TrashureSeeker
Sr. Member
- Jan 11, 2016
- 275
- 390
- Detector(s) used
- AT Pro, EuroAce 350, magnets on ropes
- Primary Interest:
- Beach & Shallow Water Hunting
Hi guys,
I just updated my earnings spreadsheet, and as of a couple of days ago this awesome hobby has officially broken even after less than a year!
This is a pretty big milestone that I originally didn't plan to reach before the first quarter of 2017, especially considering that I bought 'a fair bit' of equipment when I started at the beginning of this year. I still remember seeing a depressingly low number on my savings account after all my gear purchases were done (you could say I was pretty much broke) as little as eight months ago. Times change, and apparently sometimes for the better!
It took me a bit of time to realize the true earning potential of urban treasure hunting, but with a little help from such awesome people as oddjob here on the forum I did eventually realize there is more than hobby money to be made on the beaches and city streets if one knows where to look.
The money is definitely out there for those willing to grab it, for example I always pick up cans and plastic bottles (can return them for 25 cents each here in Germany) which many people scoff at. But then I'm already the crazy guy who digs up the beach and social norms have never bothered me much to begin with, if I see free money I take it. As the beach I frequent is basically the only option for people in my city to have a beach party the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed means lots of thrown away cans and people who are so drunk they think leaving their sunglasses behind is a good idea. Pure gold mine, that thing. There are people on the beach that grab most cans before the sun comes up. I usually get up at five and get to the beach by six and always come late, otherwise I would probably be rich as I frequently see these guys push several shopping carts full of cans to the next shop. Per day, mind you.
Some of the nicest chunks of money have come my way from stuff I have found either on the beach or on my way to and from, aforementioned Raybans sold for up to 65€ which still amazes me, but also a couple of still usable things I sold on flea markets and Ebay. I found a heavy metal band shirt I washed and sold for 15€, I thought that was pretty fun.
Riding by bike almost exclusively has done its part in making this possible, it is very hard to beat running costs of 120€ for a set of tires and 10-20 for new brake pads when it allows me to go everywhere within the city. For me just riding around the city staying fit and making money is probably the most fun part of this treasure hunting hobby, I get to see so much interesting stuff that most people never get to see and that alone has made the past year one hell of an enjoyable experience to me. Put a trailer behind that bike and a set of panniers onto it and you never run out of space to transport stuff home
Magnet fishing often had me and my best buddy take his car, but our youtube channel has grown to a size that allowed us to cover our gas costs and the magnets and then still have some nice money to split between us. Most smaller coins are magnetic over here, so magnet fishing has done its part in earning some cold hard cash as well. We find lots and lots of bicycles and sadly have to leave them behind for now, that would be some good money in scrap metals and resellable stuff if we could reasonably transport it. Next year I'm going to buy a car myself that doesn't lose half its value when it gets scratched up and bring all those bikes to the scrapyard or yank parts I can use off of them.
I have done exactly one beach vacation this year - I'm planning to increase that a lot next year - where I borrowed my mother's hatchback and used it to sleep in for three days. Did you know it is well possible to live on 35€ for three days including gas for a hundred mile round trip? That was quite an interesting experiment for me, I used free beach showers and ate cheap food I had prepared ahead of time combined with a bit of store bought food and two bags of ice for my ice chest, and apart from that was out digging all day. The earnings of that vacation were hideously low considering I spent the better part of three days out there, but it was well enough to cover my costs (hard not to) and it netted me my first and so far only gold ring that I retrieved for a woman who lost it just five days short of her 25th anniversary.
So the moral of the story: Even if you are like me and have no real idea what you are doing in the beginning it is well possible to turn a really enjoyable hobby into side income that is nothing to scoff at. I get a decent wage from working a full-time programming job, but I made almost two extra monthly paychecks over the course of this year despite having to learn so much in such short time. I think I didn't put so much work, research and thought into something for a long time, but seeing a positive balance after eight to nine months has been a huge motivator for me
From now on everything I earn is profit, it's hard not to like that.
