Do you guys think it is worth separating or selling as a whole?
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Do you guys think it is worth separating or selling as a whole?
Hi there! Please clarify what you mean by separating.
Leave the gold fingers on.
Leave them on
Yep ... leave em' on. Oftentimes ... the prices quoted for gold fingers are for quality cut trim. Most of the trim doesn't measure up to that standard and has to be downgraded accordingly.
Leave the finger cards whole ... you know what you're getting.
Cut the fingers off ... you might be disappointed with the return for your additional effort.
There is a point where you can break material down too far and waste time and money as is this case here.
So in this particular situation I would stress DO NOT REMOVE FINGERS! Here is why: (all prices as per boardsort.com)
For the most part, leaving the fingers on the card is the more profitable thing to do, by almost double, based on the calculations shared below.
There are two main reasons why people trim gold fingers:
1) They are chemically refining gold themselves and are incredibly efficient in their methods, or are doing so as a hobby where profit isn't as important.
2) They are trimming fingers from mid-grade boards (some high end power boards have a gold finger connector) where the trim will not effect the board price. (still midgrade with or without the finger).
Trimming fingers from "Gold Finger Cards" or "Gold Memory" devalues the item more than the combined weight and value of the board and its attached gold finger.
One Clean Gold Finger weighs about 1 gram, or 0.00220462 lbs.
An average Gold Finger Card weighs about 0.25 lbs. (generously)
The value of that one card with fingers intact, at today's rate of $3.30 per pound = $3.30 * 0.25 lbs = $0.83.
The value of that same card with the fingers removed at $1.35 per pound = $1.35 * 0.25 lbs = $0.34.
The value of the Clean Gold Finger removed from that card at $25 per pound = $25 * 0.00220462 lbs = $0.06.
Results:
The combined value of the trimmed fingerless card + the separate clean finger from it = $0.40
- vs -
The single value of the unmodified card with fingers intact = $0.83
Keep in mind these are average weights but as you can see there is quite a margin between the two.
Bottom line = Save your time and your trouble and keep the fingers on the board unless in the rare occasion that it will not effect the price of the board.
Just my 2 cents, or in this case 43 cents.