Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 21 to 40 of 41

Computer Towers - Page 2

| Scrap Metal Tips and Advice
  1. #21
    MrSmith887 started this thread.
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Mar 2018
    Posts
    21
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts
    Thanks everyone for all the input. I’m definitely going to break them down. Testing / putting computers together is definitely not my wheel house - I know that’s an excuse & I could learn - but I think I need to get rid of the parts as is. And Logistically - I can’t really work on these outside of the storage unit they’re sitting in.



  2. #22
    SKWrapper's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    578
    Thanked 404 Times in 203 Posts
    Get a can of insecticide just to be on the safe side unless roaches don't bother you. I am not kidding. Not saying they are infested, but if they are - and it happens more often than you'd think - you want that can ready if you are like me. It happened to me once - nastiest thing I have ever seen. I wanted to burn my clothes and my truck.

    https://www.scrapmetalforum.com/gene...tml#post294902

    https://www.scrapmetalforum.com/gene...tml#post148550
    Last edited by SKWrapper; 05-29-2019 at 11:55 AM.

  3. #23
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Tucson AZ
    Posts
    361
    Thanks
    306
    Thanked 579 Times in 231 Posts
    Pull the ram, finger cards and any i series processors. Sell the rest as 80% complete towers. I think you mentioned getting $.20 which is not the best but not too bad. I am getting $.25 for my 80% complete units.

    Every i series processor is going to be at least $10 and on up to around $140 for a 4th gen i7 on ebay and they sell quick. Anything newer than 4th gen I would try to get the CPU working. 2gb pc3 and larger ram is going to have resale value, scrap the rest.

    Unless you come across a graphics card that looks real nice then look it up on ebay but GPU prices are down and u probably aren't going to find newer GPUs anyway.

    Older towers with ceramic processors be sure to pull those from the tower along with the i series stuff.

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to 520 for This Post:


  5. #24
    SKWrapper's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    578
    Thanked 404 Times in 203 Posts
    Around here it's 6$/lb for motherboards with processors - so I pull it all apart if it's older than 4 years - all I have ever scrapped.

  6. #25
    mikeinreco's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2011
    Location
    TENNESSEE
    Posts
    4,972
    Thanks
    1,257
    Thanked 5,023 Times in 2,350 Posts
    Do you have a link to where you get $6/lb for motherboards thanks

  7. #26
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Tucson AZ
    Posts
    361
    Thanks
    306
    Thanked 579 Times in 231 Posts
    $6 a pound for board and cpu is stupid high. I could easily ship cross country for half that price. If that is a legit price than I need your buyers info. Message me please.

  8. #27
    SKWrapper's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    578
    Thanked 404 Times in 203 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by mikeinreco View Post
    Do you have a link to where you get $6/lb for motherboards thanks
    No - but I will upload my receipt tonight from my last load of servers I had disassembled - obsolete Cisco Communications Manager appliances and IBM x336's etc... It was one of my record profitable loads - not a big deal to some people that do this for a living, but as a side gig $160 for less than 400lbs of material was good for me. I left the receipt out of the rest and it's on the fridge with one of 3 record loads - come to think of it maybe it was $5/lb but I know it was 10x more than I have ever got when I sold servers mostly whole - still beating myself over it. Painful lesson for me.
    Last edited by SKWrapper; 05-29-2019 at 02:01 PM.

  9. #28
    SKWrapper's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Apr 2018
    Location
    Denver, CO
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    578
    Thanked 404 Times in 203 Posts
    umm... yeah about that 5-6$ a lb for motherboards. I think I am doing too many things at once - sorry, I try not to be an idiot.

    It's still not bad tho' at 3$/lb.

    Here's what I had that day - the ferrous was all server cases and rack rails, except some little stuff leftover in the backyard and a neighbor across the street had a dryer without the cord.

    2 tickets, one for the little scale and one for the vehicle scale (ferrous)

    Attached Images Attached Images   

  10. #29
    kss's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    May 2019
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    839
    Thanks
    465
    Thanked 715 Times in 403 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by SKWrapper View Post
    umm... yeah about that 5-6$ a lb for motherboards. I think I am doing too many things at once - sorry, I try not to be an idiot.

    It's still not bad tho' at 3$/lb.

    Here's what I had that day - the ferrous was all server cases and rack rails, except some little stuff leftover in the backyard and a neighbor across the street had a dryer without the cord.

    2 tickets, one for the little scale and one for the vehicle scale (ferrous)

    Man I gotta find somewhere around me to pay those prices. The places by me pay $1/lb for mother boards, and .20/lb for harddrives

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to kss for This Post:


  12. #30
    eRecycled's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 12 Times in 5 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by SKWrapper View Post
    Around here it's 6$/lb for motherboards with processors - so I pull it all apart if it's older than 4 years - all I have ever scrapped.

    I'm around there too. What generation of processors are required?

