A Nashville dumpster diver turned thrown-away office chairs and curbside castoffs into about $140,000 in sales in one year, and the receipts back him up.
Story Snapshot
- Carter Stevens recorded roughly $140,000 in total sales from September 2025 to September 2026, according to documents reviewed by a national outlet.
- He scavenged near office parks and luxury condos, then resold items on eBay and Facebook Marketplace.
- A single haul of 190 Steelcase office chairs anchored his year with bulk and individual sales.
- Sales are not the same as profit; costs and fees reduce take-home income.
The reported numbers and where they came from
CNBC Make It reported that 31-year-old Carter Stevens generated roughly $140,000 in total sales over 12 months ending in September 2026, citing documents it reviewed. A companion video shows Stevens working dumpsters around Nashville and explaining his resale process. The report ties his activity to specific places and channels: office parks, luxury condominiums, and online marketplaces. That precision matters because it grounds the claim in real locations and common resale sites, not hype.
Stevens’s headline year leaned on a standout find: 190 Steelcase office chairs. He moved most of them in bulk on Facebook Marketplace for about $17,000 and sold other chairs one by one for another $10,600, according to the same coverage. Large, repeatable details like model counts and sale blocks help readers sort a real operation from a tall tale. They also reveal the trade’s logic: high-volume hauls set the ceiling, and bread-and-butter flips fill the gaps.
What “$140,000 in sales” really means for the bottom line.
Sales are the top line, not take-home pay. Platform fees, fuel, storage, cleaning, minor repairs, and taxes come out before profit. The CNBC report uses the phrase “total sales,” which is clear and fair but easy for casual readers to mistake for salary. A conservative, common-sense read treats the figure as business revenue. The chair deal itself shows the blur between revenue and profit that happens in reselling, where costs swing with distance, timing, and storage needs.
Gig-style enterprises rise and fall with supply bursts, buyer mood, and platform rules. Research on secondhand platform labor shows that sellers mix channels and tactics, which makes the work real but irregular. That pattern fits Stevens’s year. A few hot months or a monster haul can carry the average. One slow quarter can drag it down. Presenting the year as “sales,” not a salary, respects both the work and the risk.
How the business model works day to day
The model rewards hustle and local knowledge. Stevens targeted office parks and luxury buildings with high turnover, where items are often still usable. He listed on eBay for reach and Facebook Marketplace for speed. That split makes sense. eBay brings national demand for niche items. Facebook Marketplace moves bulky goods fast and avoids shipping. The chair run shows the playbook: secure volume, sell the bulk quickly for cash flow, then drip the rest to maximize margin.
Rules and norms still matter. Local ordinances can govern dumpster access, and private property managers can ask people to leave. A national explainer notes that while a past Supreme Court decision affects trash on public property, many cities set their own limits that can bring fines if ignored. Smart operators adapt by timing visits, keeping sites tidy, building rapport with managers, and shifting to junk removal when invited. That keeps the peace and protects the pipeline that feeds the business.
Why this story resonates in a hands-on America
Stevens’s account lands because it speaks to thrift, grit, and waste not, want not. He took what others tossed and found buyers who valued it. That is capitalism at ground level: solve a problem, create value, earn a reward. Academic work on reuse markets and digital resale backs the trend. People save money, reduce waste, and extend product life, while sellers stitch together income across platforms. That is not a handout. It is sweat equity meeting market demand.
31-year-old dumpster diver brought in $140,000 in 12 months: I 'did much more than I thought was possible' – Carter Stevens started reselling discarded items from dumpsters around Nashville, Tennessee, in March 2024. Months earlier, he'd been living in his car. Via @CNBC:…
— 🌊💙 Viking Resistance 💙🌊 (@BlueCrewViking) November 7, 2026
The lesson for anyone tempted to try this is simple. Track every dollar in and out—separate sales from profit. Know your city’s rules. Build channels that let you move both bulky finds and smaller valuables. Expect uneven months and bank the hot ones. That is how you turn a lucky haul into a steady shop. Stevens’s year shows what is possible with focus and speed. The line between trash and inventory is thin. The line between hobby and business is paperwork and discipline.
Sources:
cnbc.com, tradersunion.com, dl.acm.org, usatoday.com
