Anyone ever use Got Junk?

[jelloshots4all]

It's a company that comes out and takes your junk for you.  In the commercials, you basically point at what you want removed and they take it.  


I wonder how accurate that is.  I need to have my garage and the portion of my unfinished basement gutted.  I was going to rent a dumpster and do it myself, but that task seems daunting.  


Thanks for any advice!!

[Deleted]

For me, the daunting part is deciding what to do with all the stuff.  Keep, donate, or throw away.  If I was just going to things, it would be pretty easy with a dumpster.  Are you talking about a lot of heavy/bulky things that you wouldn't be able to move yourself?  In that case, it might be worth it, but otherwise, I don't see how it's all that much better than just a dumpster. 

[raeoflyte]

It was really expensive when I called. Like $350 to haul out my small sectional couch and maybe 1 or 2 other items. I can rent a dumpster pay movers to haul anything crazy upstairs and get rid of a lot more than just that for $350 so I declined. The guys seemed shocked.

[busymom]

If you mean 1-800-Got-Junk, then, yes, I used them to get rid of larger items from Mom's house.  It's not the cheapest, but I didn't have men to help move large furniture, and a lot of my parent's stuff was NOT in good enough shape to sell or donate.  I literally pointed at what I didn't want, and the guys took it out to their truck.  They charge according to, if you have 1/4 truck, 1/2 truck, 3/4 truck, or totally full truck.  The cool part is, they sort everything back at their "home office", so recycling can occur.  I would definitely use them again, if I had large items to throw.  Oh, and they also get rid of large items in your garage, if you have a Dad who hangs onto construction stuff.  

[haapai]

Not yet, but nearly twenty years of working night shift has taken a hell of a toll on my friendship circle.  I'm still pretty strong and limber but given how few folks I have left  to call on when it comes to getting rid of junk, I might have become the target customer for such a service.  It's really hard to get rid of the heavy and bulky stuff when you have no friends to call and bribe with food or beer and if you do still have someone to call, you might not want to ask those last few human contacts to handle your junk. 

I can definitely see this service being wildly expensive by volume and still definitely worth what it costs. 

[dannylion]

In my area, there are a lot of small junk-hauling businesses that are more reasonably priced than the franchise ones that do all the advertising.  Check Angie's List or inquire on your local Nextdoor group on Facebook.  It is likely you can find someone to haul away your stuff for less than Got Junk and the other "name-brand" junk haulers charge.  

[Pants]

I have. It was very easy. I did most of the arrangements online, they called day of to confirm. We pointed, they carried. They took: furniture, old blinds, old patio furniture, random branches blown in a storm, a couple old appliances. 

Was it cheapest? Probably not. But for how easy it all was, worth it to me. We also had a lot of metal in that load, so they gave us a discount because they get cash for that on the other end. Worked for me. 

I also tipped each each of the guys a $20 on top of the fee. 

I would absolutely use them again. 

[jelloshots4all]

I want it done in one day.  If I rented a dumpster I would be doing this for several hours per day over the course of a week or 2 and would be frustrated with myself.  Also, it would be just me and I'm having some back issues, so I decided it's worth it to me to pay "maybe" a premium for them to do it.  

I think I am going to buy some neon stickers tomorrow and start placing them on items I know I want gone, so the process is easier.

Pants do they charge by the hour or the weight?  I'm waiting for a call back from them.

I want the ease as well.

[TheOtherMe]

There is a local company here that does this type of stuff.  I can't bring myself to let them take everything from the basement to the but I am going to hire them to move all that stuff to the garage.  Then I will go through it.  

Putting stickers on what I know they can get rid of now would help me, too.  I do have that kind of stuff already.

I don't want a dumpster either.  I want to be able to sort in my own time.  

I don't have anyone to help me and I can't get a broken down love seat out of the basement.  They can.  I've had them do some other things and the charge is fair and they work.  

