| Collection Strategies: Looking for Cash???
By Conrad Melancon
Do you need some extra money or know of others who do? Every day it seems as though we are inundated with get rich schemes – make lots of money for very little (or no) work. Of course, we all know that if something seems too good to be true then it probably is. However, if you are looking for something to do on a full or part time basis and are willing to put forth the effort then collecting used cell phones may be the business for you.
There are currently more than 240 million cell phone users in the US (up from 210 million last year) who upgrade their old cell phone every year or two. This means that more than 130 million cell phones are expected to be replaced this year! If you add that number to the more than 500 million old cell phones that are thought to currently reside in drawers and closets around America you can see there is no shortage of available product. As of the writing of this article less than 5% of these phones are collected for reuse and recycling. This means that this business has a tremendous upside – opportunity is everywhere you look!
The toughest part about this business is actually getting out and asking for old phones. Sources for your product include your family and neighbors, schools, civic groups, and businesses. Not only is collecting old cell phones a profitable business, it helps keep the environment clean. Every cell phone contains materials which can be harmful to the environment if they are disposed of improperly. Think of the good you can do! I can think of no other business that has such a low start up cost, gives you the opportunity to make money immediately, and helps the environment.
You don’t need a storefront, you don’t carry any inventory and marketing your service is as easy as letting people know what you are doing. Also, unlike most businesses where finding customers can be a challenge, all you have to do is look around you – your customers are everywhere!
Just think about it, if each of those cell phones retired every year have an average sale value of $10 - that’s $110 million which is just lying around gathering, not interest, but dust. In fact with every passing day those retired cell phones are losing value.
Additionally, each day about 360,000 more cell phones are added to the stockpile. That’s more than 4 each second. Before you are done reading this article another 500 cell phones will be retired.
I encourage everyone to download and read our e-book For Cell by Owner – The Cell Phone Recycling Guide. This resource is invaluable when determining how to make a profit recycling cell phones in your area.
Conrad
Melancon is the President of RMS
Communications Group, Inc. He
joined the company in November
of 2004 as the Director of
Business Development and assumed
his current position in December
of last year.
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