Huge breakthrough deal!!!

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09-08-2011, 11:03 PM
Billiard MD

Huge breakthrough deal!!!

I've been scrapping computers for a few months now, and up until today, the issue seemed to be getting pc's and components in large enough quantities from people with realistic ideas regarding what I can pay for them while still being able to make a profit, but not so many that I don't have the working capital to purchase them. Happily, that era has come to a screeching halt.

This morning in my email was a message that read "Got your number from a friend of mine. I have around 2000 older computers and wanted to know if you were interested." Being the pessimist I usually am, I thought to myself, "that just has to be a typo, I bet he meant 200." Even with that thought I didn't get myself too excited.... In my experience "I have 200 computers" usually means they're hoarders and have 75 computers piled in 12 different locations around their garage and filthy outbuildings.

So I call the guy and sure enough, he insists that he has 2000 pc's plus several pallets of miscellaneous parts, printers, crt monitors, etc. He lives 45 min away, so I waited until my wife got off work and we both drove up to his place in a very rural area.

He took me into a huge metal barn/garage... There I find pallets galore of beautiful, clean, neatly stacked and organized computers, servers, printers, monitors, software, and components. Each pc has been meticulously labeled showing the processor type/speed, memory, and pci boards contained within. A quick mental rough count of pallets and the avg number of pcs on each pallet leads me to believe that he has thrown me a very conservative guesstimate. I believe there are actually about 2750-3250 computers on hand. There are at least a dozen pallets that contain miscellaneous motherboards, video cards, modems, cd rom drives, floppy drives, hard drives, cables, heat sinks, RAM sticks, etc. There's even a stack of ancient scuzzy cd burners that were very high dollar items back in the day.

There are tons of items that still sell on ebay, including hundreds of new in the package copies of Windows 98, MS Office, MS Works, etc. There are 5.25" combo floppy drives. The place is a treasure trove!!!

We started talking about processors and he points to two pallets of pcs stacked 7ft high. Those he says, are PENTIUM PRO!!! At this point I'm hoping he doesn't think I'm gay, 'cuz I know I've got to be sportin' a giant boner.

I estimate that by meticulously cleaning, sorting, researching, cataloging and scrapping/selling the items, that there is between $50k and $75k worth of stuff. He instinctively knew that I sure as hell didn't have the operating cash, nor the logistical means to write him a check and truck the stuff out of there, so before the subject even came up he proposed that me and my helper do all the scrapping/selling, and we split the cash straight down the middle (after any expenses). AND, we get to do it all on the spot instead of trucking a couple hundred pc's every couple of days.

As if this wasn't enough, he then offers to finance any large purchases of materials to scrap in the future telling me, "If I can flip my money in a week's time and make 10% on it like a pawnbroker, I'll be happy as a clam."

This is the best day I've had in quite some time. Couldn't ask for a better financial agreement. And to top it off, the guy's a dyed-in-the-wool sweetheart (although he carries a loaded Colt 1911 on his hip) who wanted nothing more than a handshake to seal the deal.
09-08-2011, 11:28 PM
bjybjy

Congrats! Sounds like a lot of fun to me!
09-09-2011, 01:56 AM
Mechanic688

Like the old saying, some people fall in "it" and come out smelling like a rose. Congratulations.
09-09-2011, 07:15 AM
miked

Congrats. Please use caution but jump in. Its difficult to see how you could loose on this deal since you are in charge of collecting the money.

A guy with a 1911 on his hip has all the "insurance" he needs. Also take photos to share with us, Mike.
09-09-2011, 07:35 AM
wdaddy

Be careful of the Microsoft Software on ebay. I was selling new and unopened copies of OEM windows ME. Microsoft found them and flagged them. I got a hand slapped by Ebay and just tossed the rest I had in the trash. Not worth killing my account for outdated software. If it isn't OEM software and still sealed, you should be alright.

