Filing cabinets and e-waste (newbie)

I am going to have a near unlimited supply of filing cabinets that I am going to scrap
each month. I am trying to find out how much I am going to get for these (average). A few times a year there is an auction and guys come in and pay 30-90$ per cabinet. I can't imagine why someone would pay $90 for an old filing cabinet. Most do not sell for this much, usually about 30 dollars or so. Is there really that much value in these things or am I missing something? I am pretty confidant that everyone buying is doing so for scrap. What should I look for in cabinets and what makes one more valuable than another? Is there a particular types of magnets I should get to determine different steels?

What about e-waste? I am going to get a near endless supply of old towers hard drives and boxes of motherboards and processors. I know how to remove all the chips but what should I expect to get and what about using on of the online brokers for this? What about the rare earth magnets on the hard drives, is there a value to them? If so where do you send them?

Cheers and thanks

First off...Welcome to SMF...

I wouldn't want to pay much for filing cabinets as they're big, bulky and fill up your truck and/or trailer quickly. Not to discourage you from buying them, you just don't want to spend too much. As far as different magnets...I have one. If it sticks, it's steel (or cast iron). It will sell for shred price. In my area, that is about $205 per ton right now. You should call your local yard(s) to get a current price.

As far as the filing cabinets thats too much to make money on.

For the e-waste look for a local buyer or look in the buyer/seller section here.

Scrap Buyers & Sellers

as for the magnets, you'll just need one for steel, and one for copper

some guys were recently discussing cabinets in their resale stuff. I believe the general concensus was for keeping one or two around, for the occasional sale, but scrapping the rest

I haul a lot of files. It's going to depend on what kind you have. You are going to get paid by weight so thats something you'll have to figure out by experiencing it.

* on a side note I would like to share something with you. Make sure you never try to scrap a fireproof file. First of all they are extremely expensive and you should resell them. Secondly they are extremely heavy, you'll know one when you feel it, the lateral type run in the 7 to 800 pound range. Fireking is a common brand. The scrapyards usually won't take them. Their weight comes from being filled with concrete, which is what makes them fireproof.

5 bucks each is about all their worth........Usually some of the old heavy duty ones weigh around 135lbs so u could go to 7-8 each in an auction setting if you are getting large quanities.......I have a 20ft flatbed and have stacked about 35-40 of them on it and make a nice shredder load!

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What about e-waste? I am going to get a near endless supply of old towers hard drives and boxes of motherboards and processors. I know how to remove all the chips but what should I expect to get and what about using on of the online brokers for this? What about the rare earth magnets on the hard drives, is there a value to them? If so where do you send them?

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This should get you started;

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...ification.html

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...breakdown.html

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...rds-parts.html

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

This should get you started;

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...ification.html

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...breakdown.html

http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...rds-parts.html

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Mechanic you are truly a great man!

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Originally Posted by mikeinreco

Mechanic you are truly a great man!

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I had to contribute something as you all had the file cabinet thing pretty well covered.

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Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I had to contribute something as you all had the file cabinet thing pretty well covered.

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LOL.........On the auction circuit I have literally scrapped 100's if not 1000's of file cabinets!!!

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Originally Posted by Bear

some guys were recently discussing cabinets in their resale stuff. I believe the general concensus was for keeping one or two around, for the occasional sale, but scrapping the rest

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Yeah, Bear, I think that was my post. I was trying to determine how many to keep to sell because they take up a lot of real estate. I have a CL ad running all the time for these. The only thing I would add is give priority to keeping the locking ones. They tend to be more desirable and sell better. Even if you don't have the key a replacement can be purchased at most office supply stores for a couple of bucks.

Considering that 5-drawer filing cabinets can sell for up to $200 new, I'd imagine that people are buying them for those prices at auction for re-use or resale.

dont know if you have used office furniture warehouses where you live, we have one here and i can usually make a quick buck on stuff like that selling to those guys. If you are doing ewaste you may want to keep a few to store any better then scrap items, i have a few full of power cables, SATA cables, high end power supplies, ect... that i trade to some of the local techs for their junk. And more then one small filing cabintet around here as been turned into a tool/parts box

Thanks everyone for commenting and helping.... Fortunately, my access to them (cabinets) will not require a purchase, just a split of the sale/scrap. But, as it seems they will bring about 5 bucks a piece. Not sure where I can sell them at I live in a small community and there is nothing like that around and though I am familiar with the my local metro areas, I have no connections to that kind of business. Suppose I will have to look around. Again, thanks everyone!

S.