What's Your Best Hard Rubbish (Aka Kerbside Collection) Find?

picklewizard on 11/07/2017 - 11:57
Last edited 11/07/2017 - 13:32 by 1 other user

Hard rubbish show and tell time!

I somehow have some pretty good luck with my hard rubbish finds. Most recently was a fully working i5 system that was around 3.5 years old, complete with 8GB RAM, Corsair 650W PSU, AsRock Fatality board and a Bitfenix Ghost case - easily a $300+ system if sold second hand!

Other finds include a working, slim PS3 (about 18 months ago, HDD required a reformat and nothing more), my current dryer (maybe 6 or 7 years old and otherwise fine), and my previous washer (a recent model Samsung that lasted a good 2 years before it died) and a fully working bar fridge.

What are your best finds?

Home & Garden

Comments

  • Godric on 11/07/2017 - 16:45
    +1

    is it hard rubbish time??

  • [Deactivated] on 11/07/2017 - 16:54
    +56

    A car, it didn't come with any keys though, but was in very very good condition!
    Garden hose (had to disconnect it from the tap).
    Some plants (had to be dug out).
    Plenty of letter boxes.
    Some basketball hoops at the driveway

    • D6C1 on 12/07/2017 - 17:43
      +8

      Sounds like theft, but I like your thinking outside the kerb.. i mean outside the box!

      • [Deactivated] on 12/07/2017 - 17:57
        +2

        Some households leave quality turf and reticulation kerbside as well.

    • airzone on 13/07/2017 - 09:44
      +7

      Fruit trees perhaps? Better watch out, they might start making you jump over traps to get them

      • [Deactivated] on 13/07/2017 - 10:52
        +1

        Sometimes there's a puppy husky near Parramatta road.

    • FUZHA on 14/07/2017 - 11:00

      +1 so you only had to hard wire the car n drive away, nice score! LOL, reminded of a friend who was having the same impression when he migrated to Aus.

  • donnot on 11/07/2017 - 17:54
    +9

    "Gaming PC" I picked up a couple of years ago (Radeon 6970, 8GB RAM, i5 2400, H61). Had one of those generic case + power supply combos (and of course, molex to PCIe power adapters), and the PSU was dead understandably. Replaced that and got it up and running.

    Apart from that, a couple of AVR's, FS Joystick, old mechanical KB, CB radio's, and the usual P4/Celery PC's.

    • poboy on 11/07/2017 - 20:02

      Did they leave the hard drive in?

    • kevlam3 on 14/07/2017 - 13:51

      Damn, your find is way better than mine. I only found a Thermaltake Level 10 GT case, brand new. Still Don't know why someone threw it out.
      Still using the case now LOL.

      • ruddiger7 on 14/07/2017 - 14:52

        Gave mine away for $40, usbs were flimsy also had a few break and I took good care of it.

  • afoveht on 11/07/2017 - 20:06
    +13

    I've found lots of good stuff over the years but not sure I was ever as excited as when I found a massive stash of porno mags and video tapes when I was around 10 years old.

    • altomic on 11/07/2017 - 21:08
      -6

      pornography exploits women.

      • afoveht on 11/07/2017 - 22:05
        +6

        It may well do but was beyond the understanding of an oblivious 10 year old.

      • ozbjunkie on 12/07/2017 - 08:23
        +2

        And the minds of lonely men.

        We are all victims really.

        • afoveht on 12/07/2017 - 12:56
          +2

          There is a sad irony in your joke. I don't think porn is intrinsically harmful but the degradation of women in so much (most?) porn does hurt more than just those immediately involved.

        • ozbjunkie on 13/07/2017 - 14:36

          @thevofa:

          More than those involved? Tell that to my Willie after a night on the sniff.

          Jk I'm an ozbargainer I've never bought sniff in my entire life.

  • subydooby on 12/07/2017 - 08:07
    +5

    I found my wife at kerbside collection. Sure she was used, a bit dusty, but I gave her a good clean and she's good as new…

  • ozbjunkie on 12/07/2017 - 08:22
    +2

    Herman Miller Mira chair. Good knick, no cracks, faux leather seat. Loving it rite now. Do I win? Retails at 1300AUD.

    • picklewizard on 12/07/2017 - 11:04

      A Herman Miller Mira chair, apparently!

      • ozbjunkie on 13/07/2017 - 14:34

        Excellent I will enjoy my one experience of feeling like a winner this year

    • ruddiger7 on 14/07/2017 - 14:53

      If it was the mirra 2 then yes, you win.

