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What Is Your Net Profit From E-Waste ?

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    RLS0812 started this thread.
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    Question What Is Your Net Profit From E-Waste ?

    I am wondering: after all your expenses ( gas, shipping, labor, taxes, storage, e.t.c.) how much money do you have left over from scrapping E-Waste ?



    I am asking this to figure out a general price that I could pay folks for "stuff" and still have a few $ left over.

    Items would include, but not limited to:
    Desktops, laptops, cell phones, smart devices, VCRs / DVD / Blue Ray, Flat screen, other general electronics, and E-Waste in general.

    Thank you very much.


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    Hi RLS0812,

    I doubt many people, if any people, will answer this question. Part of the reason is that some of buy from a lot of folks on the forum. If you head over to the buyers' forum, you can see prices. Then, figure out where you can afford to buy the products considering everything you listed. i really wish you the best.

    Ken

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    Quote Originally Posted by RLS0812 View Post
    I am wondering: after all your expenses ( gas, shipping, labor, taxes, storage, e.t.c.) how much money do you have left over from scrapping E-Waste ?

    I am asking this to figure out a general price that I could pay folks for "stuff" and still have a few $ left over.

    Items would include, but not limited to:
    Desktops, laptops, cell phones, smart devices, VCRs / DVD / Blue Ray, Flat screen, other general electronics, and E-Waste in general.

    Thank you very much.
    Not as much as I would want!

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    What Is Your Net Profit From E-Waste ?

    The problem is that there is such a mix of scrappers here, ones that scrap 20 hrs - 80 hrs a week, part time full time, own space used for different uses. all affect the bottom line. Personally I get all my scrap for free and do it out of my house so my only expense is gas.

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  8. #5
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    or the fact there are several of these threads, where some did answer.

    The others said it well enough. May want to search out the older threads on this subject.

    Sirscrapalot - Round and round an round and round and round and round we go.

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    For me, I'd rather make something (anything) than pay a large national corporate waste company, that would have recycled a little (very little), putting most of it in a large hole in the middle of the desert and each year charging me more. Now my waste expenses are going down, my revenue is about the same and I put one more person to work. The big plus for me, I sleep better at night, knowing I'm trying to be a solution than another problem! $$$ numbers those belong to me.
    Last edited by bigburtchino; 10-16-2014 at 09:08 PM.

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  12. #7
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    I can't (and won't) tell you an exact number but I will tell you how I figured out my buying price(s)

    Strip down a few computers, weigh all of the components, and then figure out how much each component is worth. Then average it out.

    So if each computer grosses (before shipping and other expenses) X, then factor in your expenses.

    Let's say your expenses are Y per computer. X - Y = your net per computer, Z

    Then, find out how much of a margin you are comfortable making per computer. This is something you and only you can decide on. Let's call this one A

    Z (your net per computer) - A (your acceptable profit) = B, your buying price.

    There, I did some algebra for you. Plug in your numbers and have fun.
    "Don't try to be a great man, just be a man. Let history make its own judgments"

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    Quote Originally Posted by MattyNoNeck View Post
    I can't (and won't) tell you an exact number but I will tell you how I figured out my buying price(s)

    Strip down a few computers, weigh all of the components, and then figure out how much each component is worth. Then average it out.

    So if each computer grosses (before shipping and other expenses) X, then factor in your expenses.

    Let's say your expenses are Y per computer. X - Y = your net per computer, Z

    Then, find out how much of a margin you are comfortable making per computer. This is something you and only you can decide on. Let's call this one A

    Z (your net per computer) - A (your acceptable profit) = B, your buying price.

    There, I did some algebra for you. Plug in your numbers and have fun.
    Matty laid this out in the easiest but simplest way possible. It's your job as a buyer to figure out your exact overhead, (should be a part of anyone doing any kind of business), determine market value after logistics of shipping and storage and determine how much you would like to make on it. Basic finance practice will tell you a business should try to operate on 20-30% ROI (return on investment) but you can adjust this figure when considering your particular overhead costs.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RLS0812 View Post
    I am wondering: after all your expenses ( gas, shipping, labor, taxes, storage, e.t.c.) how much money do you have left over from scrapping E-Waste ?

    I am asking this to figure out a general price that I could pay folks for "stuff" and still have a few $ left over.

    Items would include, but not limited to:
    Desktops, laptops, cell phones, smart devices, VCRs / DVD / Blue Ray, Flat screen, other general electronics, and E-Waste in general.

    Thank you very much.
    Shipping is minimal, labor depends on how you value your time, and storage is in my own apartment, so free.

    As for prices, if we're talking scrap value only. Then for a desktop I would pay $5 or less, a laptop about $1, and the rest I wouldn't pay anything. Some people buy cellphones by the pound, but unless it's a huge amount it will be worth very little.

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    I'm sorry if this is going to seem offensive. I have seen questions like these like this on here before and it kind of ticks me off. Instead of YOU doing your own research of a certain market, you want someone to just hand you the information on a platter. Sure, most people here are willing to help out with certain questions regarding a thing or two. Consider this, I walk into john does local business and say hey can i take a look at you books so I can determine if i can not only compete with you but possibly undercut you putting you out of business. I'm sure I would receive a not so kind response.
    Last edited by scrapping; 10-23-2014 at 07:48 AM. Reason: spelling

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    This is the sort of thing that's taboo in business. Nobody serious about it, trying to make a living from it is going to share their expenditures report with their gross income with you. There's a good reason for that because like it or not some of us compete with each other. I will give tips to maximize because it's prudent for me and I'm trying to be helpful, what I won't do is:

    I will not tell anyone I'm not in business with:

    How much I make
    How much material I process
    Who I sell to
    What refiners I am using
    What I am selling to other buyers
    What my shop looks like or how much I have in it
    How much I spent on material

    Things I will show:

    Tools I use, how I use them
    Identification of various things
    My truck, my sorting area, my workbench
    My recomendations: People, places, methods.

