I read on another board that quite a few people dumpster dive for anything from products to coupons. How do you keep from getting caught and where do you go to dumpster dive? What items have you dumpster dived for?

I used to dumpster dive for coupons. I would just go to the recycling areas by the grocery stores VERY early in the morning. I never had any problems and would sometimes score HUGE amounts of coupons (seemed like the newspaper delivery guys would recycle).

A funny story, though - my sister and I read on a board about people scoring lots of new stuff by dumpster diving at LNT, Best Buy, etc. So, one night about 10:30, she came over and picked me up. We both had on jeans and black shirts - incognito. We went to the closest strip center and tried to look in the dumpsters for TRU, LNT, and Best Buy. They were all locked, so we gave up and drove across the street to Whataburger. WELL, all of a sudden we are surrounded by 5 cop cars!!!!! They came roaring in to the Whataburger parking lot - lights flashing and blocked in my sister's SUV. I about died of heart failure!!! The policeman came over and asked us why we were behind Best Buy. I totally lied and said I was picking up something I bought there earlier today and lost a ring. I'm sure he KNEW I was lying, but as it turns out, that Best Buy had been broken in to 4 times over the last 2 weeks, so they were watching it!!!! He let us go as we were obviously not the ones they were looking for and hadn't tried to get in to the store. My sister and I were so relieved and that's the last time we've been dumpster diving...

Good luck with yours!

Kim

My mom used to take us dumpster diving. One time we went behind Kmart and scored on items I think some employees were trying to steal. We got a walkman, CD player, epilady, clothes, CDs, and a bunch of other stuff I don't remember. This was in the late 80s when CD players just came out.

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TLJ ~ Where opinions are encouraged, not deleted

You laugh at me because I am different,
I laugh at you because you are all the same.

Your mind is like a parachute, it only works when it is open.

OMG! I would be so freaked out! I think I would've wet my pants! LOL

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I've had a Foreman Grill for about six years. I've done about 85% of my cooking on it, but I've never burnt myself. Probably because I don't use it as a pillow.

Only thing I dumpster dive was for cardboard boxes.( for moving day) I thought they started putting locks on dumpster because people were always getting boxes from them...I never dream they would have merchandise or coupons in them...Where in the world have I've been?

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Angels may not come when you call them, but they'll always be there when you need them.

When we use to live in the apartments I would go in the recycling containers to get the coupons out.
The old KMart used to lay the old flowers by the dumpster and I would take those.
The only dumpster that I look into, but did not actually get into, was a Hallmark store that was closing. One day after they closed we went to see if they had thrown away a cut out of Charlie Brown. WOW~what stuff. Each day at 6pm wewould go over and get a Jeep load. I am not kidding you when I say I had a 2 car garage FULL of things. I took alot of the wire store displays. TONS of Yankee Candles and M. Basting items. Many new things. I got about 1000 different colored balloons. I loved it. That was about 3 years ago thoguh.

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John 14:1
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its a 150.00 fine here if caught. not worth it to me.

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I wonder why they care? It's trash going to the landfill - why do they care if someone could use something?

I am way too paranoid. I would absolutely die if someone I knew saw me!

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

Nope. It's illegal to dumpster dive here in most situations as far as I know unless it's your own dumpster. You can go down to the recycle center and go thru the stuff for coupons legally. I know a person who was caught in a big box store dumpster and got caught and spent the night in jail for trespassing.

I think part of the problem is that companies are sometimes told to throw things away. IF these items are taken from the dumpster and resold (like ebay), then it becomes an issue for the manfacturer because bad product is on the market and people may want to try to get free warranty work, etc on items that should have never been sold. I can see both sides of the story. I would also hate to think the diseases that are in dumpsters. You could get stuck with a needle form a druggie that was tossed in there or worse. A lot of stores have to lock theirs up now because people who get injured and then try to sue the store!!!

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I KNOW! I just about did..... Yowzers! Can you imagine? "Ummmm, we were just trying to get free stuff if they threw anything away......"