dmftoy1
02-28-2007, 10:24 PM
So today my company made me fly to New York for a presentation tomorrow. . . . :( I was not looking forward to the trip but then I figured that it would give me an opportunity to do some lead searching in the drive up. Since old route 66 follows 55 I just started crusing up and hitting anyplace that looked like it sold tires. (car dealerships, car stores, walmart)
At the end of the day I had learned quite a bit and was about 300-310lbs of wheel weights richer. (and only $16 poorer) Here are the lessons I learned:
1. Always offer to "buy" the weights . .that gets you much further even if they're giving them to you for free. Some people like beer in exchange.
2. Small-medium sized towns are better than large towns. (18-20k people)
3. If you get a chance try to talk to the little guys who are actually doing the work instead of a manager . .they seemed much more willing to get rid of or sell weights.
4. The best places are the tire stores that look a little run down and/or the old fashioned family run service stations.
5. Car dealers - not a very good source as they don't have much in the way of quantity and even if they do their service manager usually has promised them to someone
6. Have persistence. I was 1 for 7 until I hit the right small town and ended up the day 4 out of 10 for weights with 2 invites back for a full 5 gallon bucket in a month.
7. Take more containers than you think you'll need. I had 4 large kitty litter buckets and had to quit because they were full. I passed 2-3 places that I bet would've given me another 50-100lbs. It's not a bad idea to write your name # on a couple of buckets in big letters in case you find someone who says they'll hold them for you. I even write on one that when it was full it would be exchanged for a case of miller lite. :)
8. Walmart/Sam's Club would be a gold mine if you could convince them to give/sell them to you . . . :(
Just my .02. I think on my 135 mile road trip I wasted an extra hour stopping at places. I'm pretty tickled and the VW Jetta waiting for me at the airport has a definate squat in the rear. :) The best part is that the company paid for the fuel.
Have a good one,
Dave
At the end of the day I had learned quite a bit and was about 300-310lbs of wheel weights richer. (and only $16 poorer) Here are the lessons I learned:
1. Always offer to "buy" the weights . .that gets you much further even if they're giving them to you for free. Some people like beer in exchange.
2. Small-medium sized towns are better than large towns. (18-20k people)
3. If you get a chance try to talk to the little guys who are actually doing the work instead of a manager . .they seemed much more willing to get rid of or sell weights.
4. The best places are the tire stores that look a little run down and/or the old fashioned family run service stations.
5. Car dealers - not a very good source as they don't have much in the way of quantity and even if they do their service manager usually has promised them to someone
6. Have persistence. I was 1 for 7 until I hit the right small town and ended up the day 4 out of 10 for weights with 2 invites back for a full 5 gallon bucket in a month.
7. Take more containers than you think you'll need. I had 4 large kitty litter buckets and had to quit because they were full. I passed 2-3 places that I bet would've given me another 50-100lbs. It's not a bad idea to write your name # on a couple of buckets in big letters in case you find someone who says they'll hold them for you. I even write on one that when it was full it would be exchanged for a case of miller lite. :)
8. Walmart/Sam's Club would be a gold mine if you could convince them to give/sell them to you . . . :(
Just my .02. I think on my 135 mile road trip I wasted an extra hour stopping at places. I'm pretty tickled and the VW Jetta waiting for me at the airport has a definate squat in the rear. :) The best part is that the company paid for the fuel.
Have a good one,
Dave