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Basic PC scrapping question - Page 2

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  1. #21
    sledge's Avatar
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    Hills:
    I've done all 3, depends on what you get right?

    A 10 year old laptop with and 80 GB HD and 1 GB sticks of RAM in it is most assuredly not as sweet as an i5 with a 500Gb HD and (2) 4GB sticks of RAM in it right?

    Even on the 10 year old, I'll get:
    $1.50 for the screen
    HD Board
    HD stripped at .30/lb
    A heavier and thus more profitable MOBO
    I'll get a CPU with pins and no heatsink
    I'll get any aluminum off it (and some cases are full on aluminum)
    All the wire in it
    Two sticks of RAM that are scrap to add to the pile.
    Generally a Copper/Alum heatsink
    Any steel screws or steel parts
    CD/DVD Rom drive at scrap rate
    A nice heavy Li-Ion Battery

    In the end- Far more than $2 bucks.

    I have flipped laptops, that ended up costing me a HD, a Carrier for said HD, I have to either update the RAM or Replace it, troubleshoot it, clean it, completely wipe it and put a fresh OS on it, list it, pack it, ship it, and pray I don't get screwed by a scammer on Ebay (Find some of my old posts, you'll see I'm not a fan of selling computers on Ebay anymore)

    Then you can say "Ahh.. well skip Ebay- do CL instead" Yup been there too, now I have to wait for 6 guys to never show as I hang out in a parking lot, and the guy that does says "Meh.. I'll give you Half of what you are asking.. take it or leave it."
    Talk about having to capture your time figuring in making $ right?



    So Yes- multiple ways to angle this game. Lots of time, resale of full computers ends up not being worth it to ME personally. There are 50 guys within a 50 mile radius that will sell you a rehabbed computer. I'd rather maximize parts on quick sale and scrap the rest with the relationships I have built with my e-waste buyers.

    Will I toss an i5 CPU into my scrap bin? Heck no. I'll Ebay that badboy, ship it the next day and move along. Have I found that the hours and hours of "rehabbing" laptops that have taken weeks or months to sell worth it- not usually. Sometimes, but not usually.

    With a $2 laptop generally I can sell the HD and RAM alone for more than the $2 bucks. If I had 50 of them, I guarantee I'd make far more than $100 total on them.

    I will note that I have a local R2 facility, I drive my stuff to them, some I ship out- but probably 95% of my items are sold local. In fact, I introduced THEM to one of the big buyers on here and they now sell quite a bit to him. It's all about the hustle, making the connections. If I did not have a local buyer- would the game change for me? Slightly, but before I had this relationship I was shipping everything and still beating $2/per on a laptop.
    I'm so into scrapping.. When my Steel Toe Boots Wear out, I cut the Steel out of them and recycle the Toe!

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  3. #22
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    There's no doubt about the hustle Sledge. I've been reading your posts for awhile and have a lot of respect for your intelligence and the way you do things. You really work at it !

    It's like i was saying earlier .... you get out of it what you put into it.

    I'm not doing a lot of flips but the thing that works for me is the personal touch. I live in a small town where everybody knows everybody. I'm shooting for 100 % customer satisfaction. I tell folks ... take it home for a week or two with absolutely no obligation. See if you like it first. If you're fully satisfied then pay me after the couple of weeks. If not, i'll try to find something that's a better fit for your need.

    I get paid every single time, the people i serve are happy, and i'm slowly building a reputation for honesty, value, & quality of workmanship in the community. ( This is just a hobby. )

    The same applies to my regular job. The company i work for wasn't doing very well a couple of years ago because they had broken trust with the community. It's like okay .... this is what you're doing wrong and this is what you need to do to make things right. I would never delude myself into thinking that it's about me. It's more that a bunch of people at the company got the concept and put it into practice. It's their hard work that turned things around.

    Anyway ... way off topic. It's just a suggestion on one way you could flip towers and laptops. They can be a hard sell. Folks, for the most part, seem to want to buy new.