Oh. BTW. You suck. :p Congrats! Seriously jealous here... I would love to hear about how he come to have such a nice stash. Share that also if it ever comes up during you loooong months in this treasure trove.
09-09-2011, 07:56 AM
GeorgeB

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billiard MD

I've been scrapping computers for a few months now, and up until today, the issue seemed to be getting pc's and components in large enough quantities from people with realistic ideas regarding what I can pay for them while still being able to make a profit, but not so many that I don't have the working capital to purchase them. Happily, that era has come to a screeching halt.

This morning in my email was a message that read "Got your number from a friend of mine. I have around 2000 older computers and wanted to know if you were interested." Being the pessimist I usually am, I thought to myself, "that just has to be a typo, I bet he meant 200." Even with that thought I didn't get myself too excited.... In my experience "I have 200 computers" usually means they're hoarders and have 75 computers piled in 12 different locations around their garage and filthy outbuildings.

So I call the guy and sure enough, he insists that he has 2000 pc's plus several pallets of miscellaneous parts, printers, crt monitors, etc. He lives 45 min away, so I waited until my wife got off work and we both drove up to his place in a very rural area.

He took me into a huge metal barn/garage... There I find pallets galore of beautiful, clean, neatly stacked and organized computers, servers, printers, monitors, software, and components. Each pc has been meticulously labeled showing the processor type/speed, memory, and pci boards contained within. A quick mental rough count of pallets and the avg number of pcs on each pallet leads me to believe that he has thrown me a very conservative guesstimate. I believe there are actually about 2750-3250 computers on hand. There are at least a dozen pallets that contain miscellaneous motherboards, video cards, modems, cd rom drives, floppy drives, hard drives, cables, heat sinks, RAM sticks, etc. There's even a stack of ancient scuzzy cd burners that were very high dollar items back in the day.

There are tons of items that still sell on ebay, including hundreds of new in the package copies of Windows 98, MS Office, MS Works, etc. There are 5.25" combo floppy drives. The place is a treasure trove!!!

We started talking about processors and he points to two pallets of pcs stacked 7ft high. Those he says, are PENTIUM PRO!!! At this point I'm hoping he doesn't think I'm gay, 'cuz I know I've got to be sportin' a giant boner.

I estimate that by meticulously cleaning, sorting, researching, cataloging and scrapping/selling the items, that there is between $50k and $75k worth of stuff. He instinctively knew that I sure as hell didn't have the operating cash, nor the logistical means to write him a check and truck the stuff out of there, so before the subject even came up he proposed that me and my helper do all the scrapping/selling, and we split the cash straight down the middle (after any expenses). AND, we get to do it all on the spot instead of trucking a couple hundred pc's every couple of days.

As if this wasn't enough, he then offers to finance any large purchases of materials to scrap in the future telling me, "If I can flip my money in a week's time and make 10% on it like a pawnbroker, I'll be happy as a clam."

This is the best day I've had in quite some time. Couldn't ask for a better financial agreement. And to top it off, the guy's a dyed-in-the-wool sweetheart (although he carries a loaded Colt 1911 on his hip) who wanted nothing more than a handshake to seal the deal.

Dang, you got your sold a freaking gold mine there!

Good job. $25,000 to $35,000 is some pretty nice cash!

Have fun selling it all to whomever.
09-09-2011, 12:10 PM
Victor

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billiard MD

As if this wasn't enough, he then offers to finance any large purchases of materials to scrap in the future telling me, "If I can flip my money in a week's time and make 10% on it like a pawnbroker, I'll be happy as a clam."

I am starting to hear and see this going on more and more. People are starting to say the h@ll with the banks and the h@ll with the stock market. They are brokering their own percentage deals to generate income from their cash in non-traditional ways. It's good to see. That's real job creation.

Nice score. Game changing type score if it plays out as it should. Congrats.
09-09-2011, 12:18 PM
Mechanic688

Quote:

Be careful of the Microsoft Software on ebay.

I just got done selling 15 copies of new Win.95 on e-bay and they never flagged mine. Must be something in the wording.
09-09-2011, 12:58 PM
GeorgeB

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I just got done selling 15 copies of new Win.95 on e-bay and they never flagged mine. Must be something in the wording.

win 95? Man, I didn't think anyone used that stuff anymore. If you need someone to sell software, I know a guy. He bought some stuff from me once. I can PM you his email address.

