More free stuff out on my neighborhood's curbs I've found to sell/have already sold in only the last week or so:
How about a Yamaha electronic drumset I can sell for parts for about $500?
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As a drummer, this was a cool find. I left the mounting rack and took the valuable stuff. It was a heavy downpour, so I didn't find the hi hat or bass drum triggers. I didn't care though as they're heavy to ship and not that profitable.
The nice building doorman came out to talk while I was assessing it, and told me that he currently owns and maintains a flock of 1,200 tagged pigeons on a rooftop! He started when he was 10 years old and sells them for breeding, pets, or homing purposes. He led me to a film documentary about him online. Mind boggling.
After seeing the hardware blatantly out on the curb, I had to feel around in a few bags to find the good stuff I knew would be there. I usually don't go in bags, but it had to be done this time. The doorman eventually verified that he knew the person who tossed the set was simply going away to college.
I'll easily sell this all for $450-$500. The module is $100-$125. The set of 5 tested toms will be $125+. The pair of cymbals and arms will be ~$50. The clamps are $10-$20 EACH depending on which type. The 5 mounts in the drums are $15 each. The 4 rubber stabilization pads will probably be $25, other parts a few bucks, etc...
I sold an entire much larger drum set similar to this style in the past when I first started selling (my electronic set from college bought with poker winnings), so it's a nice full circle.
...A nice save from the compactors!
Other Finds:
- Vintage Polaroid Land Film Processor - it works, but I can't swear it's tuned up, so I'll sell it for $100 as is for parts to be safe. It'd be $200+ if I knew how to fully test it with photos.
- iRobot Braava - Valued at $55 only because I can't test the spray function without the special pads. (sold) It operates fine with the dry pad, but I listed it for parts to be safe. It'd be $100+ otherwise. I should've dug deeper when I saw this, but I didn't know how it works at the time. I could've bought the pads to confirm functionality and make more money, but chose to just flip it as is.
- Medical Textbook - Valued at $25 (sold)
- Medical Textbook - Valued at $40
- Cuisinart Blender Parts - Valued at $30, $20, & $15 (sold)
- New Balance Cross Trainer Shoe - Valued at $30 (sold) - It's only a single shoe, but it's factory new with tissue paper still inside. Seeking solemate!!
- Stroller Wheel - Valued at $30 (sold)
- Complete Nintendo Wii Setup - Value TBD (have to test it and another Wii setup I found a few weeks ago)
- New US Marines License Plate Border - Valued at $20 (it's an insult to our military to toss this) *UPDATE: sold for $15 to a veteran I thanked for their service.
- Dyson Vacuum Cleaner - Valued at $125+ for parts with motor issue (fast sellers - 2 parts already sold for $43 & $13)
- iRobot Beacon - Valued at $20
- iRobot Power Adapter - Valued at $20
- Bose Left Speaker - Valued at $20, tested and perfect (sold)
- HP Printer - Valued at $150 (has plenty of ink and in mint working condition - will likely keep)
All in all, about $1,275 in free revenue from roughy 4 evening/night hunting trips. The trips range between 45 minutes and 2 hours if I take my time.
Keep in mind, this is all free stuff I casually stroll around for to sell in addition to my daily thrifting efforts. It's a good hedge and way to diversify if either source is slow on a particular day. If both are lucrative, then it's a good day. I'm starting to wonder how well I could do if I devoted more time and resources to hitting more recycling zones because there is simply too much out there to let slip away.
My brother should be coming to my city next week with his car, so we may experiment with an all day thrifting barrage, with an evening recycling assault to top it off (for 1 or 2 days). That'll be a good experience to feel out how much ground I could cover with better transportation and another set of hands/eyes.
Time to go out and get some food and a beer, and then stroll the curbs on what's most often the second best night of the week.
Please resteem when possible to help me expand my outreach. These posts often go overlooked and I feel strongly that some of these ideas can help people be more creative about generating their own income to achieve more freedom in their lives, or simply help the environment.