The Pro Dumpster Diver Who’s Making Thousands Off America’s Biggest Retailers

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He comes out with a box containing a complete Uniden Wireless Video Surveillance System—two cameras and a wireless monitor—which normally retails for $419. A quick inspection reveals that it’s all in perfect condition, although someone has clearly opened and repacked it. “A return,” he says, then plunges back into the dumpster.

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I worked in retail for 20 years and never once heard of a large or even medium sized company "throwing away" returns. Not even damages or defects. These things are carefully tracked, packed in a box and shipped back to corporate locations for refurb/parting/destruction. Rare is it that you would ever do an "in the field" destruction of product and when that happens its usually stuff that has been dropped in value so much that the cost of shipping the items outweighs anything that could be done with it. Now, if he were dumpster diving at the warehouse locations that those things are sent to? Sure. But this part doesn't really add up to a level of finding enough stuff to refurb and sell to make it worth his while when he already works a 6 figure job.