Reselling or donating camping equipment?

[Cuculola]

Hi all!

My boyfriend and I will hopefully be lucky enough to become first time burners this year! Admittedly, I am just slightly OCD about the little details and have begun anxiously planning as I suspect rentals/airfare will surge or become limited later on.

We were wondering if you kind, seasoned folks could advise us on where we might be able to resell or donate our used gear at the end? We're both flying in to San Fran and driving from there, so we'll need to purchase almost everything as it would likely be more costly or too large to carry as additional luggage.

Amongst our packing list will be large coolers, small table of sorts, folding chairs, portable stove, cookware, etc. It would be a shame to have to dispose of it after such a short life. Are there any vendors nearby or along our travel route that we may sell/donate to?

Alternatively we considered just setting up a makeshift yard sale along the side of the road to sell or donate to local burners who can transport it home easily. However, this may be unsafe and we certainly would not want to disturb traffic by doing so.

Lastly, are there any merchants or small business that would possibly lend the equipment? This last option would be great, but I can't seem to find any information regarding this.

Any other advice or tips are much appreciated as well. Thank you all kindly!

[Sham]

I'm not sure where you're coming from, but if it's within the states, you might consider getting a few large shipping boxes and filling them tightly with all your supplies. You can have them shipped to a UPS type of store. In my case, I ship them to the hotel I am staying at my first night in Reno. I also tend to make lots of lists of things I need to buy once I land in Reno. Things like coolers and small propane burners can be given to new friends that you make there. Before you get back on the plane, pack everything back up and ship it home.
Remember, you will also have two big suitcases for each person.

[Simon of the Playa]

Admittedly, I am just slightly OCD about the little details

yeah.

we're gonna have to do something about that...

[Popeye]

I fly to Reno and take the bus and have pretty much the same problem. I bring in my tent, shade tarps and other core items that I can fly with and buy cooler and food and rebar in Reno. For me it is to much hassle to try to resell everything. Sometimes neighbors in BRC have wanted a bike or cooler, whatever is not gifted in BRC I drop off at a thrift shop. Rebar and EMT are recycled. Whatever you do don't leave it on the playa.

[some seeing eye]

Search this board and the web for Burning Man Packing List. There is also a thread somewhere like what's in your daypack.

Join a camp, reducing shade, cooking, sitting acquisitions. Coming from SF, you might be able to offer a ride.

It's hard to imagine the dust until you have seen it. That devalues the donations, because they need to be cleaned. Playa brain can also lead to missing parts, making the donation entirely useless to negative value for disposing. Agree it's very unfortunate there is so much material waste.

Perhaps someone will contact you though.

Enjoy your experience.

[Cuculola]

Thank you all for the response!

Sham--I live in NYC but I've never shipped anything larger than a shoebox before and am unsure how that process works. What Is typically a large box and the cost of shipping (from your location)?

Simon-- that's exactly what I'm hoping to burn!

Ulisse, Woo-- It is truly a shame that the by products of such an amazing event will also contribute to the further increase of waste.

Just thinking out loud... but would it be feasible to rent a storage unit nearby, maybe in Reno, and in the spirit of BM make it openly accessible to everyone. I see that a decently sized unit (approximately 1 bedroom) would cost less than $500/year to rent. I'd have to work this out with a local merchant that is BM friendly, but I would suggest something along the lines of allowing those with a BM ticket be used as the "key" to access the unit. From there, everyone is free to collect and donate, and if willing (which I suspect many willl), donate a small amount to cover the cost of the rental.

[Sham]

Shipping a large microwave size box across the country might cost around $50. or so.
You could pack you tent, shade, sleeping bags, cooking gear and lots of other supplies in a box that size.
Also, you might consider joining your local burner group. I'm not sure about NY, but many have trucks that head to the playa. You could put your stuff on the truck in both directions.
http://regionals.burningman.org/regiona ... /new-york/

[Captain Goddammit]

About the public access storage unit idea - I think you will end up with a big trash pile.
Have you considered flying into Reno instead? It's closer, there's way more resources for fly-In burners, and everything in SF costs a hell of a lot more than... well, almost anywhere else.
The roadside stand idea is out, you already figured out why and the local police would most likely point that out too.

I always go a little crazy when (not talking about you here) people start up hippy-babble about burning man or anything to do with it being "green". It's anything but!!! Huge fires, shitloads of trucks carrying stuff to the middle of nowhere, a 70,000 person city running on generators, and - tons of camping gear and bikes purchased for the week then dumped, properly or improperly.

