Selling E-Scrap vs. Functional E-Components on E-bay

Hi, I'm new to E-scrapping.
Just obtained several new desktop computer towers with erased hard drives and functional power supplies. Towers contain everything except RAM.

Question: Should I disassemble tower down to components (e.g. Power Supply, hard drive, motherboard, cpu) and individually test these components for functionality?

If individual components are functional, then I assume they can yield more cash through an ebay or craigslist sale than the scrap value of the metals.

What's the best way to test and verify functionality of removed power supply units, hard drives, motherboards, cpu.
If individual componenents (power supplies, hard drives, motheboards, CPUs) aren't functional, then I assume they could be scapped as whole components.

How do you weigh/determine the time value of:
1) testing functionality of individual components vs. scrapping the whole component for metal value.
2) Breaking down the nonfunctional component into valuable sub-components (e.g. in the case of hard-drive - separating aluminum casing and copper parts and platinum coated platters, and neodymium magnets) vs. just selling the whole component (complete broken hard-drive)

For a new and small time operator/hobbyist looking to make a few extra bucks, is it worth it to invest time in verifying functionality of components to get higher ebay / craigslist price? It seems a shame to scrap the components of an entire PC tower for merely the extracted/purified metal values when some of the components could still be functional.

Welcome Electric! Your sure to find your answear somewhere on this Forum. Good luck....

I guess, in my case, since the towers contain everything except RAM, I could install some RAM, install windows, and make sure the computer still works.

If so, then I could probably get more for a fully functional but somewhat outdated computer than I could get from selling isolated functional components. I would guess that I'd also get considerably more for a functional yet somewhat outdated computer vs. Metal Scrap value of computer.

Any thoughts on these considerations. The distinctions/determinations seem to me to be essential for maximizing profits for Escrappers:
1) Can I get more $ by selling a functional but somewhat outdated device vs. breaking it down into isolated functional components and selling them separately
2) Can I get more $ by selling isolated functional componenets vs. selling isolated components as scrap
3) Can I get more $ by selling isolated components as scrap vs. breaking the component down into sub-components and selling those sub-components as scrap

Or you could buy 1 set of ram to test them and then sell for working parts

Welcome to the Forum Electric, you should really read this forum. It is a great tool to ad to your scrap adventures. However, you should do some researching. The question you are asking has been answered, and in great detail.
I know it would be great to throw out a question and get the answer you want. Although, in my world, I enjoy reading the posts and finding tidbits here and there. Also all the time each contributor puts to the forum reading and posting. It is a slap in the face when others have already answered the same question time and time again.
Don't get me wrong though, I have been guilty of the same. Asking questions that the answer is out there already.
Please don't get discouraged, you are on the right track Electric, you will provail.
E-Scrap is great. Light and not dirty. My kind of scrapping.
Scott and Betty
DivaPickers

P:S: You'll always make more money by selling the working components vs selling for scrap.
Someone out there is looking for that exact piece you have in your hand.
I can see E-Bay being your new best friend in the near future.

Personaly I dont bother ebaying power supplies. I will sell ram, hard drives, cpu's, and DVDrw drives on ebay. Most everything else I just scrap it out. I do sell some video cards and the like if I come across a good newer one. I persoanly dont want to invest the time into building working machines then having to load windows on them and all that jazz.

So on scrapping cpu's should I break them down and get the copper and alum out? Then try to sell the boards on ebay?

There are dozens of posts on here about how to process escrap, take the time, and I'm talking 4-5 hours, to read old posts and educate yourself. We love to help people that are willing to help themselves.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

Personaly I dont bother ebaying power supplies. I will sell ram, hard drives, cpu's, and DVDrw drives on ebay. Most everything else I just scrap it out. I do sell some video cards and the like if I come across a good newer one. I persoanly dont want to invest the time into building working machines then having to load windows on them and all that jazz.

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Good advice, I'll just add though that it is absolutely worth the time to look up each power supply on eBay. I got a large lot of Dell desktops to breakdown about 6 months ago, pentium 4 vintage units. Long story short I ended up with about 20 functional power supplies that I've been selling for $16-22 each on eBay. I don't mess with the ones that bring $5 if you're lucky, but some definately command a price worth my time.

quick tip, all power supplies tend to blow caps after a few years or even month's. if it switches on and doesn't have blown caps, then it should be working fine.

In my short experience using Ebay, I sold even older computer pieces like hard drives, CPU's, power supplies etc. to Brazil, Sri Lanka, Australia etc. In many countries where the technology is not advancing as crazy as in North America and Japan there is always demand for parts that are not recent. One time I even sold a big not working hard drive because the buyer needed the magnets inside it... You never know whats will happen. If you have room to storage your parts and put them in order with specific labels you have to be patient and wait for the right moment to sell. In the mean time you can find a lot of other scrap to break down and sell.
Good luck!

To the original question:

Quote "Hi, I'm new to E-scrapping.
Just obtained several new desktop computer towers with erased hard drives and functional power supplies. Towers contain everything except RAM." end Quote and I will distill the question: Should I break them down or sell them as complete computer?

My question is what are these, pentium 4 machines or something much more modern?

This week I will pick up a 41 towers and 6 lcd monitors I won in a government auction. I expect them to be Pentium 4 machines so I will keep a few as complete machines. The rest will depend on whats inside but I expect to scrap most everything. Most times the hard drives will have been removed.

If these turn out to be more modern machines then that will change the way I deal with them, Mike.