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The Recycling Entrepreneur ISSN: 1539 - 6789

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(c) Scott D. Andrews 2003 October, 2003

In this issue:
1. Announcements & Commentary
2. Recycle Blog and Newsfeed
3. Cell Phones - An Expanding Opportunity
4. The Best Recycling Opportunities Aren't Difficult!
5. Are you Putting the "Cart Before the Horse"?

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1. Announcements & Commentary

Welcome, if you're a new subscriber to our publication. Welcome back, if you've
been a faithful reader for some time. Regardless, this is just a reminder to
let you know all the back issues are archived for your reading enjoyment at:
http://recyclebiz.com/the_recycling_entrepreneur_newsletter.html

In the world of recycling for profit, there is certainly lots going on.
Although silver continues to be artificially depressed and gold has experienced
modest gains, platinum has reached a twenty-year high. So catalytic converter
recycling must be booming, right?

Not so fast. If you own a copy of “The Recycler’s Library” you’re aware that
platinum is but one constituent of the PGM’s (platinum group metals) which are
used in converters. When cats were first introduced (in the mid-70’s) platinum
was the ONLY catalytic agent used. It was soon joined by palladium and rhodium
in the introduction of the three-way converter. As technology advanced (and the
price of platinum skyrocketed) much of the platinum content was replaced by
palladium.

At that time I predicted that this would eventually impact the historical price
ration between platinum and palladium, and possibly reverse it. Turns out I was
essentially correct. What actually happened is that as palladium shot up in
price due to the increased demand, and platinum fell, manufacturers constantly
varied the ratio of the metals used in making the catalyst. For a while, many
converters had basically NO platinum.

Well, while platinum is reaching new price levels, palladium has dropped
precipitously over the past year. Guess what a good percentage of the current
scrap converters consist of? That’s right – lots of cats from the period when
palladium was heavily used are now coming into the scrap market and impacting
the value of converters and their catalyst.

So a rise in one price, even if dramatic, does not necessarily portend and
overall increase in the value of used cats, nor does it indicate that recycling
profits are going to go up either. If you’re out there buying scrap cats, you
might have clients expecting an increase in what you’ll pay for them, so being
forearmed with this knowledge will help you counteract that expectation.

A similar situation in market disruption and expectations exists in the scrap
cell phone business. My complete analysis is explained in the fourth topic in
this issue.

In essence, this is still a great time to get started in recycling, or increase
and diversify your efforts if you’re already recycling for profit. The day WILL
come when metals take off and competition will increase exponentially. Start
now and establish yourself and your profit position.

Take a look at what’s happening in the world today, and realize that any rosy
economic forecasts/predictions/prophecies must be taken with a grain of salt. It
doesn’t take any kind of crystal ball to know that things are likely to get
worse, socially, politically, and economically long before they get better.
Prepare yourself for whatever may lie ahead by becoming a “One Percenter”, as I
explain later in this issue.

If you don’t think recycling is the way to do it, find something else and just
DO IT! And do it SOON – for your sake and that of your family, your country,
and for the world in which we live.

On a lighter note, and to get back to the topic of recycling, I have a couple of
new assets to introduce you to.

The weblog ("Blog") is now operational. Please check it out on a regular basis
(there is a link icon on the downloadable toolbar as well). The blog is at:
http://recyclebiz.com/weblog/blogger.html

This will be a more generalized journal approach to telling you what's happening
in the world of recycling for profit and suggesting new, unique, and valuable
resources and links. This will be open for your input as the scripting is
enhanced. We're in the process of disseminating the knowledge in this site,
including excerpts and past issues of the newsletter through an RSS and XML
feed. If you don't yet know what these are, don't worry - we'll bring you up to
speed on these unique resources as we progress. Bottom line is that I'll be
doing what I can to minimize emails to you due to the spam and filtering
problems.

I have the downloadable toolbar ready for you as I promised last month. You
will have the ability to simply click on a toolbar at the top of your screen to
access all public functions and areas of recyclebiz.com, as well as an
integrated search box. This will be entirely at your option, but will give you
the most efficient method of keeping updated without having to search for a
single icon on your desktop or, worse, type in our address each time you want to
visit.

It is my hope that these new tools and functions will assist you in getting full
value from your time spent here - whether you've made the investment in my
manuals or not.