Happy holidays everyone, keep on digging!
I just updated my earnings spreadsheet, and as of a couple of days ago this awesome hobby has officially broken even after less than a year!
This is a pretty big milestone that I originally didn't plan to reach before the first quarter of 2017, especially considering that I bought 'a fair bit' of equipment when I started at the beginning of this year. I still remember seeing a depressingly low number on my savings account after all my gear purchases were done (you could say I was pretty much broke) as little as eight months ago. Times change, and apparently sometimes for the better!
It took me a bit of time to realize the true earning potential of urban treasure hunting, but with a little help from such awesome people as oddjob here on the forum I did eventually realize there is more than hobby money to be made on the beaches and city streets if one knows where to look.
The money is definitely out there for those willing to grab it, for example I always pick up cans and plastic bottles (can return them for 25 cents each here in Germany) which many people scoff at. But then I'm already the crazy guy who digs up the beach and social norms have never bothered me much to begin with, if I see free money I take it. As the beach I frequent is basically the only option for people in my city to have a beach party the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed means lots of thrown away cans and people who are so drunk they think leaving their sunglasses behind is a good idea. Pure gold mine, that thing. There are people on the beach that grab most cans before the sun comes up. I usually get up at five and get to the beach by six and always come late, otherwise I would probably be rich as I frequently see these guys push several shopping carts full of cans to the next shop. Per day, mind you.
Some of the nicest chunks of money have come my way from stuff I have found either on the beach or on my way to and from, aforementioned Raybans sold for up to 65€ which still amazes me, but also a couple of still usable things I sold on flea markets and Ebay. I found a heavy metal band shirt I washed and sold for 15€, I thought that was pretty fun.
Riding by bike almost exclusively has done its part in making this possible, it is very hard to beat running costs of 120€ for a set of tires and 10-20 for new brake pads when it allows me to go everywhere within the city. For me just riding around the city staying fit and making money is probably the most fun part of this treasure hunting hobby, I get to see so much interesting stuff that most people never get to see and that alone has made the past year one hell of an enjoyable experience to me. Put a trailer behind that bike and a set of panniers onto it and you never run out of space to transport stuff home
Magnet fishing often had me and my best buddy take his car, but our youtube channel has grown to a size that allowed us to cover our gas costs and the magnets and then still have some nice money to split between us. Most smaller coins are magnetic over here, so magnet fishing has done its part in earning some cold hard cash as well. We find lots and lots of bicycles and sadly have to leave them behind for now, that would be some good money in scrap metals and resellable stuff if we could reasonably transport it. Next year I'm going to buy a car myself that doesn't lose half its value when it gets scratched up and bring all those bikes to the scrapyard or yank parts I can use off of them.
I have done exactly one beach vacation this year - I'm planning to increase that a lot next year - where I borrowed my mother's hatchback and used it to sleep in for three days. Did you know it is well possible to live on 35€ for three days including gas for a hundred mile round trip? That was quite an interesting experiment for me, I used free beach showers and ate cheap food I had prepared ahead of time combined with a bit of store bought food and two bags of ice for my ice chest, and apart from that was out digging all day. The earnings of that vacation were hideously low considering I spent the better part of three days out there, but it was well enough to cover my costs (hard not to) and it netted me my first and so far only gold ring that I retrieved for a woman who lost it just five days short of her 25th anniversary.
So the moral of the story: Even if you are like me and have no real idea what you are doing in the beginning it is well possible to turn a really enjoyable hobby into side income that is nothing to scoff at. I get a decent wage from working a full-time programming job, but I made almost two extra monthly paychecks over the course of this year despite having to learn so much in such short time. I think I didn't put so much work, research and thought into something for a long time, but seeing a positive balance after eight to nine months has been a huge motivator for me
From now on everything I earn is profit, it's hard not to like that.Happy holidays everyone, keep on digging!
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