It's been 13 months since our last Dumpster Dive, so we got together and decided it's time we had another round. On Wednesday, November 14th, we will be making Dumpster Dive available once again.
What is the Dumpster Dive, you might ask? We have a lot of products that we either can't or won't sell for various reasons. This can include customer returns, damaged products (physical or cosmetic), overstock, production samples or anything that's not selling well enough on the site to keep around. Instead of this ending up in our dumpster (or environmentally-friendly, e-waste recycling program), we've boxed it up and are offering you a chance to rummage through our virtual dumpster.
Like last year, we will not have a set number of available Dumpster Dive boxes. This means when you place an order we will build the box in the order it is received. All you need to do is hit the "Backorder" button when the fateful day comes, and we'll start making a box for you!
[
](A glimpse of the goods)
](A glimpse of the goods) A glimpse of the goods so far!
This approach worked pretty well for us last year, and overall we were satisfied with how it worked out. Running the Dumpster Dive this way allows you to come the website during the time limit, place your order and then go back to your day!
It also means sticking to the same rules we had last year, so here are the basics:
- November 14, 2018, from 10--10:10 a.m. MST
- Limit one $15.00 box per customer
- 1/2 lb boxes only
- Available to U.S. customers only
- Economy shipping only
- No on-site sales
- No support or returns
Unfortunately we were unable to extend the Dumpster Dive outside of the United States this year like we originally wanted. This decision is still based on shipping restrictions becoming stricter and stricter with increased duty fees, compliance complications and material handling safety concerns. As we stated last year, we might be able to open up the Dumpster Dive to the world in the future, but at this point we still can't make any promises.
As a reminder: The Dumpster Dive is a gamble and the contents are not guaranteed. We will not provide tech support or returns on any of the goods since many are not products we ever supported, or they might be returns with unknown defects.
And that is pretty much it! We will be sending out a few reminders and updates over the course of the next month. Please be aware that we do have a time change November 4th to Mountain Standard Time, so schedule accordingly! If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments below and we will answer them as quickly as possible. We'll see you on November 14th!
Can't wait! I feel like a robotic raccoon.
Again no Europe ? :(
If 50% of these are going to end up in a customers dumpster all over the US then as toxic stuff in landfills, is it not better off being in one dumpster (sparkfun's) from where it may be efficiently recycled at scale?
Sending these to the e-waste recycle might be more environment friendly than letting people gamble on it in an attempt to salvage these. Or is it not?
At least if I was going to buy these (tempting) - I'd strip those boards to the bone for desoldering practice rather than trash them if they don't work. Need to get practice with that Sparkfun Hot Air Rework station : P
Define better. I'm currently using some of the things I got from the last dumpster dive, and the rest of the things are in my "to find a use for" pile.
Is local pickup still valid on dumpster dive orders?
Local pickup is still an option for Dumpster Dive. Just be sure to keep an eye on your email so you know when to pick up since we are building these to order and will not have a box ready for you the day of.