The joys of "Free" on craigslist (or how to make a quick 20 bucks)

What some people will simply give away. I recycle quite regularly, both as a means to provide a little extra income, and also as a way to help the environment. Every item that gets recycled is one less item that ends up dumped in the woods, or buried in a landfill. Mainly I recycle for a quick buck though. What can I say. I like cash. Who doesn't?

Last night I was reading on a recycling forum about finds in the craigslist "free" section. So I thought, huh, what the heck. Let me see if I can find something for "free" in my little 800 person town. Lo and behold, just a few hours prior, someone posted a free washing machine. I quickly sent off and an email asking about the unit. It was an older Kenmore model 70, pretty beat up, but functional. The guy lived 8 blocks away.

15 minutes later, I was already on my way home. I backed up to his front porch, he helped me load it, and away I went. 150-200 pounds of appliance riding in the back of the truck. At .12 cents a pound, that's $18-24 dollars. I can increase my profits greatly if I pull the electric motor, wiring, and look to sell some of the pieces on Ebay. My only expense was a fraction of a gallon of fuel, plus some time. I'll have more fuel and time expenses when I take it to the recycling center, but my total fuel expenditures will not surpass a gallon or two, and I'll wait until I have a full load (taking in more than just this washer) to run it in, so the fuel expense is a smaller percentage of my profits.