      • ozbjunkie on 14/07/2017 - 16:05

        I don't know that it was. Edit, I think v1

        It has said solid faux leather seat, and plastic webbed back. No mesh back or mesh seat.

  • WT on 12/07/2017 - 08:38
    +5

    I always slow down for a look and every time I feel the SO glare burning through my soul so I never get to stop

  • altomic on 12/07/2017 - 08:43

    I'm heading out tomorrow morning with a mate for an exploration of the hard rubbish piles that are due for collection in a few days.

  • shortblack9 on 12/07/2017 - 09:28
    +1

    $200 guitar (just needed some loving care). End up selling it to a very happy buyer.

    $90 cast iron grill pan (it only needed some cleaning and re-seasoning and it's been brilliant). Still using it now… it only gets better with use.

    $10 teflon coated K-Mart fry pan… this pan has been amazing! It has helped me cook some of the best meals for myself and my family. It's extra large and they don't make them anymore.

    • Speckled Jim on 12/07/2017 - 09:42

      Ahh, I believe you scored the old Black Diamond pan! We had a couple, plus the wok. They were great value when new.

      • shortblack9 on 12/07/2017 - 16:39

        It's an awesome pan. I wish I would have bought another. The teflon is starting to age and I'm half expecting it start flaking soon (I'm being super careful not to scratch it).

  • HeWhoKnows on 12/07/2017 - 11:08
    +2

    One mans trash is another mans treasure.
    All find are good if useful or can be turned into profit

    • subydooby on 12/07/2017 - 18:50

      Yes better than landfill.

  • BS-19 on 12/07/2017 - 11:31
    +1

    1940's malvern star bicycle in mint condition. sold it for $400 on ebay.

    Someone was throwing out an oven and dishwasher (figured it was a kitchen reno going on), so I tested the dishwasher as working and sold on ebay for $400.

    Vintage sea trunk (old luggage suitacase thing - looks cool as hall stand) - kept.

    Wertheim vaccuum, worked fine, just a broken clip that a bit of tape held it down - now it's my 'garage vaccuum' for the cars.

    Many other bikes which I now use as my own bike sharing scheme and 'pub bikes' if I'm too drunk to drive - admittedly, they have cost me $8 each to secure them with a s#!77y lock, but they aren't worth stealing.

    • jellykingdom on 12/07/2017 - 13:39

      Haha you know you're not technically allowed to ride a bike drunk either?

      • BS-19 on 13/07/2017 - 10:00
        +1

        I know.. but I figure less chance of me causing damage riding a 12kg bike on the flat.. probably crash into someones fence..
        whereas driving a 1.3T car drunk… no thanks

    • D C on 12/07/2017 - 15:36
      +1

      Somebody stole my 'not worth stealing bike', even took the $8 lock. Had to walk home.

      Oh well, I've got more.

  • JIMB0 on 12/07/2017 - 11:36
    +10

    I saw a nice looking cat on hard rubbish once, but when I went to grab him he ran off.

  • shiny1 on 12/07/2017 - 11:57
    +1

    A solid wood desk with drawers on either side. Nothing wrong with it, the owner just wanted it gone and couldn't be bothered advertising. It was heavy as.

  • bennos on 12/07/2017 - 11:58
    +7

    Weather strip fell off the front door 2 weeks ago, been meaning to go to bunnings to get a new one. Looked at neighbours hard rubbish yesterday and a brand new aluminium weather strip was sitting there.

    I love finding those little things that though might not be that expensive, really fill a void in life.

  • birnie on 12/07/2017 - 11:59
    +2

    After fixing my own Samsung front loader (just the $35 pully-cord thingo)
    I saw my mate had put his Miele front loader on the street.
    Knowing his inability to fix anything, I was pretty sure that it would have been that, they're loaded and would have just bought another.
    …BUT, i didn't want him to see my grabbing his rubbish and left it, still regret it to this day :(

    • picklewizard on 12/07/2017 - 13:18

      The Samsung front loader I pulled out of hard rubbish just had a clogged drain plug (with bobby pins) - literally had an access panel at the front, took 2 mins to fix. Sadly the control board went but it got me a good two years!

      I grabbed a Dyson from a mate who was gonna chuck it on hard rubbish ($15 switch repair) - no shame!

  • sheebies on 12/07/2017 - 12:06

    Picked up a near new double Baby Jogger City Select Pram. An apple 27" iMac that had cracked glass and a busted power supple. An Upright Dyson Vacuum cleaner with a european plug that just needed a good clean out and the most recent find was a 24" Apple Cinematic Display.