[Pants]

Apr 27, 2019 15:36:46 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

I want it done in one day.  If I rented a dumpster I would be doing this for several hours per day over the course of a week or 2 and would be frustrated with myself.  Also, it would be just me and I'm having some back issues, so I decided it's worth it to me to pay "maybe" a premium for them to do it.  

I think I am going to buy some neon stickers tomorrow and start placing them on items I know I want gone, so the process is easier.

Pants do they charge by the hour or the weight?  I'm waiting for a call back from them.

I want the ease as well.

By volume - quarters of truck bed.

[Artemis Windsong]

Our town, gratefully, has a clean up fix up week where anything can be put on the boulevard to be hauled away.  I realize the people posting have to have help getting items out of the house.  

A friend had a rental where the renters took off without paying rent after vandalizing the place.  They left several couches, TVs, beds as well as personal belongings.  He put all of it out during clean up fix up week.  Saved a fortune on dumping fees.

Best wishes on off loading the junk.

[jelloshots4all]

Basically I am getting rid of everything I haven't used in a year.  I have been decludering upstairs, but I just want junk gone!!  My son and I cleaned out his room today and I have 2 dressers.  I have 3 bags I will drop at Goodwill tomorrow.  


I just really want so much stuff out of our home.


I have a treadmill I will sell.

[busymom]

If the treadmill doesn't sell, "Got Junk" will take old exercise equipment, too.  My Dad used to have one of those older-style exercise bicycles, that weigh a ton, and they took it.  

[Deleted]

We used the service once several years ago when a former neighbor dumped a mattress in our front yard.  They are a little pricey, but we as seniors could not drag that mattress into our backyard and store it there for two months until the local junk collection.  And haul it out front again.  Using 1-800-Got-Junk was way cheaper than trying to find someone to haul the mattress to the local and facing fines if we didn't.  They were really nice folks.

[Anne_in_VA]

We haven’t used them, but we have had luck putting stuff on either Craigslist or Nextdoor.  There are almost always people looking for things due to fire, moving, etc.  the few things I don’t get rid of that way, I donate and most charities pick up.  

[Deleted]

DH and I used Junk King when we moved and I think they were a bit cheaper.  Once we got rid of the majority of stuff we wanted out in preparation for downsizing, I started listing things as free on Craigslist- put most things at the end of the driveway, list them and they're gone.  I found early on that if you listed a bunch of totally unrelated things separately the first person to show up would usually grab it all, so I suspect these are flea-market types or people hoping to resell on e-Bay.  I do wonder how much gets thrown out if it doesn't sell- would rather give to someone who has a genuine need- but can't control that.

[bean29]

We have another similar service called Junk Dog in our area, they are in the industrial park my office is in.

I have also heard of one called something like College Hunks hauling Junk?

When DH wants stuff hauled he either does it himself or he gets a customer with a truck to do it.  He has several customers that pick up scrap metal.

I have an old exercise bike in our work/utility room too.  I would have tossed it years ago, but my DH is somewhat of a hoarder. 

[shanendoah]

I don't know that we've used that exact company, but we have used similar services twice while moving. First time it was for a garage filled with old construction materials. Second time was for large furniture that wasn't being moved with us. Like all the others, they charged by volume/portion of the truck, though if you had hazardous waste, there was an extra fee. And the ones we use all specifically note that they go through everything and donate things that could be donated and recycle things that can be recycled.
It was well worth it to me both times we used these companies.

[1Day@aTime]

I did several years ago.  I had to clean out a garage (not mine) that was packed to the gills with junk (old tires, old furnace and tons of god only knows what junk).  I think it filled a truck and was about $800.  Pricey, but completely worth it to me to have them deal with it all over a few hours and I could continue with other tasks.

The workers were friendly and polite.

[snapdragon]

I have used them and they worked great for me. I live in a condo - don't have any friends with muscle and I didn't have a way to haul the stuff away. It was pricy but well worth the amount that I paid so things were gone and out of the house.

[jelloshots4all]

So I have them scheduled for Wednesday.  Going to put stickers on as many items as I can tonight and tomorrow.  Excited!!

