Saving and selling smaller items in higher volumes is often equally important for me to maintain momentum and feel a consistent sense of accomplishment when larger items take time to move. They're also fun to find because they're not easy to spot. When I snipe a smaller items in a large bag, it's a good feeling that I maximized my impact by not missing anything.
Many of these smaller items are parts that I extract from larger units that have issues or are too big to take home. Others are simply great items that need saving, despite not tipping the scales too much. Value is value though, and I'm not one to discriminate unless it takes up too much space in my apartment. The main goal is helping the environment and people not need to buy new, which makes a small dent in the waste cycle.
With this in mind, here are 8 smaller items that were saved and given new life because I went the extra mile to find and/or produce them.
The Sales:
Speak about finding a needle in a haystack. These sealed and unexpired diabetic test needles (200 total) were saved and sold for $66. I removed the labels with their name and they sold in about a week after listing them. I also got two other sealed valid boxes of another brand (not seen in the pic below), but they're worth less. While not big money, these help people with their diabetes testing, so I feel good about that.
Salvaged weight with recycled packaging of 14.5 ounces.
This music audio recorder was found with a memory chip in it with a nice acoustic guitar recording. It all checked out when testing and I debated keeping it for recording myself drumming in a music studio. I ultimately realized that more modern devices would probably be better (albeit not free like this one, so I sold it for a discounted $45 cash to a guy who was reaching to afford it.
Salvaged weight of 5 ounces.
**Immediately after selling this very early in the AM, I saw this scene below from across the street to repay me for getting out of bed way too soon.
It worked perfectly and I've got it listed for $130. Music manifested music!
These sealed new hair dyes were sold for $45. I found a few more I sold separately. These were loose in a clear recycling bag. These were an example of saving something because it was new and should not be wasted, versus trying to focus on more profitable items. Even if I didn't sell them, they'd have been a good candidate to take and donate, like the prior owner should've done.
Salvaged weight with recycled packaging of 12 ounces.
This graphing calculator was found in a clear plastic bag on a slow night. I took this as a small victory and sold it for $56. The screen was miraculously unscathed as I found it without its cover. I tried to sell it locally, but it didn't move (summer time), and eventually caved to sell it online to a repeat customer.
Salvaged weight with recycled packaging of 14 ounces.
This control board and display panel was pulled from a vintage Bose CD player that had a bad laser. I sold this as a working part for $70. Several other parts from this CD player will sell in the $50-$70 range over time. While the prior owner didn't see the value in doing this, it was a no brainer for me. It didn't take long to test the components that worked and fully disassemble it to harvest the parts. The sum of the parts I'll gradually sell will be around double the value of a working CD player, which is a great strategy to keep in mind.
Salvaged weight with recycled packaging of 9 ounces.
This stroller ride-on board was sold for $70 cash. I'd kept it for a while because its strap was missing, but eventually listed it after realizing that creative parents could simply make their own strap. It sold right away meaning that I delayed having this money and space in my apartment for way too long because of my own error in seeing a flaw to devalue it.
Salvaged weight of 3 pounds and 15 ounces with another happy kid now able to surf the sidewalks.
Lastly, these vintage Artemide lamp base and canopy parts were removed after the lamp I salvaged/used for many years finally broke. Instead of tossing it in the recycling bin, I extracted two good parts and sold them with ease for $92 and $56, respectively. The lamp typically resells for $125-$150 itself, so you can do the math here to see how selling key parts adds up.
Salvaged weights with recycled packaging of 9 pounds 2 ounces for the base, plus 13 ounces for the canopy.
Again, see the value something has instead of thinking something doesn't have any value because it's broken.
Stats:
- Revenue: $500/8 = $62.50 average per sale
- 23% received as cash
- 58+ pounds saved
- Repair Costs: $0
- Other Costs: $0
If you're seeing my recycling post for the first time, the “value” in it isn't in the entertainment from the handful of items I show as saved/sold. It's from the passion and hustle I consistently exhibit offline to produce items for posts, and my goal of motivating others to address our global waste problem.
I'm personally diverting 1000s and 1000s of pounds from our waste processing centers and landfills.
Please reuse, repurpose and recycle. If you aren't able, then donate them to shelters, churches, or thrift stores.
Thanks as always for your interest and support. I catch it all.
**Please also follow my new account on Instagram. Enough of my friends finally pushed me to join.
Check Out More Recent Impact:
- 6 salvaged items weighing 58+ pounds sold for $565
- 5 salvaged items weighing 44+ pounds sold for $870
- 5 salvaged items weighing 32+ pounds sold for $892
- More salvaged items weighing 76 pounds sold for $1,320
- 5 salvaged items weighing 45 pounds sold for $790
- 5 salvaged items weighing 92.5 pounds sold for $1,974
- 5 salvaged items weighing 177 pounds sold for $1,910 cash
Thanks again,
@steemmatt