About Those Piles Behind Lowes and HD

[rp2813]

I've read here a number of times about people seeing machines on (or extracting them from) the piles behind Lowes or Home Depot.

I recently decided to buzz over to Lowe's in the Jimmy to see if there were any treasures to be had. Sadly, I saw a huddle of machines, most of them modern and most of them fridges but they were all locked behind a high chain link fence. There was no way to even get close enough to see what they all were. This Lowe's is brand new, just opened in November. I concluded that the other Lowe's in my vicinity was likely the same, as it hasn't been open all that much longer.

Today I cruised my nearest Home Depot, which has been there for about 20 years. I thought maybe they'd not have things locked up over there. Wrong. They have a fence up so you can't even drive around to the back.

So what's up? How are you guys getting a closer look at or your hands on this stuff? It seems like around here, they are bent on restricting access.

 

[mrb627]

Like Yours...

My local home improvement warehouses keep these machines closely guarded in a fenced in area. When I lived in Florida, a local Maytag dealership had a large fenced in area in back with trade ins. While it was locked up tight after hours, they would allow me to walk through and tinker whenever I wanted. I hooked up more than a few to electric and a garden hose and tested them out.

I miss those days...

Malcolm

 

[gyrafoam]

I used to get some stuff from behind the Blowe's on Camp Creek. Then they started to keep a large trailer to put them in and lock them up. When I questioned the manager he said they had an "arrangement" with a man who would (cherry-pick) haul off the old things.

So they have a working relationship with the guy's who refurbish used appliances for resale and those who make a living by selling scrap to the krushers.

The bottom line though, is that the public is not welcome to them.

 

[combo52]

OLD APPLIANCES

Have value as scrap to the dealers. You may have to befriend a manager employe or even the man who hauls the stuff away to get your hands on an occasional item, of corse you will have to offer some cash in almost all cases maybe $20-$50 bucks per piece. Of coerce a part time job at an appliance store will almost guarantee access to some great old stuff on occasion.

 

[launderess]

If I can't Sell It, I'm Going To Sit Down On It.

Is these dealers ahve realised there is "gold in dem dar hills", in that what once was considered junk does have value.

Older and vintage appliances in particular were built to last, and had lots of metal.

Have often posted about the romaing "dumpster divers" with vans/trucks the cruise NYC streets on the look out for appliances put out on recycling day.

Bad economy and high prices for certain metals have created a decent enough market for discarded appliances. As stated above,some are repaired and sold on, others broken down for scrap.

Best bet to get in on the action is to make a polite call upon Lowes or whomever and introduce oneself, and express an interest. You never know.

Finally should say there are all sorts of laws and court rulings as to what exactly is "trash", thus free to whomever. Putting things behind a secure and locked area cleary means they are "not" being put out for general rubbish and are on priviate property. This is a huge distinction as cutting that lock, fence and or gaining entry without consent can lead to a charge of theft.

 

[yogitunes]

And it's always nice to make friends with a certain "Receiving Manager" at your local Lowes...who just happens to be a bald, goateed, big, husky bear!...a few compliments can go a long way....it's not what you know, it's who you know or other words that rhyme...lol

Ralph...maybe you need to strap on a little leather and work boots next time you go....you just have to attract their interest to gain yours....must I teach you everything?...lol

 

[rp2813]

Martin, trust me. If the guy I needed to befriend in order to get at the appliance pile looked like you described, I'd have already approached him! Hell, he could work in any department and I'd figure out a reason to strike up a conversation!

Thanks to all for your posts. It sounds like the situation is the same everywhere. Why can't more places be like RCD's?

 

[ptcruiser51]

This is interesting

I've sold appliances at THD for over six years and never heard of haul-aways coming back to any of our stores here! I was always told that our delivery vendor simply takes them away for scrap. On rare occasions we may go out from the store to pick up a defective unit that WHP, GE, or LG has not fixed to satisfaction. We just hold them in receiving until a factory rep authorizes them for pickup from the mfr; off they go. One of my former managers told me that urban-area Sears often takes haul-away appliances to second-hand stores.

 

[redcarpetdrew]

I wish all was golden...

The same is happening over here with Lowe's and H/D. They pack them into a trailer which then goes over the mountains into California. The Bay Area to be exact. There, they are stripped for precious metals and then crushed. No saving, no parting, no Nothing.