But good on ya' for starting now and figuring out how you'll handle your logistics!

[Elderberry]

A quick google search "nyc container burning man" yielded this info:

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=55394
http://www.nyccontainer.com/ (I think they do this every year)
https://nycbmnewsletter.wordpress.com/t ... container/
http://www.brcnyc.com/

You'll probably find more help from people in the area.

Radical self-reliance you know.

[trilobyte]

I'm giving this a nudge over to Leave No Trace, since that's a better fit.

I'll also start by strongly advising you to read the Survival Guide and First Timer's Guide. From your post (where you toss around the idea of maybe doing a yard sale) it sounds like you've done close to zero reading and research. No, you may not sell your used stuff on the side of the road (aside from the whole scorching hot desert and traffic/safety issues, the Paiute tribe/area law enforcement folks would probably come down real hard on something like that). Take a look at the Burner's Guide To Leaving No Trace thread on this board. There's plenty of basic info, and the event approaches there will be more information made available about places you can donate things post event. As others suggested, you may also want to consider connecting with your regional group - aside from being awesome, they have tons of experience with all the kinds of logistical challenges you're looking at.

[some seeing eye]

There is a huge amount of prep information and sounds like you are jumping into your research. We can be a little cranky and snarky because some people ask a question rather than doing a cursory search. Because the Internet!

Burningman.org upper right pulldown The Event has categories - read as much as you can, starting with Preparation as Trillo suggests. Also subscribe to the Jack Rabbit Speaks - search it - and read through the last year of posts.

There is the ePlaya search function, with some filters, and there is Google- site:eplaya.burningman.org search terms.

Sometimes it helps to ask a question this way: I'm a _ and I had a question about _ because I need to do _. I searched for _ _ and _. I did find out _ but I still don't know _. Any suggestions?

As Trillo said, your regional/regional FB groups, etc. is golden, and once you make friends - start now - you will be invited to burner parties and events with a lot of burners, great for advice and sharing resources. Probably you have burners in your existing friends and friends of friends.

[asr9754]

Hello! My advice would be to start small and keep it simple from the very beginning. If you minimize your gear from Square One, you have less to buy, less to ship, less to drag around the playa, and less to get rid of in the end. Don't forget you also have to pack out all your trash and recycling, not just your gear. And gear has a way of expanding during Bman so it takes up more space on the way home somehow.

If you are hoping to donate or recycle your gear, get stuff that someone might actually want (IE not a crummy ripped tent and please god do not get a styrofoam cooler). Simple is good, especially your first year. Don't overdo it. Most people eat less at Bman than on a normal trip, and there is so much stuff to do, you might not want to be at camp preparing an intricate meal 3x a day. There's tons of advice on Eplaya how to be minimal and efficient. For example--meals that don't need to be heated up, or at least can be cooked in 1 pan.

The yard-sale idea is clever, but would not work. The exit road is too narrow and too crowded, and it's illegal to stop on the shoulder anyways.
You could try to gift some of your gear to people on the Playa on your last day, but many people will be overpacked and might not want your stuff.
I bet there is a Goodwill store between Reno and SF that would take your gear. Or you could put a Free posting on craigslist and try to find someone who would accept your gear back in SF.
Good luck!

[Captain Goddammit]

If you're going to get a bike, get a HUFFY CRANBROOK 26" beach-cruiser from the Walmart or wherever.
That is the model used for Burning Man Green Bikes, and you can donate it to them after the event. But only if it is the correct model! They need to keep parts interchangeable, so only a Huffy Cranbrook!

[A-RockLeFrench]

If you insist on buying a bike and getting rid of it after the event, buy a Mongoose Dolomite and just give it to me when your done. You'll have way more fun riding that thing around the playa that a plain old huffy cranberry or whatever it is.... It'd be nice to donate your bike to the yellow (they're actually green) bikes but I hear they're ending that program anyways...

[Bless]

Just get an RV. No need for camping gear

[Cuculola]

Thank you all for the very helpful advise. We definitely have a lot more research to do and will look into your suggestions/tips.

We'd love to rent an RV but sadly it is not a luxury we can afford.

[Elliot]

.
Hmmmm....
My camp already accepts (a limited number of) bicycles for re-use. Maybe we could set up a small "yard sale" station also.
As mentioned above, I would be worried about getting stuck with junk, or even too much decent stuff to haul. But I might try it on a small scale.

