotel's Security Guards caught him digging thru their Dumpsters.
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
posted on January 10, 2001 03:27:50 AM
Dumpster Diving is how I got started buying and selling. I went to a department store going out of business sale 20 years ago they were selling all you could put in a cart for $40.00
Listening to a person in line by me said if he didn't have to work the next day he would love to check out the dumpster when they clean out the store tomorrow. He was right.
I hauled 3 truck loads of new stuff out of the dumpster the next day and rented a booth at the flea market to sell it in. I made over $2,500.00 off the stuff out of the dumpster.
posted on January 10, 2001 04:16:27 AM
Diving in my area will get you a quick trip to the slammer. Most dumpster have locks, the backs of most stores are fenced, those in strip mall type of areas anyway.
I have an old friend who has picked stuff up from the curbs in front of homes, but I've never done it.
As far as diving from the Salvation Army or Goodwill dumptsers, there was a lengthy thread here a while back on that very topic. Even though they may not appreciate the stuff that is being left, once it is there it is their property. It is illegal and unethical to take stuff from a donation box. I can't remember the title of the thread, but the person that did this was not handled nicely.
posted on January 10, 2001 06:22:19 AM
Leather sofa
2 fine Singer sewing machines
many working stereos, vcrs, tvs
cds, cassettes, videos
books
pictures
rugs
some fine chairs
patio furniture
2 excellent grills
lamps
brand new stuff still in shrink wrap
brand new blinds
plants
microwaves
plant stands
a black velvet painting
nintendo
espresso maker
dresser
and lots of other stuff in the fabulous recycle bin
posted on January 10, 2001 06:29:12 AM
Crystalline- that is to funny. I figured he would have cut his poor little finger on something, but to actually get picked up, be in the back of the trash truck with a foot of trash on top of you is just to funny. Course he is probably the one laughing, while he was on his way to the bank.
toolhound- That is what my sister-in-law says too. She has found more things in dumpsters behind stores. Either they are going out of buisness, have had merchandise marked down to sell out, whatever the reason, she can always find somehting. Two years ago she sent a big box back of stuff with my husband, it had all kinds of things in it. I was like what is up with this, course this is before I knew about the dumpster diving. Thanks to that box of goodies, I did not have to buy any scotch tape for two Christmas seasons and have now just last week bought my first bottle of lotion in two years. She has sent me some good things, but there have been a few that I couldn't bring myself to use!
I think I may have to print this out and mail it to her along with a note that says "See what could happen".
My kids always thought it was embarrassing when we stoped at the local grocery store or dollar store dumpsters and I dug out boxes, but after going with her on one of her garbage runs they dont think I'm so bad anymore!
posted on January 10, 2001 06:38:10 AM
I know a guy in Texas who makes his living with a regular dumpster route. He then sets up at flea markets and sells the hell out of the stuff he finds.
Here in Pennsylvania twice a year there's big trash pickup day. It's like a holiday. The amount of people driving around scouting trash is amazing. We found a pinball machine once, (not working) and sold it for 50.00. We know a dedicated trash guy who stays up all night driving around in circles in the best neighborhoods. He's found some amazing things.
I think the law here is that once it's on the curb, it's public property.
posted on January 10, 2001 09:30:47 AM
Our local Salvation Army Thrift hired security to watch the donation box during off-hours and Sundays when the store is closed. They were being overwhelmed with people's garbage as well as those stealing. It's been a problem for many years, pre-ebay but am sure it's worse now.
Once my husband and I were coming home from shopping and we passed a large warehouse where they have auctions and it was closed but there was a car parked out front. A woman came around the corner and when I looked, I noticed two very large dumpsters back there. Joked with hubby that she was dumpster diving! To which I had to explain to him what the heck I was talking about
posted on January 10, 2001 10:30:59 AMi actually saw some guy take a broken fan that i had thrown out five minutes earlier in an apartment complex i used to live in.
LOL, do you live in Seattle? Hubby and I once pulled a fan out of the dumpster at our apartment building. It was cute and worked just fine.
posted on January 10, 2001 12:21:14 PM
On the topic of Public Property and Trash...