    I've found other laptops, xbox consoles, ps2 consoles, other little bits and pieces over the course of about a year.

    My area must be really good for hard rubbish pick ups but it's near impossible to get anything good these days, too many people out now and they come in from other areas with trucks and trailers. Saw a car accident not long ago where a woman ran into the back passenger side of my neighbour's car because she was too busy looking at a rubbish pile to stop in time, he had his 2 year old son in the car at the time, parked on the side of the road and there was a big argument over it where another guy collecting rubbish parked his truck in the middle of the road to come and argue too. Ridiculous.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/07/2017 - 13:24
    +2

    Has this website been mentioned yet?
    http://www.vergeside.com.au/

    A good resource to plan your verge shopping!

  • Adz81 on 12/07/2017 - 13:47
    +13

    Weber Kettle in perfect condition… It'd been left out the front with a note on it, "Free to anyone, works perfectly. It used to belong to my ex-boyfriend, don't worry, I didn't cook any parts of him on it."

  • BeauKilla on 12/07/2017 - 14:27
    +11

    Right when I was separating from my wife, the same day on the road outside my work was a fridge and a huge LCD tv, two thing I didn't have for my new living arrangements. Cooked the tv's motherboard and bought a $10 thermostat for the fridge. Both are still working to this day, I honestly believe the universe was saying "here you go little champ, keep your chin up". Never looked back :)

    • John Kimble on 12/07/2017 - 14:35
      +1

      Haha nice! All that was missing was a ray of sunshine on the items and angels singing, but perhaps you felt that way regardless.

  • Cheeper on 12/07/2017 - 14:36

    Complete computer setup only a few weeks old.
    It had a small software problem and the owner must have got frustrated with it.
    Another was a stage keyboard.. quality unit.. no power on it so opened it up and the ac power wire was broken at the connection. Fixed up and was perfect.. sold for $200.

  • Hoju on 12/07/2017 - 14:40
    +1

    This is great, especially some of the repair stuff going on.

    I often pick up bikes, fix them up and keep or sell. I had one bike that I did up really nice for about $40 with a respray and retro with brown leather saddle and all that, and kept for ages riding to work, then decided to sell as I had too many bicycles. Fetched a few hundred from some hipster.

    I feel really comfortable repairing bikes and look at people like they're crazy tossing them out.

    But electronics baffle me! I wouldn't know what I'm looking at on a circuit board, so I find these repairs really great.

    I recently sold my beaufoul old 17 in MacBook Pro for parts because the Apple Store told me it was a $600 repair job. The guy on eBay was kind enough to email back and say it was some dodgy capacitors and he fixed it. I was glad that it hadn't met the end of its life but man I had a sad thought that if I'd found some electronics boffin to have a look at it they'd have fixed it for me (but then maybe if I'd taken it to a store they'd have fiddled around for hours trying to work it out and charged a fortune for the job).

    • D C on 13/07/2017 - 06:53
      +2

      Faults where you need a high level of knowledge & equipment to find & fix are fairly rare - that assuming it's broken as most people just toss stuff because it doesn't match their new couch or whatever.

      Mechanical is first up, broken switches and the like, cracked display etc, as well as gummed up gears or fans full of dust. Then you have broken wiring, loose connections because it's been dropped or mishandled. Sometimes solder connection will be broken, if you can't see any obvious fault (burn marks) then you just go and resolder all of the joints.

      Fuses can blow at random, common in microwave ovens.

      If you're lucky it will be a component that can be easily replaced, like a hard drive, fan, TV board, even power supplies are a bit generic. So long as it fits you can usually swap one for another.

      Speaking of power supplies, like with your MacBook, dodgy capacitors are really common. Cheap stuff dies faster (a couple of years) but they all die eventually. Sometimes the gear half-works, you get a display on the DVD but shuts off when the motor starts, or takes 5 minutes to turn on etc.

      Really easy to spot, google 'bulging capacitor'. They often stick out like dogs balls. You tend to replace them all, even the 'good' ones in a group. Simple & cheap to fix.

      Used to be common on motherboards, not so much these days.

      • Hoju on 13/07/2017 - 16:44

        Legend that's great detailed information, could at least investigate some obvious things based on that if any of our electronics break down.

        The MBP apparently had 2x failed filter capacitor which supply voltage to the mcp in order to turn it on.

        I'd actually tried the Apple forums but to no avail. Should've come here for some electronics advice!

      • Cheemeister on 14/07/2017 - 01:21

        Thanks D C. I still envy your skill and experience. I like to fix things too, and have a go, but too many a time I have opened something up, stared blankly and the circuit board, poked around a bit with a multimeter, then given up and chucked it out!

