New to computer recycling

< sigh > Business is ruthless. Most people just starting out don't survive. If e-waste is like anything else 90 - 95% of the people doing it today won't be doing it five years from now.

A positive mental attitude, a good work ethic, and having the courage to strike out on your own will take you a long way but that isn't enough. You've got to be really hard nosed and pragmatic about things. If you've got something to sell there has to be a market out there ready to buy. If you are pinning all of your hopes of success on something speculative you might be setting yourself up to fail.

For the time being, it's not too much of a problem to sell salvaged electronics boards. There are any number of buyers out there ready to do a transaction at a moment's notice. The value of the things we're salvaging is gradually trending downward but it will be okay for awhile.

There is a market for used computer parts that aren't too far behind the times. That market is smaller and it takes more time and effort to sell those things.

The market for refurbished towers and desktops is questionable. Most consumers follow the trends and they want the latest cool electronics toy to play with. They're fascinated with shiny things that have bright lights and fancy features. Years ago, the trend was away from that clunky old desktop to laptops. Nowadays they're trending away from the laptop to things that are even lighter and more portable like the tablets and I - phones.

There's still some market for a tower that's less than 4 years old and running windows 7 or better but otherwise it's iffy. An older machine might still run great but that's not really what people are looking for. They want something that's fairly up to date.

It's better to be practical and focus your efforts (and expectations ) on the things that are proven to work.

There are better chances of survival that way.