My Backwards CRT Theory

Perhaps I'm just thinking out loud here, but I've noticed two patterns on the CRT disposal threads regarding auctions and disposal. People constantly talk about how high computer and CRT pallets go for at auction and also how disposal of monitors is a nightmare.
Has anyone tried selling stripped down monitors at an "as is, where is" auction before?
It's seems that getting $10 back from an auction is better than paying for disposal or coordinating drop off with a company/box store.
Just a noob's .02

Please throw your pennies in too, I'll take 'em all!

Would you like buying a pallet of computer towers "as is" and then realizing that they were all empty?

It's a chance you take I guess. It would sucks to get nothing but empty towers or monitors but until the seller guarantees that every part is in every item I would be cautious. On a lighter note I bet that an auction that guaranteed that every part was present would make a lot of money at auction but would lose it by having to go through every tower and if they did that then they might as well scrap it while it's apart. Anyway an as is auction is just that, an as is auction. You will definitely not have any repeat customers with that strategy though.

Just my .02, but I don't think whoever would buy those would know what to do with them. Assuming they would be in the same general area, wouldn't have the same problem as you? Also, why would someone who recycle the glass and lead, buy them from you when they could find them for free on craigslist. Plus, they could get more valuable stuff inside complete tvs that they could get for the same or less.

Bad busness practice!! Don't do something like that, you'll get black balled from every auction in the country.

I see your point, but could you sleep at night? Taking the good stuff out and selling monitors knowing they were gutted would be a questionable practice. But, what a great way to get rid of them...having somebody give you money to take them!

I call for a ban. This guy is the reason scrappers get bad names.

Now thats just being greedy....It can get really ugly if the person finds out you ripped him off...all i know is alot of people that are reading this post are just holding back on insulting you.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oldbarnz

Perhaps I'm just thinking out loud here, but I've noticed two patterns on the CRT disposal threads regarding auctions and disposal. People constantly talk about how high computer and CRT pallets go for at auction and also how disposal of monitors is a nightmare.
Has anyone tried selling stripped down monitors at an "as is, where is" auction before?
It's seems that getting $10 back from an auction is better than paying for disposal or coordinating drop off with a company/box store.
Just a noob's .02

Please throw your pennies in too, I'll take 'em all!

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sigh *palm face*

I think its a decent idea but definitely wouldnt work..any1 willing to bid a buck or 2 for a load of tvs/computer monitors knows to look at pics n see em in person..cords wouldnt be there n they would look the other way..just saying it wouldbt work..scratch that thought

If pallets of these are going for "big bucks" in your area, then pack them up and sell as is. But if you want to strip them and rip people off, then get out and stay out of the scrap industry (and all industries in general).

WOW }:(....... and we wounder why the country is going to crap. in my book thats theft by deception. and I would be looking for your address.

Seeing as We also do storage auctions , no way can I condone that kind of behavior .
But it Has Happened Before .
Taken from another forum I belong too .
This was told to me back in 1989-90ish by an OLD timer
" This guy was an 'events stager'. He'd set up for conventions.
Primarily for Sears (I think it was) so he would store displays till next use.
99% of the stuff (lawn mowers, air compressors ...) were either extremely good plastic replicas or the real thing with no guts. And of course a ton of boxes for the back drop.
He lost the account and everything was in a storage unit. He didn't want to have to empty and dispose of it so he defaulted on purpose.
So here comes the auction, doors open and looky here!!!! LOOKS like a 20x30 filled with brand new lawn mowers, compressors, tools, tires.....and unopened box's stacked floor to ceiling, wall to wall!!!
Bidding went thru the roof! He didn't know this but what ever is bid pays the storage bill....anything over the bill and legal fee's? Yep...he got sent a check for several thousand dollars and the bidder got stuck with empty boxes and plastic replicas.
By how he talked I'd say this was in the late 70's so several grand was a lot.
He said he did it a few more times and made a killing.

Another Good Example of what the first poster is talking about
The auctioneer said something similiar happened to him about 10 years ago when he was a buyer. Unit opened up and looked amazing. Big gun safe, gun cases slightly opened with gun stock visable...I don't remember exactly what else he described but anyway, bidding was huge and he bought the unit for $1900.00 (10 years ago so that's pretty huge). Anyway gets back to the unit later or the next day, not sure when and it's completely staged. The safe looked great up front but back was completely blown out. Gun case with stock showing turned out to be just a part of the gun stock duct taped to the back of the case so it looked like a gun. Everything had been arranged so it looked promising but was all broken or empty boxes. He talked to the storage facility and apparently the guy who owned the unit rented it, immediately let it go delinquent, never answered their calls and the day of the auction he called immediately after the auction ended to ask how much his unit went for and when could he pick up a check. What a nightmare. Gives me the creeps just thinking about it. You see people bidding up units just because they see lots of boxes and think there might be something good and that's their fault if they get screwed.

We have personally Not seen any staged units , but at one auction I stopped into the mens room and came out behind the manager and two bidders just in time to hear the mgr. tell them what # not to bid on as there was just junk in them .
We Left and have Never gone back to any of there auctions .
Bandit

To me it would be fraud. Ripping off people isn't cool.

Git a rope...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oldbarnz

Perhaps I'm just thinking out loud here, but I've noticed two patterns on the CRT disposal threads regarding auctions and disposal. People constantly talk about how high computer and CRT pallets go for at auction and also how disposal of monitors is a nightmare.
Has anyone tried selling stripped down monitors at an "as is, where is" auction before?
It's seems that getting $10 back from an auction is better than paying for disposal or coordinating drop off with a company/box store.
Just a noob's .02

Please throw your pennies in too, I'll take 'em all!