    • Euphemistic on 13/07/2017 - 21:45

      I used to grab any bike I saw before the scrappies got it. Now I can tell which ones are Kmart junk and leave them there, unless there is a particular part I'm after. I've also already got a shed full of parts so can be a bit more picky. Cheap junk bikes don't sell on gumtree so they aren't worth the effort to collect.

      Lately bikes can still be seen staying there for days with no one to love them

      • Hoju on 13/07/2017 - 23:22

        Yeh I think the bike craze has eased off for sure.
        There was a period a few ears ago where the crappy worn out aka retro bikes would sell for $100 within the day.

        • Euphemistic on 14/07/2017 - 08:06

          It has worn off a little, but i think there is still a market for decent quality old bikes. Ladies retro bikes seem to do OK, but the Huffy/Cyclops/Dunlop etc might as well stay on the kerb. I recently sold a couple of old Apollo bikes for about $30 each and didn't do anything to them. Had I fixed them up they might have got $70-100.

  • 87percent on 12/07/2017 - 14:53
    +2

    my best was when i was going for a ride, and a neighbour was putting out his cubby house. Asked him if i could take it, and he said sure. Basically carried it piece by piece home cos they wouldn't fit in my car. Coat of paint, and the kids loved it

    Also, a toy box full of lego

    • John Kimble on 12/07/2017 - 15:04
      +2

      Crazy. Lego is worth its weight in gold!

      • 87percent on 12/07/2017 - 15:13
        +3

        A few years later i gave my lego to my little cousin, his mum gave it away after that and i never saw it again… tears were shed and that aunty is dead to me now

        • ronnknee on 12/07/2017 - 20:13

          Sounds like it was a full cycle.

  • Bonsaichop on 12/07/2017 - 14:55
    +3

    $900 tone arm for a record player. Micro-Seiki with a Shure V15 Type III on an home made plinth for those playing at home.

    I was actually buying some records off the guy, spotted it on my way out on his lawn and even offered money for it but he insisted it was just garbage that he made in his early 20's, who was I to argue?

  • DarthAntz on 12/07/2017 - 15:09
    +1

    A guy i used to work with lived in a yuppy area, and during the pickup he and his friends scored 5-6 hammocks after a short walk. they decked out the massive tree in their backyard with enough hammocks for everyone.

  • Dr Techno on 12/07/2017 - 15:58
    +3

    5x Commodore Amiga 500's… saved a bit of computing history there :P

    • Shambler on 14/07/2017 - 12:49

      I found one too, so happy that day!

  • StingyBritches on 12/07/2017 - 17:23
    +2

    We've got a guy who comes around each year in a big ol' truck with a trailer, and he has his radio blaring at a zillion decibels. I wondered 'why' the radio but then realised it was to alert people he was rummaging around their kerbside rubbish. All he ever grabbed was bits and pieces of metal, but he always put everything else neatly back in place. He came around again after a few more days in case anyone was late putting out their stuff.

    • John Kimble on 12/07/2017 - 17:28
      +1

      Like a reverse ice cream truck haha

    • JIMB0 on 13/07/2017 - 08:04
      -1

      That's theft. I see people like that every year driving around picking out the valuable scrap metal to cash in. People like that are the reason councils ban taking anything from hard rubbish, as the scrap metal helps pay for the collection.

  • Godric on 12/07/2017 - 17:28

    Found a Corsair obsidian case with gen 1 i7 in it, still got the case keeping it for when I'm bored to clean up

  • outlander on 12/07/2017 - 18:08
    +1

    How about the worst hard rubbish find? My dad picked up a hoarding complex that lead to the junking up of a seven bedroom house, leading to the loss of 1000's of dollars worth of income streams

    • subydooby on 12/07/2017 - 19:05

      I bought a secondhand modem once that had cockroach eggs in it, my parents bought a brand new sideboard with borers in it. Should have gone to the kerb…

  • anna10 on 12/07/2017 - 18:28
    +4

    I found a lovely glass drops chandelier on the nature strip in Sydney. Brought it home and gave to the sad crazy lady a few doors down. When her family put the house up for sale years later, it was noted in the sale advert the chandelier was not included. I was pleased it gave her so much pleasure.

