Need some quick help on a computer buy!

Placed an ad on cl to buy complete towers at $5.00 each, that is usually my limit when buying at auctions. Today got a call from a communications company stating they had 200 computers they need to get rid of. At my price I am in for $1000.00 Since this would be a big investment for me I need to know what some of the more experienced buyers here think of this. I haven't called the customer back yet so still in dark as to what kind of computers they are and if monitors are included. I have someone who will back my investment but that just puts more pressure on what to do.

$5 complete (nothing missing)
$4.00 if ram or hard drive is removed
$3.00 if both are removed

This is what I go by and it has worked for me, but you are in a different area with different demographics. The company probably just wants to rid of the old systems and wants a little money as do you.

200 towers for $1000 I would snap up in a second.

i just got a inquiry asking me if i charge, you might do like I've seen others do and ask "do you want a bid, or do you just want them gone?" that might save ya some

your first step is to secure a price for the ewaste from your buyer, you will need to know what you are buying. put your self in a no lose situation first then work your profit from there. don't forget to allow for transport costs etc. Just like in poker. the first step to winning poker is to cut your losses by playing only hi percentage hands. just my .02

At 5 each you really can't go wrong as long as the mboard is there and usually alot of the other parts are there to.........Also this could be a continuing relationship so don't nit pick to much just hand him a wad of cash and do what you gotta do....LOL

ok BUT all I am saying is know what you are buying, been doing this for 50+ years and believe me I have been scammed by the best, including my own relatives, my best friends, and partners, who I could trust with my life but, apparently not with my money and as late as last month, just when I thought I had seen every thing and knew all the scams. I could write a book just on those. just saying know what you are buying, the thought and sight of gold does very strange things to people.

Scrappernj- your #'s are dead on the same as mine
Tackle berry- after a quick moment of indecision hopefully that's what I hopefully am going to do
Bear-good advice that I will use in the future when hopefully I can get a deal with another company
Old dude-I would love to have a set price from someone but this is my first big deal and will be going with a buyer on the forum, love the poker analogy. Also checked into their business already and they are legit, mid-size communications company in my area. You sound like my dad...lol
Mike- customer said that they are full size dell towers all have at least 1 gig of ram,video and sound cards. He also said they are switching their entire system and the servers may be included.
Thanks to all of the sound advice everyone, like I've said before, the education that I have recvd here can not be learned in any school anywhere. Will keep you updated should know by Monday if it's a go.

Good luck!!

sounds like a go to me. however I am reducing my $5 price to $3-$4 every thing is down at least $1 per lb from when I started. I realised they are working off an advertised buy price, Im in the same boat here.

unless they've included a destruct clause, you might find better than scrap price for those, if you have the time and the desire to work with them

The only problem I have with my set up is that I don't have the space to be able to sit on real large quantities if everything hits the fan. So it's buy now and process as quick as possible to get paid while prices are still good.

I wish I could get a deal like that, I have the funds to cover the purchase and the space to store and break down, just need the opportunity.

BRASS, you may want to ask them if they have old telecom equipment while you are there being that they are a communications company. You never know what they may think is trash and you think is treasure!

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Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

Placed an ad on cl to buy complete towers at $5.00 each, that is usually my limit when buying at auctions. Today got a call from a communications company stating they had 200 computers they need to get rid of. At my price I am in for $1000.00 Since this would be a big investment for me I need to know what some of the more experienced buyers here think of this. I haven't called the customer back yet so still in dark as to what kind of computers they are and if monitors are included. I have someone who will back my investment but that just puts more pressure on what to do.

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Hell I would give you some backing on this if needed but looks you got that part fine. Maybe talk with the person who will give you the backing. You can also sell the computers whole and not have to stack them up if you don't have the room something else you can look into.