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Any reputable auction company would laugh at you trying to do this............I have nothing good to say here so best I say nothing at all

Whoa! I thought this was a discussion thread. I was throwing out a theory to test the waters, hence my title "Backwards CRT Theory".
I have seen collapsed barns, burn piles, and full trash cans sold at farm auctions sell before. I was thinking more along the lines of an industrial auction or something. The call for lynching for bad business practices and removal from the forum seems steep. I haven't done this nor would I plan to, I was looking for a discussion of opinions, not reporting some scam I'm running. Never mind.

But what if you say they are stripped as is and put no reserve. In sure someone out there buys tv tubes and if the person thinks they got ripped off maybe next time they will READ. Sorry have had some issue with Craigslist users not read the whole post.

I dont think you could sells pallets of crts..least not round me

You were calling for discussion for how you can rip people off. What did you expect?

Thanks for civil answers. Maybe a stack with no cases on them, so it doesn't appear fraudulent?
My redneck neighbor (I'm one too) buys junk at auction all the time for target practice at his ranch out in the desert (not that that's a solution either).
Its strange. People see dollar signs in piles of junk all the time, which is why so many people on this forum are successful. Who knows what people might see in a stack of stripped down monitors. Just sayin'.

I agree that the initial idea had rip off written all over it. BUT there are companies that do recycle crt's. If an auction was targeted towards those buyers just for the tubes there may be a target group out there that would buy them. I dunno maybe wishful thinking but maybe if one of the people here that buy the crt's to tear down can chime in. If they are buying them then what are they doing with the tubes?

I have around 4 semi-trailers full of CRT monitors and TV's. I have not stripped them out just to make them more appealing to potential buyers. I have thought about putting them on some sort of auction, but have not had the time to do so yet. I am also not totally familiar with how the auctions work when dealing with large amounts of stuff like trailers full of monitors.

I myself would just not want the drama caused by slimy business practices. A person knows darn well what their intentions are when they go to do sneaky side handed tricks. An individual really does not have to do anything to them though. The market has a way of correcting these kind of people. Especially in the world of instant information. One you can bet is if they themselves were to fall pray to another person doing this to them, they would be the first and the loudest to cry foul.

I joke about stuff like that, but i would never do it. you don't know unless you ask, and suppose someone had jumped up and said they knew a company that was interested in palletized crt glass, rather than loose crt glass. that would be valuable info. I'm not mad at a theory, but i wouldn't do it. it would be deceiving to say the least, even if they are sold "as-is" to some sucker who needs an education.

that said, the one that made me laugh the most was when my friend said, "wouldn't it be funny if i rented a storage unit under a fake name, filled it with stripped tubes, and then never paid the bill." we laughed about for a while, shaking our heads, but neither one of us would ever do anything like that. we have solid business ethics

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Oldbarnz

Perhaps I'm just thinking out loud here, but I've noticed two patterns on the CRT disposal threads regarding auctions and disposal. People constantly talk about how high computer and CRT pallets go for at auction and also how disposal of monitors is a nightmare.
Has anyone tried selling stripped down monitors at an "as is, where is" auction before?
It's seems that getting $10 back from an auction is better than paying for disposal or coordinating drop off with a company/box store.
Just a noob's .02

Please throw your pennies in too, I'll take 'em all!

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Selling "As is" would definely be bad form, but you could be honest up front and sell them as "stripped monitors and TVs". Doubt that you would get a bid but you never know and at least you could sleep at night.

Thanks again! This reminds me of a junk/land clearance auction I went to in Nebraska. It was a bunch of rusted out 1970s-era cars and trucks. Two bidders bought every lot at what seemed like HIGH prices. Turns out, both were scrap bigwigs loading their trucks.
I'm still not proposing duping anyone, just exploring an honest description at an auction as a solution. No regular auctioneers I called sold this kind of thing, but they referred me to an industrial wholesale auction company in Arizona that might. Who knows? Im waiting for a return call!

Msearl - I love Iowa too!

msearl you might want to talk to easy if those monitors are working. Im pretty sure he has a good relationship to ECS.

He might be right... I mean if you really think about it...

Of coarse, I would assume, you'd state in the auction that the carcases are empty.

There might be companies out there who sell monitors on a mass scale, no? The older ones aren't as popular, but at auctions even, people DO buy them... maybe for scrap, maybe for resale. There are companies out there who make their living selling things like this, might not be at the top of your list of things to make a profit from but they are out there. Nobody ever thought about selling empty mayo and peanut butter jugs, but somebody has to make them, maybe it would be easier for a company to buy these empty 'jugs' and clean them up to refill with mayo and peanut butter than to have new jugs manufactured?

You never know, maybe a company out there WOULD be interested in such a thing, and MIGHT be able to make a profit on them, maybe via recycling, maybe via refurbishment. Some people get paid for scrap plastics, and scrap glass...

I don't believe the OP ever once suggested, selling them WITHOUT STATING that they've been hollowed out to rip anybody off, it was just an idea and in all reality, it MIGHT be a good one so long as you're honest about it. Worst case nobody buys them, best case somebody has a plan for them and you make a few bucks.

Alot of harsh responses here but to be honest I don't believe his intention was to do this in a deceptive way, but thinking outside the box.

Admin, everyone has an opinion. Glad that you finally chipped in on a topic!

Thanks again. I'm a noob on the site, but I've been a problem-solver forever. Apparently, when I put 2 and 2 together I sometimes get 13! By reading lots of old threads (as advised) I noticed a consistent disposal issue coming up. I tossed out an idea that was apparently a grenade. It's good to see the old guard on this site stepping up to defend the kingdom. I might step on toes, but I won't purposely cross them!