Scraponomics Episode 81: Demand in the Strangest of Places
“Look at this. It’s worthless — ten dollars from a vendor in the street. But I take it, I bury it in the sand for a thousand years, it becomes priceless.” — Dr. René Belloq from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
As Throwback Thursday has become popular on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter — that is, posting a photo from one’s past — Friedland has taken a slightly different approach. We’ve had a lot of interesting things come in, to the point where we actually have a mini museum of artifacts for the public to stop by and see.
As a result, we like to post photos of the pieces of history that have made their way here over the years. It could be an old newspaper article, an old book, or a brass instrument.
We’ve had people ask if they can buy some of the items in our museum, but currently, if it doesn’t get sent to a mill or refinery, it simply goes on our wall. Hey, we think it looks cool, and it gives customers something to look at while they’re waiting in line.
It is weird how demand works, though, isn’t it? While Friedland doesn’t purchase material as products the same way you would sell a collector’s item on eBay, the overall concept of demand is the very thing that drives the scrap-recycling industry (or any industry, for that matter). Really, any industry exists because there’s a market for the product they make. For the scrap-recycling industry, it’s the public’s desire to buy new washers and dryers, for example. For a place like Liberty Coin in Lansing, it’s the demand from the public to buy and sell things like gold, silver, and collector’s items.
Demand can be found in the strangest places. What’s the most interesting or strangest artifact you’ve discovered? Let us know on our Facebook (Friedland Industries, Inc.) or Twitter (@FIRecycling) page.
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