It has been my experiance. Comunication units are pretty good units. I got 4 dells awhile back and sold all 4 for $125 each and fast too. Great deal BRASS I hope it pans out for you. ''notice the gold mining reference'' lol

Well got the call back this morning. Guy said that they wanted more info on what I was going to do with the computers. I explained that I would be recycling all the parts down to the screws. He kept asking how I do this and that's when I asked if the deal was a go or not. Then he says that they decided to take care of the equiptment themselves and would I mind letting him know how to go about it? After a brief pause I said I could but it will cost you. When he asked how much I quoted him a price of $ 2000.00 He said I was out of my mind if I thought they would pay that price if I was only going to pay $1000.00 for the computers. Then he hung up. The farking nerve of some people!!!!! Oh well back to the drawing board. Thanks for everyone's advice and help. Glad I wasn't " blinded buy the gold" Olddude, and didn't give away any info to that horses***

Oh and on the bright, side have a load that I am sending to ewasted this week and my dad may have gotten me a hook up with a gen contractor to pick up his scrap from job sites....

When one door closes another one opens,,, that's good,,,

yeah people ask me for my connections on escrap (ewasted) LOL and I just tell them naw I would rather just buy their material outright

i personally would keep the contact info you have and call them back again in about 2-3 weeks, and ask them if they still have the lot if they do let them know your offer still stands (as long as they have not gutted them in the meantime).
i have picked up a few big lots like your talking about by doing that, because as you just experienced they somehow have learned just enough to be ignorant, but if they are like a lot of companies i have worked with one or two or maybe a dozen will get recycled/resold by them and the rest will continue to sit there and when they get in the companies way hopefully you will have kept in touch and they will remember you and you can still get a deal settled out

IMO the way I would handle a contract like this would be as follows.

First I would offer to process the first batch. I would pick a number like a lot size of 20. I would process on the fly and and tell them I would be back to them within 24-48 hours with their payment. If they like my numbers I would take the rest under a similar deal. If they wany me to purchase the entire lot after an inspection I would make an offer that would ensure profit no matter what I find inside.

In my business ventures I am first focused on being a solution provider. It is not a new deck someone buys but the enjoyment of an outside entertaining area. The most important tool you possess is the good work you hae done for others. Use your references to secure jobs and create greater opportunities.

Good advice Geiser, thank you.

Whenever people try to get info about where I recycle and how much I get paid for it, I have a strategy to go about it. I tell them "it depends on many factors, it depends where the market is at, who is paying the most, and how much quantity I have." I tell them "it is all about quantity and bulk". All this stuff is true but, it seems to make people feel that they dont have the capacity ( a big truck, contacts, knowledge, etc) to recycle it on their own. Most people dont really bother to ask past that but, if they insist on knowing how much I get paid I might throw out a low range price that I could get at a ripoff location. For example " Pete's recycling place pays $00.20/lb for high grade aluminum". Pete does pay .20/lb but, I never go there and I usually get .50/lb. for high grade aluminum. So you are telling the truth but, you are giving them the low end pricing.

Many people that are trying to get rid of stuff lately know that what they have is worth something but, they have no idea how much. They get a lot of attention from phone calls, etc about the items that they are trying to get rid so, they try to make some money off of it, without knowing the proper value.

I am learning every day how important it is to know what the value of things are. This should be step 1 for beginners (I still consider myself a beginner). You have to know your prices! For example, I screwed up the other day when I sold some gold at a coin shop. I had found a 14k gold bracelet (7.3 grams) in a treadmill and then later sold it at a coin store for $155 (7.3 grams @ about $21/gram). I felt like I got a good deal I talked them up from $100 to $155 but, later that week I found a place that would of bought it for $32/gram so, about $234 for the bracelet. So, I could of got $80 more for the bracelet if I would of known my prices for gold jewelry. I know my gold coin prices but, this is the first time that I have dealt with gold jewelry. I guess this is a lesson for me to be more patient and always ask at least 3-4 buyers or until I know what the fair price is.

would I mind letting him know how to go about it?

At this point you become the consultant and mention things like certificates of data destruction, asset recovery and compliance with any applicable recycling laws. It's the information age and they are looking for information. You won't find many Consultants in Information Technology charging less then $100 hour. You could put together an IT asset disposal policy for them and $2000 is low balling it. My 2cents

The offer I made was more as a f u to him knowing I wasn't getting the deal anyway...got a short fuse sometimes...but I wish I had the knowledge to be a consultant for ewaste. You may have a nice niche there if you are up on your stuff street sweeper.