Today we’re talking to Jamie Trainor with Capital Gains Recycling, an electronic recycling company that deals with reselling. In this business, people bring in junk for free, and Jamie resells it.
How Did You Get Started Reselling?
Jamie says the company started as a non-ferrous scrapping company, accepting copper, aluminum, cans, and metal. From there, it grew into electronics because there’s nowhere to bring them, and they shouldn’t be thrown away in the dumpster. Once they started pushing that message to the public, electronics began flowing in.
Are You Using Them For Parts?
Jamie says 85% of the items people bring in still work. We live in an upgrade society where everyone wants the newest technology. The old technology sits in your drawer, or it goes to Jamie. Most of the time, he plugs in a device, and it works so he can post it on eBay. It’s better to reuse than recycle. If it doesn’t work, he’ll recycle it.
Do You Pay People Bringing Items In?
Jamie pays commercial clients bringing in large amounts of electronics scrap weight, but the rest is just donated to his business. Many buyers are from other countries where they don’t care if it’s the latest model of an iPhone; they just want the technology.
What Platform Do You Primarily Sell On?
eBay is the main platform Jamie uses for reselling items. He sells large items that aren’t worth shipping on Facebook Marketplace. Jamie’s account on eBay has been active for a few years, but they’ve only been focusing on it for about a year.
Do You Fix Items Before Selling Them?
Jamie says the furthest he goes is changing the ram on an item, but he doesn’t spend too much time on an item; otherwise, he’s losing money. Even if something doesn’t work, people will buy it for parts, so there’s even value if it’s not functioning. He tests the screen with light and knows whether it works or not.
What Is The Most Common Product You Sell?
Laptops and cell phones are the most common electronic that get donated. His store is 80% laptops.
Are You Doing Your Listings Yourself?
Jamie has built the eBay store from the ground up himself. He has one lister that can help him now, and during the busy season, he hires a few others to help.
Do You Buy Items On Auctions?
Jamie hasn’t gotten into auctions yet but wants to learn more because he sees people in Facebook groups pick up items for $2 to $5 and flip them for $700. Right now, most everything is free and donated.
How Have You Been Spreading Awareness Of Your Service?
Word of mouth has helped. Jamie hosts electronic recycling events where they park a huge 30-foot trailer with a big old sign. He promotes on Facebook, and they explain face-to-face what they do and how they do it.
Did You Enjoy Electronics When You First Started?
Jamie says he went to an online school to be a network IT administrator and also started working at the scrap place while in college. At that time, everything was taken apart, smashed, and sold for scrap. The business later converted to the reselling model after Jamie sold a computer for $1,000. Then he started eBay, and he said he’d never take an item apart again.
What’s The Biggest Mistake You’ve Made?
Jamie has learned you must be very careful with your listings and how you word things. If something is off, people will want a return. You lose a couple of dollars, and you will not forget it.
Do You Crosspost Items?
Right now, eBay is the main focus, but Jamie is open to looking at crossposting tools like Vendoo.
What Flip Stands Out To You?
Jamie sold a computer – an SGI Octane. It weighed 85 pounds. It was the computer the Nintendo 64 was made on and that Toy Story I and II were made on, so it was super memorable. They were $500,000 back in the day. A random lady dropped it off after having it in her basement for 20 years. He sold it for $1,000 on an eBay auction.
What Are Your Future Plans?
Jamie says eventually, he wants a resale shop because right now, it looks like a scrapyard. He’d like to have a store with nice product in it where they can walk in and pick something out.
Show Notes
Check out Capital Gains Recycling: CapitalGainsLLC.com
Capital Gains Recycling Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/capitalgainsrecycling
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