Kate Hackett
A TikTok user who is well known for her dumpster diving videos recently hit some diving gold while she perused the trash bins behind an Apple Store.
TikToker @glamourddive shared a clip in which she found a lot of empty product boxes – which do actually sell on eBay — and some unused product accessories that may also fetch a penny online.
She shares an iPhone case that seems unused, then a broken laptop charger.
As she opens up an iPhone box that appeared empty, she found a charger cable that was completely brand new. Not even unwound!
Then she picks up an Apple Pencil box. “OK, I checked this Apple Pencil box and it actually has them inside,” Ella said as she shows off the Apple Pencil tips inside the box, still in their package. “And they don’t even look used.”
She also found an Apple Watch band and several stickers.
Reselling items via dumpster diving has taken off as a bit of a side hustle. Reselling Revealed has several tips for people who are interested in the reselling market and listed outlets and marketplaces beyond just eBay to get started. Electronics and clothing are some of the biggest “scores” in dumpster diving because they tend to give the biggest returns.
The site also suggested people use bins of huge businesses because the larger a company is, the more waste they are likely to produce.
Still, it’s definitely a number’s game and you probably shouldn’t bank on scoring primo electronics very often. In 2021, The Verge reported that Amazon destroyed “millions of unsold products”. Another well known brand, Louis Vuitton, burns goods they don’t sell.
The problem of what to do with unsold stock has plagued plenty of businesses, but they usually don’t take a loss on anything – so when you dive, keep an eye out for treasures. They may just be rare.