[jelloshots4all]

They just left.  My unfinished basement is cleaned out as is my garage.  2 dressers, the treadmill, an old riding lawn mower, old bikes, Christmas trees, and probably 25 garbage bags and numerous smaller household items.  Filled 5/6 of a truck and the cost was about $550. TOTALLY WORTH IT!!  I tipped the guys $20 cash each.  Nicest guys and I did literally point at stuff and they took it.  I am relieved!

[TheOtherMe]

That must feel so good.

[swamp]

"Got Junk?" sounds like an name for a heroin dealer. 

[nittanycheme]

I should've used them to help me clean out my mom's/grandparent's house.  There was so much leftover wood from my grandfather, who was a carpenter, and my mom, who liked to do projects as well as garden pots, etc.  But I didn't really think about it until it was too late.  I ended up getting bagsters, but they would've been about the same price and much easier to deal with since their house was in a philly suburb, and taking up street parking places with the bagsters wan't really appreciated by the neighbors.  The bagster people themselves were pretty good to deal with.

[jelloshots4all]

I've done a couple bagster's.  This was so much easier!!!  And I didn't have to haul anything.  In and out in 1 hr.  

[Tiny]

Apr 27, 2019 18:48:44 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Basically I am getting rid of everything I haven't used in a year.  I have been decludering upstairs, but I just want junk gone!!  My son and I cleaned out his room today and I have 2 dressers.  I have 3 bags I will drop at Goodwill tomorrow.  


I just really want so much stuff out of our home.


I have a treadmill I will sell.

For things like usable furniture or appliances - can you check your local area for LOCAL charitable organizations that will come and take your stuff for free? I've got a bunch of "re sale" organizations associated with various kinds of organizations (churches, homeless shelters, hospitals, various 'disease' or disabilities organizations,  animal shelters)  in a 20 mile radius of my house. The only "pain" is calling around (maybe sending photos) to see who will come and get your stuff as they have different requirements for the niche markets they are in.

If you are selling the treadmill - why not sell the dressers? Even if it's just $20 per dresser... My sibling sold a "modular" type desk (good for a kid's bedroom) a twin bed frame, and some other odds and ends via Facebook Marketplace. The buyers moved everything. He used Marketplace - so he'd be selling to someone local to his subdivision. He took a "class" at his local library dealing with selling stuff online (craigslist, facebook marketplace, and a couple of other's). He wasn't out to make a million - he was doing it for "fun" and "beer money". He's almost as old as dirt and retired.  He and his childhood friend  Methuselah like to go out for beers and sometimes to the Off Track Betting parlor.     

[Artemis Windsong]

Dressers are important for people with kids.

We fell into a deal where a neighbor was giving away  bedside table with drawers and a narrow but tall cupboard.  We took those.  I really wanted the oak computer desk but H. said no room.

At the resorts in Phoenix area, if you are patient and can wait, people give away entire households furniture and kitchen stuff.  One woman told me it was her rental. The people who wanted to lease wanted to put their own things in.  She also bought nearly everything 2nd hand from the annual rummage sale and 2nd hand stores.

I took a lot of stuff to the church rummage sale.  I tossed a ton of paper for shredding.  Three garbage bags full.  That should have taken care of the buy one new thing and toss or recycle 2.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Just used these guys to pick up renovation debris and stuff we are not going to move with us when we sell the house. Worth every penny. It was a little over 500. DH is mostly in TN now and has a bad back so this was the best option.

Had jelloshots4all not started a thread about them, I would never have known about them, so thank you!

[jelloshots4all]

Great job Cheesy!!

For those questioning the dressers, they were cheapo Walmart ones that I put together and had seen their last days.  I have 2 teenagers so most of the stuff was worn out!

I normally put nicer furniture at the curb with a free sign and they are gone in 24 hrs.  

I did segregate stuff for goodwill before I had them pick up everything.

Not only did using them clear out my house but it cleared out my mind