    Let me be direct here. This is going to appear rude, what reason would I have to disclose ANY of that information to you. Would it help you? Would it hurt me? Yep, and Yep. Frankly it's hard work, it takes knowledge and involves more than driving around and picking up sheet iron, vacuum cleaners and car rims all day long. The more you learn the better it becomes. Computer recycling is difficult to be profitable on a larger scale. This is why there's less than a dozen large operations in the united states, despite 25% electronics production to waste stream going on...you can see where I am going with this.

    My take: Figure it out for yourself.

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    Somewhere between $1 and $1,000,000 You figure it OUT!

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    it would appear... a consensus has been reached

    annnnnnnd..... that's all

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    Year 2 was less then year 1 and year 3 less then year 2 and year 4 less then year 3. The reason, more competition from people who didn't do their home work. Selling prices are down, people are paying more for dead computers, because they didn't do their home work. and electronics /Computer companies are doing more with much, much, much less.

    An MMLC that 2 years ago was about 1/4" x 1/8" is now nearly microscopic, the price is still the same or, but the weight is less then 1/10, new processors avg $8 per lb old ones $110, boards are 1/2 weight or less, shipping is up. You may well have missed the bus. E scrapping is not something you wake up in the morning and decide to do,

    It takes knowledge to be a scrapper to just make a few $ or break even if your lucky. E scrapping is not for the novice with out a lot of study here. Most scrap is free. E scrap is usually not so unless you are prepared to lose yer A**, do your home work and pray a lot. Just my .02
    "anyone who thinks scrappin is easy money ain't doin it right!"

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    My Net:
    There's lots of holes in my net!
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    I'm afraid more and more everyday people just hop on this forum and ask "hey can I have your business model that you've spent your time, blood sweat and tears on so I can become your competitor?"

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  31. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mmarro89 View Post
    I'm afraid more and more everyday people just hop on this forum and ask "hey can I have your business model that you've spent your time, blood sweat and tears on so I can become your competitor?"
    Yeah, that is pretty funny. And tons of people that are just too lazy to take a MB, throw it on a scale, look at what someone is paying, and figure out what its worth. While not rocket science, some people act like it is instead of putting out a little effort.

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  33. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by olddude View Post
    Year 2 was less then year 1 and year 3 less then year 2 and year 4 less then year 3. The reason, more competition from people who didn't do their home work. Selling prices are down, people are paying more for dead computers, because they didn't do their home work. and electronics /Computer companies are doing more with much, much, much less.

    An MMLC that 2 years ago was about 1/4" x 1/8" is now nearly microscopic, the price is still the same or, but the weight is less then 1/10, new processors avg $8 per lb old ones $110, boards are 1/2 weight or less, shipping is up. You may well have missed the bus. E scrapping is not something you wake up in the morning and decide to do,

    It takes knowledge to be a scrapper to just make a few $ or break even if your lucky. E scrapping is not for the novice with out a lot of study here. Most scrap is free. E scrap is usually not so unless you are prepared to lose yer A**, do your home work and pray a lot. Just my .02
    I think E-scrap alone for the small timer is not going to cut it.........Evolve, Adapt, Overcome

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    I have volunteered my process on another thread to make an example of how i don't have anything into the parts i hoard, just the other day. So it just goes to show, that people asking for that quick answer, not only don't have the willingness to figure it out on their own, but they don't read the $hit that's already been said here. If anyone really wanted to formulate some numbers, all they have to do is put the pieces together from what I have said personally, and what others have said, and then take a quick peek at some of the buyers prices... weight up your own parts... and bang... you have the answer to why that chicken crossed the road.
    Intellectual property has the shelf life of a banana - Bill Gates

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    I think the OP really wants to hear that we all buy computers for ten bucks each, make twenty five and deal in tonnage...

    I'm a nice guy but I'm also pretty ruthless. I'm out to provide excellent customer service and grind my freeloading competitors right into the ground. I'm not a fan of people who show up, pay 6 bucks a computer for a bunch of p4 dells then complain to me (locally I might add, because that's often how this happens) that my prices aren't high enough for them. Well, let me help you, your expectations and reality missed each other by miles sir. I will repeat over and over again, this is not an industry to get into if your not planning to take a plunge into it as your sole efforts, what it really is for most of my individual customers is a side business where they save material from targets of oppurtunity, and that I can appreciate very much. It shows hard work and being out there to get what they can and not spend too much getting it.

    I'm honestly tired of the people who think there's several grams of gold in every tower. Ever since the boom, less informed shops and individuals look at me like I should be offering 40 bucks a tower. Most common phrasing "Ohh no way I can let it go for that, there's alot of gold in there." Same people call me back months later long after I've crossed them off the solicit list and ask if I'd still buy. Answer is yes, but not at my initial offer, because now I have to make an out of the way trip when it could have been handled on the spot.

    Difficulties in business gentlemen. You will forever be dealing with people who think they are the leprechaun sitting on a literal pot of gold.

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