Looking for old stock

[highup]

I was wondering if it would be worthwhile to create a new forum here, aimed at people looking for materials they can no longer find.
Discontinued items especially things like lvp, pergo, wood, you get the picture.
If there's a way to make it work, this website might end up being the go-to place for people buying and selling old stock or discontinued items.

It's just a thought that might draw in more people to the best flooring website on planet Earth.
Yes, I'm sucking up.
If it ain't the best, it's certainly the most layed back and tolerant. I like that a lot.
I mean what other website of Earth would allow me to say:
Go Dylan go!
really ...just go.
Anyway, just a suggestion that might draw in more people to the website.
It would be good to find a single source known to have people searching for or trying to sell discontinued or hard to find products. This has always been an issue with consumers want a product has been discontinued.

I said my piece, so I'll let you guys figure out if something can be done and if it's worthwhile.

 

[Hardwood]

Anyone else have a comment about the public looking for old/discontinued stock they may need for repairs or renovations?

 

[Tile Tom]

Honestly, it’s more a pain in the ass than it’s worth. I had some material a few months ago that a guy on here was looking for. He was squawking about the price but it was more the shipping price that was the real killer. Ended up telling him he can drive to NY to pick it up and save the shipping cost. After numerous phone calls and texts I tossed it in the dumpster and sent him a pic of it in there

Not worth the time I had invested (to do someone a favor).

 

[highup]

Dumpster.....
...it's a good thing.

 

[JPfloor]

I agree with “not worth the effort”. If you’re lucky one out of a thousand people will find what they’re looking for, and for that one person who gets lucky it’s not worth the shipping cost.

 

[C.J.]

Maybe 25 years ago I had a storage unit that I had packed full of remnants. I figured I’d get a few jobs here n there as well as a little cash for the rem. After a year of paying for the storage unit I decided to dump all of it. Don’t think I sold more than a couple rems that year. They were either the wrong color or not big enough. Turned out to be just a big waste of money and time in the end.

 

[JPfloor]

Maybe 25 years ago I had a storage unit that I had packed full of remnants. I figured I’d get a few jobs here n there as well as a little cash for the rem. After a year of paying for the storage unit I decided to dump all of it. Don’t think I sold more than a couple rems that year. They were either the wrong color or not big enough. Turned out to be just a big waste of money and time in the end.

In my younger days I did the same thing in my garage. Ended up throwing out the vast majority. Warehouse guy at the shop I worked for had bins full of remnants sitting for years… Some of it very expensive stuff. Ended up filling two 30 yard dumpsters. Even offered it all to a remnant store for next to nothing. They came and hand picked a few of the more popular styles/colors. They wouldn’t even take the rest of it for free… Fact is, oddball stuff just isn‘t worth the space.

 

[Incognito]

Honestly, it’s more a pain in the ass than it’s worth. I had some material a few months ago that a guy on here was looking for. He was squawking about the price but it was more the shipping price that was the real killer. Ended up telling him he can drive to NY to pick it up and save the shipping cost. After numerous phone calls and texts I tossed it in the dumpster and sent him a pic of it in there

Not worth the time I had invested (to do someone a favor).

Few would be able to store and ultimately deliver flooring materials properly so I agree with you that "attic stock" the customer nor the shop want ought to go promptly to the dumpster. ASAP

Our shop rarely wanted to send the company trucks to haul off balance materials because it cost money there and back and then storing forever. But you do HAVE to haul commercial goods off site at the end. Every 3-5 years we'd have to rent the 40-yard dumpsters. I believe on occasions they'd fill up 3-4 over the course of a week. Hundreds of cartons of VCT/LVP/cove base/carpet tile plus rolls of sheet goods---rubber/lino/vinyl. In the end I don't know if they've been able to sell or otherwise use enough of the returned goods to pay for all the above costs. I know one nursing home couldn't pay for the asbestos abatement after they paid for like 30 rolls of mannington 6' commercial goods. They sat in our warehouse at least 15 years. I think they threw them out?

 

[JPfloor]

The only commercial material that we commonly used from attic stock was cove base. Black and grey were pretty common colors worth saving… Threw out tons of carpet and VCT.

 

[install4you]

When I read highup's question, as a non-pro, I thought it was a great idea. I defer to the rest of you if the consensus is that it's not worth it. But still...

Has anyone thought about Habitat for Humanity instead of dumpster? Also, areas with mass devastation after tornado or hurricane. At least for remnants & leftovers large enough to do a whole room or more.

I went to Rolling Fork, MS in April after tornados devastated much of the town. Entire blocks of homes were just wiped away. This is one of the poorest counties in the state & nation and a perfect example of needing every kind of building materials. I saw a man on the side of the road driving nails out of gathered lumber because "there's nowhere to buy any anymore."