I heard from a Law Enforcement friend of mine that the Supreme Court ruled a while back that once the trash goes to the curb in the US, it's considered Public Domain and therefore, it's up for grabs.
Was he pulling my chain or is he right??
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
posted on January 10, 2001 01:01:18 PM
And here I thought the City Wide Yard Sales my small town has once a year was the great event! Sounds like I need to rethink that and make the City Wide Clean Up Week the big event!
posted on January 10, 2001 01:10:26 PM
In some places dumpster diving is illegal, in others it's not. My relatives are on our town's police force and they've informed me that the only time they will even consider confronting a dumpster diver is if the person is making a mess or is an "obvious" eyesore (in other words, if you're in ragged clothing, pushing a cart and making the people in the big, half-million dollar homes nervous by hanging out for an hour digging through their trash can.) I am not saying this is fair, but it's the way it is here. Me, I "dumpster dive" casually---if I see something at the side of a trash can or dumpster that looks intriguing, or something cool sticking out of the top, I jump out of my truck, take a quick look at the item, and if I want it, throw it in. I don't go through trash cans or dumpsters looking for items blindly---I limit myself to what's obvious, and can be grabbed quickly. I'm fairly shameless, but I prefer not to be observed digging. I am in no way anti-dumpster-diving though. More power to those divers! When I lived in an apartment building I always took a look at the dumpster contents before I threw my trash bag in and kept a stick handy to fish out anything obviously good (lots of housewares and small furniture---I soaked em in bleach and furnished half my house on other peoples' throwaways when they moved.) I have a wonderful old beach bungalow filled with great old vintage stuff, much of which I've found for free (a lot of it comes from looking around after a flea market is over--casual sellers often just pick up and leave without taking any of their stuff home---heh heh heh all the more for MEEEE).
If the idea of dumpster diving makes you uncomfortable, think of this scenario: you go down to the apartment dumpster and just before you throw in your trash, you notice a 20 dollar bill sitting on the trash inside. Do you take it? If you answered yes, than what on earth is wrong with taking a widget you find just as casually?
posted on January 10, 2001 01:18:51 PM
In PA and in many other areas it is legal to pick up discarded curbside trash. That does not mean you cannot be arrested for doing so. Dumpster diving may also be illegal under certain circumstances, even in PA.
In areas where trash picking is common it is likely that residents wil have complained to the authorities. Pickers can sometimes be sloppy, opening boxes, scattering things about, and generally leaving a mess. Sanitation ordinances typically prohibit such behavior and may be used to arrest anyone observed searching through anothers trash. The Supreme Court ruling did not apply to such occurrences. It only established that items found in trash were subject to seizure without a search warrant.
Dumpsters are usually owned by a waste management, recycling, or salvage company. Items in the dumpster may be considered the property of the dumpster's owner. The taking of such items would be considered a theft.
One must also be very certain that curbside items are indeed trash. A child's bicycle or a piece of furniture, for example, may have been left at the curb for reasons other than may seem obvious. If the owner catches you and files a complaint, a lawyer will be needed in court to explain your honest mistake.
Be careful and know the laws in your area before you go apickin'
posted on January 10, 2001 01:22:26 PM
about a year ago, WIRED magazine had a an article about diving in canada. this man makes a job of it. always behind computer stores and manufacturers. I am a little ashamed to pull up in my new Cadillac and do diving. but next to my favorite resturant i once founda complete computer system.
and manyother things. As the economy winds down more thins will be found. If you don't mind reading half a book. the big books stores thrwo awy their new paperbacks.
posted on January 10, 2001 03:16:43 PM
One of my eBay buddies dumpster dives for wrapping material. She goes behind gift stores for good boxes and bubble wrap. Hey, whatever works!
When we were cleaning out mom's house last summer, we put my old Radio Flyer wagon out to the alley, came back in the house for another load, and when we went back out, it was GONE. Then - get this - we had bagged up a lot of stuff like old cruddy shoes and clothing that was falling apart, and set it out to the alley. So some guy comes over while we're still hauling stuff out and starts TEARING OPEN the bags to look inside. Well, I had to put my foot down at that point. They could at least wait until we're gone!
posted on January 10, 2001 03:42:10 PM
I used to go through the local parks in the summertime collecting aluminum cans.....this was when you could actually make some decent cash recycling aluminum and newspaper.