[Cuculola]

Hey Elliot-- Would your camp happen to accept tandem bikes as well? We thought that might be more fun and easier to manage than 2 separate bikes.

Concerning the "yard sale", I had meant setting up along side the road in terms of a rest point or large truck pullover areas. I did not mean literally and randomly on the side of a road. My apologies for the confusion-- I've never been to Nevada so I'm unfamiliar with how the roads are paved.

[Ratty]

I don't think you can 'get away with it'. That would be exactly what you would be trying to do. It's against the law to set up shop just anywhere along the highway. If you put out a yard sale sign the first customer may be law enforcement. Besides, 99% of the vehicles are anxious to get home and don't have room for one more thing. Haul it into sparks or Reno and donate it. There will be a list of venders on a future Jack Rabbit Speaks issue. Contact some and ask about taking donations. Or as you are packing up put your stuff in front of your camp with a big FREE sign. If it's any good it will evaporate.

[Cuculola]

Ah gotcha! Thanks for clarifying this. Along the roads I've traveled, there are sometimes football stadium sized rest areas with bathroom, facilities, and etc. I've often seen small vendors sell miscellaneous items along the sides of road like watermelon/fruits so I thought something similar might be permissible(presumably unlicensed), and didn't realize that this is prohibited in Nevada. This is our ideal option to help offset some of our costs, but we're definitely happy to donate it otherwise.

[Elliot]

Yes, I get requests for a tandem bicycle all the time, so I would love to have one. (I received one last year and gave it away within hours.)

Last year, at the end of the event, I set out a crude sign "Rugs Wanted". And I received a dozen or more. People tend to be overloaded when they leave.

[Captain Goddammit]

Yes, I get requests for a tandem bicycle all the time, so I would love to have one. (I received one last year and gave it away within hours.)

Thanks, Elliot!!

[AntiM]

A picture of HWY 447:

P1060376 - Copy.JPG

No shoulders. There are a couple chain up areas, but those are not for stopping to set up anything. Big rest areas are out on the interstate, and by then you're nearly in Reno.

[Captain Goddammit]

Well it sure looks like it needs a lemonade stand

[theCryptofishist]

Apart from the other particulars, you are going to be selling refrigerators to Eskimos. There are thousands of other people who are also going to be getting rid of camping equipment--and they will be giving it away. It's simply going to be unsalable post-event. I don't know there's even enough capacity for all the equipment to be donated. How many used tents does Nevada use every year? How many can it store for six months until camping is a reasonable recreation. Maybe we need to think through how best to recycle gear.

[nilasnake]

this reno group takes donations:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Karma-Co ... 5725779899

and hands stuff out to the homeless...next door to the Morris Burner Hotel on east 4th st. in Reno. I'll see if I can find their on-playa location so you don't have to drag it all the way to reno.

[pink]

NY Container Camp. They haul your shit from NY to the burn & bring it back. Got no idea what they charge but it's gotta be cheaper than renting a storage unit in Reno.

[Facemelter7]

So i figured this would be the place to ask this question. After reading the thread im a bit discouraged to ask but here goes. I was thinking seeing as so many bikes were left on the playa last year. As everyone leaves this year they can drop there bikes of with me for a 5 dollar charge. I would then reinvest the money to fix up every bike i collect. (I cant tell you how many bikes i fixed at the burn last year) The following year resell them back for the same price i collected them for. I see lots of people selling bikes on the side of the road as well as letting participants drop off trash for a 5 to 10 dollar fee. I feel this would help keep the playa clean as well as be a way for me to participate without a ticket home. Please dont cut my head off just want some input, opinions and advise as i dont want to break any laws. Thank you all )'(

[danibel]

Check out playa pads. A search on google will pull it up. Burners with an outfit in Reno that rents the basics. Looks like it all fits in a standard sized rental. Includes bikes. I think this could be a great option for you. They take the stuff back after you've used it and recycle it for another burner next year. They have basic and deluxe options. *disclaimer: I have never rented from them, I just think the service they offer is great for burners from afar.

Please pack it in and pack it out. Leave no trace is a thing.

[Captain Goddammit]

The more we facilitate people being able to attend and not take care of their own shit, the more of this we create.
Why the hell do people choose to fly to an event unable to carry in and out all their shit, to an event where that’s what you need to do?