 

[pulsator-power]

I work at HD too- and have not seen piles of stuff out in back. I think the appliances come from a warehouse or distrib center--- the place to look for the discards is the small independant appliance dealer's shop - outside --loadig dock, dumpster, etc. We still have a few of those aroubnd here.

 

[laundromat]

Recalls and old clunkers----

I used to get machines from work when I was employed by Incredible Uniiverse years ago. two things that would happen when the units arived are:

. People who worked there would get jealous of the person(s) who got them

2. Those who got them and sold them would blame IU when they either faiiled or someone got shocked,or hurt in some way by the faulty units.

After that happened more than not,they stopped allowing anyone from taking the units away except the contracter who would take them all to the local dump.All of the Home Depot and Lowes stores here have them in a container that holds about 135 of them.The dumps have recently donne the same and do not allow anyone in them to look around saying they can't be held liable if someone falls or gets hurt.

 

[goatfarmer]

trade ins

I sell trade ins as a side business. Last load of scrap I took in was about $190.00 a ton, so people very seldom just give them away any more.
I've had a deal with one appliance store for about 20 years, they keep what they want, and I get the rest. I also have the same deal with another place, works out well for all parties involved.
Many times a person will make a deal with a Lowes or a Sears for their trade ins, thinking it's pretty easy money. But they forget or don't realize that a decent Sears store, or a Lowes can generate sometimes 20-30 or more trades a week. They can't sell that many out of their 'garage' or wherever they're working, so things start backing up. Lowes get's ticked, and then no one get's them. They go right to the trailer for scrap.
I've found out that a chat with the manager, along with a $20.00 bill will show I'm serious, and get me the unit I've spotted, and want.

 

[whirlcool]

Both the HD & Lowes near us were built with cyclone fencing (even across the top of the area!) behind them. The fencing is posted with "No Trespassing" signs.

Both of these stores were built like this about 10 years ago.

From what I have heard a lot of stores don't want to sell trade ins to consumers because of "liability" issues.

 

[mayguy]

I'm at THD as well, only time we get the used stuff is if we don't offer direct delivery, so customer comes in and picks up the new unit, and we'd take the old off of their hands some time.

A local recycling company comes by every now and then to pick them up. We can not resell them "used".. I've heard Menards does.

 

[retropia]

During the appliance rebate program in Ohio earlier this year, the state had two approved recyclers in my area. The Ohio program required a trade-in in order to get the rebate.

I was hoping to find a pair of decent used dishwasher racks to replace the set in our old Kenmore. Both recyclers said they don't allow consumers access to the old appliances for liability reasons, and they don't have time to search through old appliances for parts for consumers.

Contacted the state; they said they didn't have a problem with the recyclers selling parts, but there wasn't any requirement for them to do so. Thus, no racks for me.

 

[Wasmachineman]

Same here

You cant ask for a part or complete machine, Asked for a complete machine [a broken WP], Didnt get it, Darn people.

 

[rp2813]

It's so ridiculous that people who are interested in responsible appliance ownership and who don't want to throw away a perfectly good machine can't scavenge for what they need. We're helping to maintain a smaller carbon footprint but the bureaucrats don't see it that way.

We're lucky to have a guy like RCD doing his small part to rescue trade-ins. Thanks to him, both Nate and I have machines that would have been crushed by now had we not adopted them (his Frigidaire DW and my GE Combination), and they are both working fine. If we have enough time this weekend, we may put the KDS 20 up on the bench for a run-through. I'll bet it's just fine too.

Here's a shot of our most recent rescue operation in progress. This should be happening behind Lowes and HD stores everywhere.

 

[qsd-dan]

We're lucky to have a guy like RCD doing his small part to rescue trade-ins. Thanks to him, both Nate and I have machines that would have been crushed by now had we not adopted them (his Frigidaire DW and my GE Combination), and they are both working fine.

X2!

More than half of my collection came through his generous hands and they only needed simple repairs. It's downright disgusting what gets crushed these days!!!!

 

[yogitunes]

AMEN Ralph!

Re-purposed machines are guys like Ralph and Nate....you can't throw them back, you have to take them home and keep them....lol

love you guys

but yeah, were preseving a bit of history, truely made in the USA, with metal and steel, hard work and good looks...unique to their own manufacturer....like Ralph and Nate

Hugs

Martin