Then my cousin who is a public health nurse informed me that the risk of picking up Hepatitis C was relatively high amongst dumpster divers.
I'll still poke through recycling bins to get boxes, but stay away from anything that contains anything that may have been exposed to human body fluids! Yuck!
Although, it would be interesting to find that human head........
posted on January 10, 2001 05:24:29 PM
When my kids were little their dad worked for the trash company in Aspen, CO, you would not believe what the rich and famous throw away. Besides brand new clothing with tags on it, he brought home household items, tools, etc., all in new condition we're talking name brand high dollar stuff. After ski season there would be a bounty of winter coats, boots, etc. After hunting season there would be camping gear, sleeping bags, etc. The first of the year people threw away their Christmas trees with lights and decorations still attached. Wish Ebay was around then, this was almost twenty years ago!
posted on January 10, 2001 05:45:22 PM
My uncle is retired from the NYC sanitation department. He is only 59 years old but now has bile duct cancer which has spread to his liver. The doctors think his exposure to toxic waste did it.
posted on January 10, 2001 06:24:45 PM
are you actually trying to compare working 8 hours a day for however many years in a sanitation plant or whatever, which incidentally are toxic mainly because of disinfectant-type chemicals used to process garbage, to casually grabbing a lamp or a chair from the top of a trash can a few times a week or month?
Come ON.
People are employed at my local dump picking items from the trash to donate to charity or recycle. Cleaning ladies clean toilets and trash cans in hotel rooms. Fast food restaurant workers have to clean out urinals and tampon-disposal boxes every night before they go home from work. I doubt that there is a serious life endangerment factor for any of these professions. I am extremely dubious as to whether casual or even long-term trash picking could possibly be any more dangerous if elementary precautions are taken.
posted on January 10, 2001 08:44:54 PM
Heard about a elaborate joke - if it was not an urban legend - where some actors who were working in Arab robes went to dinner at a Ritzy place and were playing with a bag of fake gem stones. When they got up to leave the bag man delibertly spilled them on the floor and when he bent to pick them up the guy who had been playing Head Honcho hissed "Leave them - I won't have you scrambling after them like a peasant!"
Before they had cleared the room the well-to-do dinners were on their knees elbowing each other out of the way to scoop 'em up to the actor's amusement. I would imaigine just about everyone short of Bill Gates does have a diving threshold.
[ edited by gravid on Jan 10, 2001 08:46 PM ]
posted on January 11, 2001 02:22:24 AM
I live near a major university [thus my handle] and am constantly coming up with stuff when the term ends.
Jumping for joy over dumpster booty!
posted on January 11, 2001 03:48:52 AM
I was just going to mention the endless profits of living in a college town....then college park posted..........lol
Although what he didnt mention is just how much prime quality good you can get.
The best dumpster diving on the planet earth is in a high rent college town.
BOSTON
250,000 students flood Boston every year.....they show up with whatever will fit in their cars then all year they buy stuff and when they go back home they can only take what will fint in the car again.
I lived in a building where the rent was $1400 NO KIDDING needless to say these weren't the supergenius kids living on scholarship money lol These kids had money.
Imagine all those 250,000 kids packing up their cars to go back home and the amount of stuff they leave behind. Think to see a brand new mattres set on the sidewalk or a brand new barely used coffee box and blender etc etc.
My friend has a business and heavily advertises towards the end of the school year to buy all the stuff those kids bought and offer free pick ups.......The kids give it away practially since they can't abandon it inside the apartment they are leaving........they have a $2800 security deposit they want back lol.
Then in the fall when the new kids move in to town they buy all of last years kids furniture and appliances etc etc for prices well below retail for stuff only used for 9-10 months.
The mountain of really great stuff on the side walk of my building was SO HUGE the city came and slapped a fine on the door of my building..........Too damn bad for me I was not yet an auction seller *weg*
Add a little flavor to your love life with "Love Potions"
[ edited by lovepotions on Jan 11, 2001 03:50 AM ]
Rocker 
Jumping for joy over dumpster booty!