By the way, here are some links you might want to follow to familiarize yourself
with the site:
http://recyclebiz.com/discuss - open to all to read/view, posting can be done
by owners (and those already registered) of the "High-Profit Recycling" manuals
(or any of the individual chapters) only
http://recyclebiz.com/weblog/blogger.html - Stay up to date with the latest news
in the world of recycling as well as my own thoughts and ruminations
http://recyclebiz.com/the_recycling_entrepreneur_newsletter.html - the past
issues of this newsletter - good reading for real recyclers
http://recyclebiz.com/frequently_asked_questions.html - Our FAQ - if your
question isn't answered, ASK US!
http://recyclebiz.com/metals_and_alloys.html - a number of rare BoM reports,
articles on recycling, and stuff you're not likely to find anywhere else,
including (see the following article) "Recycle Thermonuclear Devices for Fun &
Profit"

And, of course, PLEASE visit here:
http://recyclebiz.com/online%20order%20form.html

2. Recycle Blog and Newsfeed

The new Blog is now operational and gives you an opportunity to keep up to date
on what I’m researching, exploring, and thinking about to help YOU make the most
of your recycling business. If you’re not familiar with blogs and blogging, it
is essentially an online journal/diary/log in which the author (me) conveys
whatever I feel is most relevant at the time.

Why am I introducing this format? First, it suits my writing style more than
the monthly marathon I experience in trying (and usually not succeeding) to
write this newsletter on a consistent basis. I find it much easier to write a
bit at a time than 5 to 10 pages at a sitting. I will be incorporating
articles from the blog into the ezine and vice-versa. So reading one will not
give you everything in the other.

I know many people would like to have more timely and consistent updates than
what the newsletter provides, yet do not want their inbox stuffed with more
emails than is necessary. I also do not want to send out lengthy emails which
are, more and more frequently, being trashed by errant SPAM filters. I will now
send you a monthly notification that the monthly ezine is posted on the website,
where you can view it at your leisure. It will also be posted in both .pdf and
.doc format, so you can choose which is better for you to view.

I’ll also be incorporating a newsfeed feature in the blog, so keeping updated
automatically can be done (at your option) with the push of a button. If you’re
not aware of this technology, I’ll give you a short tutorial as it becomes
available.

Here is the link for the blog:
http://recyclebiz.com/weblog/blogger.html

If you have my free toolbar on your browser window, you’ll have one-click access
to the blog as well as the newsletter archives and the discussion forum.

I hope you will see the value of these resources and make use of them. They are
for YOUR use to give YOU the best and most timely and efficient access to the
information you need to build your business, increase your knowledge, and
supercharge your profits.

3. Are You A "ONE PERCENTER"?

Want to know what the second most common (skip to my last article, Number 5, to
learn my MOST common) question I get is? It goes like this: "Scott, I'm really
interested in making money in recycling, but I 'called' a couple of (choose one
or more): dentists, exhaust shops, wrecking yards, friends, neighbors, printers,
medical clinics, etc.,etc., and NOBODY wants to sell me anything! I think
there's just TOO MUCH COMPETITION for me to make any money"

WRONG, Bucko!

This tells me two things: either you haven't decided to (or decided NOT TO)
invest the small amount of money required to learn from my published manuals and
CD, and then take advantage of the resources this website affords you; or you've
made the investment but decided to ignore my advice and approach this business
in your own way.

Now, I'm not one to claim that MY WAY is the ONLY way to make money by locating,
identifying, and capitalizing on the plethora of valuable and underappreciated
assets that many businesses and most individuals possess. What I AM telling you
is that you can do it the EASY way, you can do it the difficult, painful, and
risky way (your way), or you can throw in the towel and decide it's just too
much work.

I ask you, if I showed you how to take a walk through a mall or office building
or medical building, or perhaps an industrial area, starting at one end and
coming out the other end $200 richer, would you do it? What if I gave you a
sure-fire method of asking your neighbors, school mates, fellow parishioners, or
coworkers one simple question which made you $200 to $500 richer in a couple
days, would you do it?

Let me tell you the simple answer to that question. The chances are about one
per cent that you'll actually ACT on the knowledge I've provided you. How do I
know this? Let me give you a couple of examples. As of today, my link to a
premier scrap cell phone buyer: http://cellphone.scottrecommends.com has
generated exactly 791 visits from you, my readers. Now this site tells you
exactly how much all the phones they buy are worth, offers to send you free of
charge, containers in which to ship them any phones you want to send, offers to
pay the return shipping on said phones, and pays me at least one dollar for each
phone YOU send them.

Hey, I must be raking in the bucks, right? I've got almost 800 people creating
an income stream for which I've only had to provide a link to the company. Read
the article I link to in the next topic and you'll see that there are over
100,000,000 junk cell phones being replaced this year - EVERYONE has old cell
phones they don't know what to do with, right???