Also, why would ebay flag it for?
09-09-2011, 06:14 PM
PartTimeScrapper

OEM copies are ment to be sold with machines not by themselves. Thats why it was flagged im sure.
09-09-2011, 06:33 PM
Mechanic688

I took a good picture of it so they could read it and see it had a key # but I listed it as new old stock and not OEM. Those things flew off the shelf. They were still factory sealed. Who in their right mind would want Win. 95???
09-09-2011, 07:40 PM
Scrap man

Any idea where he got all that? I don't know of any barns around here full of 75k in electronics.
09-09-2011, 08:31 PM
Billiard MD

Quote:

Originally Posted by miked

Congrats. Please use caution but jump in. Its difficult to see how you could loose on this deal since you are in charge of collecting the money.

A guy with a 1911 on his hip has all the "insurance" he needs. Also take photos to share with us, Mike.

I'll get some photos on here tomorrow night. I use caution when dealing with anyone new, but like you said, I collect the money, my wife keeps the books (meticulously), so really would be hard for me to lose.

As far as the 1911 goes, this may sound weird, but while most people would find this off-putting, it actually put me at ease. I spent a good deal of my life in South Texas and other rural areas where someone w/ a gun on their hip was a common sight. Personal experience has taught me that contrary to what most might think, the type of people that tote in the open like that are usually level-headed realists, friendly as hell, and generous to a fault. Most people see the gun and assume the person carrying is "itchin' for a fight", when in fact they usually carry to keep the coyotes away from the livestock.
09-09-2011, 08:55 PM
Billiard MD

That's actually a pretty simple story. Larry (the owner of the gold-mine) is very much like myself - he has a fairly wide streak of OCD in him (obsessive compulsive disorder). Larry got his first computer right around the time he retired from truck driving... before too long he was hooked. Larry upgraded hardware and software like most of us change underwear. If a store 300 miles away was going to have the newest, fastest processor or RAM on the shelf two days earlier than the the store up the street from his house, then it was time for a road trip. Just as an excuse to be able to piddle with them, Larry started his own computer business. As was popular back in those days, rather than have a retail "brick and mortar" location, Larry did most of his business at computer shows.

Having the streak of OCD, Larry's thinking was "if one's good, a thousand is AWESOME!" So instead of buying a dozen or two of the latest and greatest, he'd buy a thousand or two. Larry claims to have never lost money on the endeavor, and I don't doubt him one bit, but he admits that he could have profited a lot more had it not been for his good nature and generosity.

So what I call the "gold mine", Larry calls "the leftovers". While he's very realistic about the return I'll help him get on his stash, he's still a little overly optimistic about the usefulness of his "leftovers". When I arrived this morning, I planned on starting on the pallet closest to the door, but Larry insisted that he move around pallets to get me the Pentium 1's and Pentium MMXs. He said "We'll save the Pentium IIIs for last - just in case." Something tells me that the likelihood of someone popping out of the woodwork looking for 50 P3s is pretty slim.

I'd work on this deal even if the owner were a real A-hole... I need the money. But I lucked out with Larry.... Hell, he showed up this morning with homemade brownies, home canned pumpkin butter, and a couple of cinnamon rolls the size of my head. Great guy.
09-09-2011, 11:49 PM
GeorgeB

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billiard MD

I'd work on this deal even if the owner were a real A-hole... I need the money. But I lucked out with Larry.... Hell, he showed up this morning with homemade brownies, home canned pumpkin butter, and a couple of cinnamon rolls the size of my head. Great guy.

Pumpkin butter is delicious like, I don't even know...Especially home made!

Regarding your situation, sounds like you and him are the perfect partners so to speak.

I have had a few people throw me great deals, and then try and swindle me. I just kindly let them know that I work for myself, and not for them. I am doing them a favor, and I could always use my time else where, and someone else charge them hundreds or thousands of dollars.

He sounds like you and him will make a great asset to one another.

Have fun!