How Dumpster Divers Make Thousands on Castoff Luxury Items
Would you ever buy the paper shopping bag but not the actual designer goods? (Photo: Alamy)
When you think of dumpster diving, you rarely think of anything but someone gathering cans to turn in at the local recycling center. It will probably come as quite a surprise that dumpster divers have moved well past recyclables and are now hunting for more lucrative items to sell on eBay, making up to $150 per item.
The New York Post reports that a group of dumpster divers have started collecting designer castoffs — empty boxes, paper shopping bags, hangers, shoe and purse dust covers, pieces of ribbon — and reselling them on eBay and other sites to make a profit. While it might not seem like the most lucrative business, these “divers” (as they call themselves) have turned this side hustle into one that’s more profitable than you’d ever imagine.
“The handbag boxes, people are crazy for,” said Andy, a man who started checking Chanel’s trash a few months ago after losing his finance job, to the Post. “A perfect box could fetch $60 … I’ve been told the real-estate agents, when they want to stage a home, will put them in the walk-in closet.”
That’s not all. Other finds, such as Chanel shopping bags, are sold for about $100 apiece to people looking to laminate them and turn them into artwork, the Post reports. We found prices on eBay to be closer to the $25 to $50 range, which is still a lot of money to pay for a paper shopping bag. While these oddities in itself are great finds to resell, on rare occasions the trash pickers will find actual store merchandise in the garbage set outside. In the past, divers have reported finding sample Chanel dresses, leather Fendi jackets, Dior gloves, Burberry purses, bottles of wine, and boxes of chocolate, giving them a more well-rounded, profitable inventory for their online business accounts.
A man selling bags on the street in London — apparently this trend isn’t limited to NYC. (Photo: Alamy)
Even though this kind of trash picking is legal, luxury stores have caught on to the trend and as a result have created policies within their stores to prevent it from happening altogether. They’ll dispose of their packaging in a way that’s unavailable to the divers or will mar bags that have their logo on it so that it can’t be resold over the distribution channels.
While this is certainly a deterrent, the divers have figured out ways around it. They claim to avoid the Chanel boutique on Madison Avenue in Manhattan because it’s known to shred its trash, while Tiffany & Co., on Fifth Avenue at 57th Street, is also worth avoiding since it destroys the signature blue boxes.
Nonetheless, there are plenty of luxury stores that still dispose of their trash in a way that’s beneficial to the divers, allowing their practice to continue. As the saying goes, “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and when it comes to dumpster diving in New York City, this is certainly the case.
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