Here's the stats: a grand total of NINE individuals have sent this company old
cell phones! Most have shipped one, a couple have mailed in two or three. Let's
see, nine out of 791 is just over 1% who've done ANYTHING. And I've yet to see
anyone send in multiple shipments.

Another example: I've sold a few thousand manuals in the past ten years or so.
Perhaps a thousand since I've started the recyclebiz.com website. Until
recently I've invited EVERYONE viewing this website to participate in the
discussion forum. How many registered participants have taken advantage of it?

82!!!

Hmmmm... about 150 unique visitors have come to recyclebiz per day for
the past two years, yet only 82 are motivated (even if they've already spent
good money for the manuals) enough to FOLLOW THROUGH.

Lest you think I'm chastising you for not taking action, I'm NOT. I've tried
many things and failed at some and succeeded in others, but the one business I'm
entirely devoted to is recycling, because it has never failed me, and I've never
failed in doing it. I can respect an intelligent decision made to not pursue a
business opportunity after careful study.

But, ARE YOU REALLY WORRIED ABOUT COMPETITION?????

If I were operating my own recycling business (which I AM), I'd be getting on my knees and thanking God every day (which I DO) for the lack of competition and the abundance of OPPORTUNITY around me. If you're going to take action, make use of ALL the
resources at your disposal, make your painful lessons hurt as little as possible
(and you WILL make painful mistakes), get up after being knocked down, and, most
of all, congratulate yourself on being a "ONE PERCENTER"!

4. Cell Phones - An Expanding Opportunity - AND an Important Announcement

There is LOTS happening in the cell phone field. If you own a cell phone (and
who DOESN’T these days?) you’re probably aware of the new federal legislation
going into effect before the end of November. Anyway, read this article and
you’ll get a glimpse of some of the impact of this new law:

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/103103/bus_cellphone.shtml

How will this impact you if you’re actively recycling these VERY lucrative
items, or if you have plans to start doing so soon?

There’s NO DOUBT that the volume of used cell phones is going to increase
dramatically – the turnover in cell phone replacements and use is growing
regardless of any other impacts in the market. The likely effect is that the
value of many used handsets will decrease – this has happened already in the
past few months. SOME phones have decreased in (scrap) value by 50% or more,
although many have held their value. You should expect most to lessen in value
on the scrap market in the coming months.

Does this mean an end to cell phone recycling as a great profit opportunity? Not
at all! As a matter of fact, it’s probably a good sign for you IF you’re a “One
Percenter” (see previous topic). Lower prices will probably discourage the
entry of new recyclers into this market, leaving even more opportunity for YOU.

Yes, you’ll probably work a little harder to make the same amount of money, but
recycling phones is akin to ‘shooting fish in a barrel’ – have you seen ANY
competition in your area buying/collecting/aggregating used phones? …And a lot
of these phones are still worth a pretty good chunk of change.

The other major development that’s taken place since I publicizing this
opportunity is the introduction of two new companies actively buying used
phones:
http://www.pacebutler.com/sellphones.html
http://www.oldcellphone.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=66359fd196c504b8ba8510578c7e4a5b

Study these company’s sites and print out their price lists. Many of the prices
they pay are identical, but some are 25-50% higher than the others!

Bottom line: it is becoming a more competitive buyer’s market, which will tend
to make the buyers more willing to hold the line on their scrap phone prices.
You, as an active recycler, also have the ability and the obligation to
comparison shop and sell to the best buyer at the time. Don’t develop a loyalty
to any one buyer – there will undoubtedly be more entering the market in the
future.

I will, of course, keep the owners of my manuals and especially the chapter on
“Disposables” updated on any new buyers I become aware of as well as the latest
developments in this rapidly evolving business. Used cell phone recycling is
where catalytic converter recycling was in its infancy in the late ‘70s – this
opportunity is screaming for participants to take advantage of it!
5. Are you Putting the "Cart Before the Horse"?

Want to know what the most common correspondence I receive is? It invariably
goes something like this: "Scott, I've found (or, many times, already bought)
100 hard drives, or 50 catalytic converters, or a few ounces of dental gold",
etc.,etc.

"How much is worth and who do I sell it to?"

Now, I normally provide a copy of my "6 Commandments for High-Profit Recycling"
to purchasers of the "Recycler's Library" manuals but, since you are a loyal
reader, I'm going to make an exception if you have not (yet) purchased. If you
HAVE already bought the manuals, consider this a gentle reminder:

6 Commandments of High-Profit Recycling