  • MessyG on 12/07/2017 - 18:42

    Mainly pristine kids toys for us, how hard is it to take this stuff to an op shop?! We did find a treadmill and took it home, my husband still working on that one ;)

  • froggym on 12/07/2017 - 18:53

    Our fridge. We had just moved into out new apartment and inherited our friend's parent's 20 year old nasty fridge. Day after move in our new neighbour puts theirs out on the curb for hard rubbish. It works fine, they just upgraded. It is half the age of the other one and runs great.

  • cantstanzya on 12/07/2017 - 20:51

    I hate kerbside collection scabs. All you scabs on ozbargain sound reasonable but the ones in my area just make a mess of people's stuff and leave it scattered everywhere. It's gotten to the stage where I'll only put it out the afternoon before collection starts.

    • altomic on 12/07/2017 - 22:57
      +2

      If I'm looking through a pile of stuff and it looks messy then I will neaten it up. i

    • D C on 13/07/2017 - 10:33

      Then there's the scrappers who smash things to pieces to get to the 'good stuff'.

      • retiredfeline on 13/07/2017 - 11:16

        Yeah, they used to do this to old TVs and CRTs, smashing the tube neck to get the yoke with copper.

        • D C on 13/07/2017 - 11:53

          All that mess for 10 cents worth of copper.

          They've finally twigged that microwave ovens have a massive transformer in them, so they destroy those as well now.

    • sheebies on 15/07/2017 - 12:58

      My sister is one of the people who come in from out of the area, tear open bags, to find "good things" scatter it everywhere and leave it however it ends up.

      So if she's ever ransacked your pile of rubbish.. I'm sorry, she doesn't understand, I've tried explaining it to her but she just told me "The council have to pick it all up anyway. So why does it matter?" or "The scrap metal people will just pull the piles apart anyway."

      She's a twit. I'm sorry.

  • DiscoJango on 12/07/2017 - 20:52

    how does one get fined for picking up hard rubbish? as in, you were unlucky enough that a council officer just happened to drive past at that exact moment and fine you, or a neighbor snitched and dobbed in your cars number plates. if the latter, who does that?! i know for some people, putting things out on hard rubbish is almost the same as putting up a "for free" ad on gumtree, mainly because we all know that good stuff disappears quick when its left on the nature strip (and the weather is good)

  • DarwinBoy on 12/07/2017 - 21:44
    +1

    Had a mate at work whose brother and roomates picked up a washing machine from a few doors down with the idea of fixing it up. A year went by and it sat unfixed so they decided to dump it outside the same house but a week after the pick up.
    Imagine the original owners been haunted by a long gone washing machine.

  • [Deactivated] on 12/07/2017 - 21:51

    I rolled a nice arm chair from a couple houses down back into my house. The faux leather looked pretty good at the point but started flaking on me a year after. I still use it now but the flakes annoy me. Probably going to get a new chair soon.

    Picked up a stack of plastic outdoor chairs. Put them back into another kerbside collection pile when I downsized to a townhouse.

    Some of you guys are pretty damn lucky!

  • Plug on 12/07/2017 - 22:20
    +1

    I harvested a perfect condition Peugeot Tourmalet bicycle a few years back and, more recently, a Sunbeam coffee machine that works perfectly and is better than the Delonghi one I paid $200+ for. I've also ripped a hard drive out of a laptop, picked up a couple of Dell desktops and a Milford cargo barrier for my Pajero.

  • altomic on 12/07/2017 - 22:56
    +1

    a few months ago I grabbed a phil'n'teds stroller (with the second seat and sun visor). cleaned it up and flogged it on ebay for $80.

    grabbed a 40" TV this afternoon but haven't had a chance to check it. there was also a decent bike infront of the same house.

  • smpantsonfire on 12/07/2017 - 22:58
    +5

    Oh the memories, it all started when I was young.

    Firstly was only interested in bikes and their parts.

    Made a Frankenstein bike, which lasted a long time. Then made a trailer fron all kinds of things found on the kerb.

    Used said trailer to correct everything computer, or old stereo equipment.

    This was around the time ebay started, so I started selling a lot of the electrical equipment, speakers, cd players etc.

    I generally collected anything I could sell, and if it didn't sell in 5 days it would go back out onto my own hard rubbish.

    I would walk the streets after school looking for goodies, it was so exciting!

    Most odd find was a pair of pogo shoes. Clown shoes with springs on the bottom. Ankle breakers they were! $70 on ebay later.

  • Hirolol on 12/07/2017 - 23:12

    Lazy boy couch
    I use it everyday.

  • MishyMoo on 12/07/2017 - 23:35
    +1

    A guillotine (for cutting paper, not necks) in perfect condition. (someone had put it in a plastic bag so the weather didn't get to it.. that was nice of them)

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