Professional full-time dumpster diver brings in $5k a month
- last year
Meet the woman who has turned dumpster diving into a lucrative job - which can bring in up to $5k a month.
Veronica Taylor, 32, has salvaged items from household brands including Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors.
She donates most of the food and hygiene products she finds to charities and the homeless.
But she sells on the high-end items - and has turned what started as a hobby with pal Liz Wilson, 38, into a business.
Veronica, from Quakertown, PA, said: "It's fantastic. It's really like a real life treasure hunt.
"You've no idea what you're going to find. And I can hang out with my best friend and make a living from finding things.
"We split everything 50/50 and I want to say each we've be getting $4,000 to $5,000 a month. It's definitely not worth working a real job for.
"There's no words to descrbe this, it just gives you so much freedom."
Veronica had her first taste of dumpster diving - also known as 'skipping' in the UK - in June 2022 and hasn’t stopped since.
She said: "Liz took me out last year, she is the reason that I started. It was just a hobby doing that with her. It's so much fun."
Veronica moved from her previous home in California across the country to live with Liz in Pennsylvania.
Their job now takes them far and wide, driving from city to city to discover new bin locations.
She said: "Pennsylvania is a completely different ball game. We've saved between $10,000 and $15,000 in two months.
"We find Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors. That's in thrift stores - we thought there's no way this was in the dumpster.
"We assume it's older people working in the stores who don't know much about the brands and throw them out.
"We just spent three days in Boston searching and just hanging out. Every single day is just getting in the car and driving somwhere and seeing what we can find.
"It really is like being on vacation all the time. The typical places that we do really well at we go every single night - 10pm to 3am usually.
The duo turned their hobby into a business in February 2023, selling their salvaged items on online auction app, WhatNot.
They list their finds and livestream while people bid - often selling up to 100 items per show.
Veronica said: "It's all auction, so people bid.
"We did have a thrift store and people can send offers and we pretty much take any offer as we're already making 100% profit.
"We also give a lot away too and that's why our supporters keep coming back, they know we hook them up.
"Another reason why auctions are so enticing because every item starts at a dollar. We do a big auction every Saturday and then multiple pop-ups throughtout the week.
Items Veronica has found dumpster diving -
- Louis Vuitton wallet
- Michael Kors shoes
- Books
- New magazines
- Coats
- Clothes
- Mannequins
- Spray paint
- Paint
- Christmas lights
- Period products
- Wooden decorations
- Dispenser
- Colouring books
- Printer
- Record player
- Christmas lights
- pizza cutters
Veronica Taylor, 32, has salvaged items from household brands including Louis Vuitton and Michael Kors.
She donates most of the food and hygiene products she finds to charities and the homeless.
But she sells on the high-end items - and has turned what started as a hobby with pal Liz Wilson, 38, into a business.
Veronica, from Quakertown, PA, said: "It's fantastic. It's really like a real life treasure hunt.
"You've no idea what you're going to find. And I can hang out with my best friend and make a living from finding things.
"We split everything 50/50 and I want to say each we've be getting $4,000 to $5,000 a month. It's definitely not worth working a real job for.
"There's no words to descrbe this, it just gives you so much freedom."
Veronica had her first taste of dumpster diving - also known as 'skipping' in the UK - in June 2022 and hasn’t stopped since.
She said: "Liz took me out last year, she is the reason that I started. It was just a hobby doing that with her. It's so much fun."
Veronica moved from her previous home in California across the country to live with Liz in Pennsylvania.
Their job now takes them far and wide, driving from city to city to discover new bin locations.
She said: "Pennsylvania is a completely different ball game. We've saved between $10,000 and $15,000 in two months.
"We find Louis Vuitton, Michael Kors. That's in thrift stores - we thought there's no way this was in the dumpster.
"We assume it's older people working in the stores who don't know much about the brands and throw them out.
"We just spent three days in Boston searching and just hanging out. Every single day is just getting in the car and driving somwhere and seeing what we can find.
"It really is like being on vacation all the time. The typical places that we do really well at we go every single night - 10pm to 3am usually.
The duo turned their hobby into a business in February 2023, selling their salvaged items on online auction app, WhatNot.
They list their finds and livestream while people bid - often selling up to 100 items per show.
Veronica said: "It's all auction, so people bid.
"We did have a thrift store and people can send offers and we pretty much take any offer as we're already making 100% profit.
"We also give a lot away too and that's why our supporters keep coming back, they know we hook them up.
"Another reason why auctions are so enticing because every item starts at a dollar. We do a big auction every Saturday and then multiple pop-ups throughtout the week.
Items Veronica has found dumpster diving -
- Louis Vuitton wallet
- Michael Kors shoes
- Books
- New magazines
- Coats
- Clothes
- Mannequins
- Spray paint
- Paint
- Christmas lights
- Period products
- Wooden decorations
- Dispenser
- Colouring books
- Printer
- Record player
- Christmas lights
- pizza cutters