Yes, I know connecting the right people together seems impossible. Christian Service Mission in Bham, AL accepts almost anything & redirects wherever it's needed. There's no explanation for how things just show up & are immediately needed other than the Master Organizer is directing it all. There must be other organizations like that other places.

It would take some work to create & manage a virtual clearing house, but quick turn over might make short storage easier to manage. This could be a retirement project for a few members.

Slow word of mouth would never work. Good publicity would be key. When you consider the "people helping" angle, I bet a lot of local TV stations could make a lot of flooring guys look really good, especially if they combined donation of materials with occasional donated labor. It would be opportunity to publicize both clearinghouse & forum...& yourself. Such publicity, repeated around the country, could kickstart the whole thing, maybe even make it go viral.

Also don't forget possible tax benefit of donating to a qualified charity.

I'm just throwing out some ideas that might contribute.

 

[Tile Tom]

When I read highup's question, as a non-pro, I thought it was a great idea. I defer to the rest of you if the consensus is that it's not worth it. But still...

Has anyone thought about Habitat for Humanity instead of dumpster? Also, areas with mass devastation after tornado or hurricane. At least for remnants & leftovers large enough to do a whole room or more.

I went to Rolling Fork, MS in April after tornados devastated much of the town. Entire blocks of homes were just wiped away. This is one of the poorest counties in the state & nation and a perfect example of needing every kind of building materials. I saw a man on the side of the road driving nails out of gathered lumber because "there's nowhere to buy any anymore."

Yes, I know connecting the right people together seems impossible. Christian Service Mission in Bham, AL accepts almost anything & redirects wherever it's needed. There's no explanation for how things just show up & are immediately needed other than the Master Organizer is directing it all. There must be other organizations like that other places.

It would take some work to create & manage a virtual clearing house, but quick turn over might make short storage easier to manage. This could be a retirement project for a few members.

Slow word of mouth would never work. Good publicity would be key. When you consider the "people helping" angle, I bet a lot of local TV stations could make a lot of flooring guys look really good, especially if they combined donation of materials with occasional donated labor. It would be opportunity to publicize both clearinghouse & forum...& yourself. Such publicity, repeated around the country, could kickstart the whole thing, maybe even make it go viral.

Also don't forget possible tax benefit of donating to a qualified charity.

I'm just throwing out some ideas that might contribute.

Again, not worth the time & effort.

I get what you’re saying and agree it’s wasteful. Just not worth the time & space to try to find a home for it. We would be loosing money dealing with it.

If you or anyone knows of a place that would want it and cover the shipping of it I would be happy to send it that way though.

 

[highup]

When I read highup's question, as a non-pro, I thought it was a great idea. I defer to the rest of you if the consensus is that it's not worth it. But still...

Has anyone thought about Habitat for Humanity instead of dumpster? Also, areas with mass devastation after tornado or hurricane. At least for remnants & leftovers large enough to do a whole room or more.

I went to Rolling Fork, MS in April after tornados devastated much of the town. Entire blocks of homes were just wiped away. This is one of the poorest counties in the state & nation and a perfect example of needing every kind of building materials. I saw a man on the side of the road driving nails out of gathered lumber because "there's nowhere to buy any anymore."

Yes, I know connecting the right people together seems impossible. Christian Service Mission in Bham, AL accepts almost anything & redirects wherever it's needed. There's no explanation for how things just show up & are immediately needed other than the Master Organizer is directing it all. There must be other organizations like that other places.

It would take some work to create & manage a virtual clearing house, but quick turn over might make short storage easier to manage. This could be a retirement project for a few members.

Slow word of mouth would never work. Good publicity would be key. When you consider the "people helping" angle, I bet a lot of local TV stations could make a lot of flooring guys look really good, especially if they combined donation of materials with occasional donated labor. It would be opportunity to publicize both clearinghouse & forum...& yourself. Such publicity, repeated around the country, could kickstart the whole thing, maybe even make it go viral.

Also don't forget possible tax benefit of donating to a qualified charity.

I'm just throwing out some ideas that might contribute.

Our local Habitat for humanity does have a single boxes or four or five boxes of lvp and other materials now and then and it does disappear. Some people only want an entryway and some people only need a bathroom. If it's $10 per box, people will buy it. I too hate waste. For a commercial or a retailer operation the guys got to sell goods and make money. Habitat starts off with zero and makes a little something. It's my favorite store. It's kind of like a garage sale without all the annoying people.
Prices are non-negotiable at Habitat ReStore and that takes the awkwardness out of bickering between customers and the employees. It's for a good cause so why would you want to bicker anyway?