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  5. #23
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    Listen to this one. I did and made my life a whole lot easier.
    I now use them for filler if my box to Ewasted is short.
    I normally pull the battery and the RAM and chuck the rest as filler ewaste scrap.
    Quote Originally Posted by mikeinreco View Post
    The only way to deal with laptops in my opinion is by the pallet..........I break down tons of low grade ewaste but laptops are either parted out/refurbished/or sold whole........Mileage may vary based on situation and distance

  6. #24
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    I think I read somewhere in this thread that ewaste is a dying or will be dying industry..........I'd have to disagree.......I rarely even bother with towers or laptops anymore.......Everyone knows about those.......In my opinion the good stuff is in commercial grade equipment/medical/etc.........I don't see this industry stopping anytime soon.......I have taken in more ewaste in the last 3 months than I ever have and I don't see it stopping anytime soon

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  8. #25
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    Kinda yes .. kinda no from what i'm seeing. Long term prospects for computers don't look so good. There was a huge influx of bubble back tv's over the last few years but that seems to be winding down. Cd / DVD players are going the way of the dinosaur in favor of on line streaming. Of course vcr players & stereos but those are playing out. The most common items coming in seem to be printers & flat screen tv's.

    You don't get much e-waste scrap out of a printer or a flat screen. A few little items and lots of plastic to get rid of ?

    Commercial grade seems the way to go if you've been wise enough to source it.

    There is one trend that those doing e-waste have been talking about for awhile. The electronics manufacturers have been doing a really good job of doing more with less. They've really cut down on their use of PM's & rare earth metals. Compare a HDD logic board from the 1990's to one that's recently been made. There's a pretty big difference.

    Over the long run ... that means fewer PM's entering the waste stream and lower yields for the refiners.

    That's likely to drive down the price per pound that the scrappers are getting ?

  9. #26
    aph started this thread.
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    Quote Originally Posted by HipoGear View Post
    You may want to first find a very large storage unit to rent.
    I have a 3400 sq ft warehouse for my day job and assigned a small workspace for it already.
    My sub tenant plans on moving out, latest by september hopefully whoch will give me another 1,800 add. sq ft.
    Time is Money - Crunch the Numbers - It's a Numbers Game!

  10. #27
    aph started this thread.
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    As I read this my guy showed up and had one older vista system desktop.
    Popped open and found 4 memory sticks. 2 x 1 GB scrap stuff and 2 x 2 GB DDR2 a buyer on here pays $3 a piece.
    Right there $6 back (minus shipping, which is minimal once I have a decent number accumulated).
    I totally get I am not getting rich at this. But I love breaking PCs down and m ine it for the better scrap and some better than scrap parts.
    If I would do just what pays me best in my day job I would make tons more money, but would die of boredom soon.
    It's all about balance.
    And this PC recycling is really just a hobby that shpuld pay a lil more than minimum wage.

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  12. #28
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    You may have said before but what is your regular job....ewaste is mine and while the mind is still very willing the body gets less and less everyday

  13. #29
    aph started this thread.
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    Quote Originally Posted by mikeinreco View Post
    You may have said before but what is your regular job....ewaste is mine and while the mind is still very willing the body gets less and less everyday
    I recycle other things for better than scrap items.
    I accumulate, wholesale and part out mostly appliances.
    And I feel you. I am 48 and my body is really catching up with me.
    Too much physical work. Lots of heavy lifting etc.
    But at 48 and no retirement savings much I have no choice but keep going.

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    Quote Originally Posted by aph View Post
    I recycle other things for better than scrap items.
    I accumulate, wholesale and part out mostly appliances.
    And I feel you. I am 48 and my body is really catching up with me.
    Too much physical work. Lots of heavy lifting etc.
    But at 48 and no retirement savings much I have no choice but keep going.
    I suggest you seek out the training that Dave Ramsey offers. Google will get you to his site and radio show. You deserve a great retirement so put it to work for you. Remember you learned how to make money scraping you can learn how to take care of yourself and your family in you later years.

    Here is the reason for my comment my father passed away Sunday morning. He died just short of his 97th birthday. Yes he was a WWII veteran. He has his funeral expenses prepaid. He had enough to stay in an assisted living home, $5000/month. He was not a wealthy man in fact worked in a factory until he retired in the early 80's.

    He was a responsible man who made certain none of his children had to pay for anything(we were willing) to the very end.

    73, Mike
    "Profit begins when you buy NOT when you sell." {quote passed down to me from a wise man}

    Now go beat the copper out of something, Miked

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  16. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by eesakiwi View Post
    Don't forget to check the computers for Bitcoins.
    Say what?


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