  13. #31
    Kalvlin's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    Member since
    Dec 2013
    Location
    CT
    Posts
    315
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 321 Times in 178 Posts
    All good advice here. See what you got , do the math and your homework and you will maximize your returns.
    Re-marketing or better than scrap is best return if it's newer.... if not, I would tear it all down ,sort it and ship it .
    Just my 2 cents ( per lb.)
    Remember... wherever you go... there you are

  14. The Following User Says Thank You to Kalvlin for This Post:

    APA

  15. #32
    eRecycled's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    14
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 12 Times in 5 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by kss View Post
    Man I gotta find somewhere around me to pay those prices. The places by me pay $1/lb for mother boards, and .20/lb for harddrives
    Have you checked out Gorven's post about buying hard drives in the Scrap Buyers and Sellers sub-forum?

  16. The Following User Says Thank You to eRecycled for This Post:

    APA

  17. #33
    kss's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    May 2019
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    839
    Thanks
    465
    Thanked 715 Times in 403 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by eRecycled View Post
    Have you checked out Gorven's post about buying hard drives in the Scrap Buyers and Sellers sub-forum?
    I have not but will right now. I can sell the hard-drives without boards for $0.20/lb which is pretty good, to my local place, powersupplies with wires for $0.30/lb and dvd/cd drives for $0.10/lb. So I sell those locally, but they are buying all motherboards and ram and finger cards at $1/lb.

    For the prices and the amount I have, I dont think it will work out profit wise to ship anything but ram and cpus. everything else does not have a $/lb price point good enough to pay for the shipping I havent found.... unless you have pallet load quanities... which i do not unfortunately.

  18. #34
    hills's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,351
    Thanks
    797
    Thanked 1,276 Times in 721 Posts
    I've been shipping & selling to one of the more prominent buyers here for awhile. Pretty happy with the returns & customer service. The buyer arranges for pick up and shipping through his FedEx account and then deducts it from the payout. The whole process is pretty smooth.

    You might look into it kss. I'm shipping 68 lb boxes all the way from Maine and the numbers work.

    Just so happens that the buyer is in your neck of the woods. Your shipping costs would probably be much lower than mine.

  19. The Following User Says Thank You to hills for This Post:


  20. #35
    mikeinreco's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    Dec 2011
    Location
    TENNESSEE
    Posts
    4,972
    Thanks
    1,257
    Thanked 5,023 Times in 2,350 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by hills View Post
    I've been shipping & selling to one of the more prominent buyers here for awhile. Pretty happy with the returns & customer service. The buyer arranges for pick up and shipping through his FedEx account and then deducts it from the payout. The whole process is pretty smooth.

    You might look into it kss. I'm shipping 68 lb boxes all the way from Maine and the numbers work.

    Just so happens that the buyer is in your neck of the woods. Your shipping costs would probably be much lower than mine.
    Save up about 10 of those 68 pound boxes and put them on pallet and shrinkwrap them for additional savings..........I've been shipping single pallets for awhile now.........My goal is to get enough space cleared to save up 4-5 pallets at a time which I think will save even more money

  21. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by mikeinreco:


  22. #36
    hills's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,351
    Thanks
    797
    Thanked 1,276 Times in 721 Posts
    <sigh> I wish i could. I'm on an island just off the coast of Maine. There's a causeway over to to the mainland so we're not completely isolated but it's pretty remote.I'm not getting much volume these days. It might be 1/3 of what it was a few years ago ?

    Towers are all but played out now. I get a few laptops here and there and the rest are the micro devices like tablets & phones.

    You know how it is ... you have to change and adapt with the times. It's especially so in such a lean business environment.

    You have to capitalize the few opportunities that come your way to the max. I've gotten pretty good at the better than scrap option. Just one unit will yield more than an entire 68lb box of scrap. I started buying copper wire locally and i'm gradually building the equipment to process it efficiently.Also picked up a 14 yo heavy duty 3/4 ton pickup truck for a grand last winter. It's only got 40,000 original miles on it. I got it cheap because it's got some complicated electronics issues that the locals can't deal with. Other than that ... it's in fairly good shape for it's age.It should be ready for the road by the end of summer.

    Gawd ... i'm so grateful for what i've learned from doing ewaste for the last five years. Also very grateful for this forum and the people here.

    For me: The technical knowledge gained has been worth far more than what little i made from scrapping.

  23. #37
    kss's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor


    Member since
    May 2019
    Location
    PA
    Posts
    839
    Thanks
    465
    Thanked 715 Times in 403 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by hills View Post
    I've been shipping & selling to one of the more prominent buyers here for awhile. Pretty happy with the returns & customer service. The buyer arranges for pick up and shipping through his FedEx account and then deducts it from the payout. The whole process is pretty smooth.

    You might look into it kss. I'm shipping 68 lb boxes all the way from Maine and the numbers work.

    Just so happens that the buyer is in your neck of the woods. Your shipping costs would probably be much lower than mine.
    I had considered doing flat rate boxes, which you can load up to 70lbs from USPS, for $19-ish. But even that comes out to $0.27/lb for shipping so anything less that that obviously isnt worth doing in those boxes, plus they are not massive, even the largest ones, so I cant fit more than a few pounds of boards in before its filled up, making it not worth it to ship. How in my neck of the woods is he? Where is he located I wouldnt mind filling up my car and driving a few hours. I figure a tank of gas will be cheaper than shipping an equal amount by a significant bit.

  24. The Following User Says Thank You to kss for This Post:

    520

  25. #38
    hills's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Sep 2017
    Location
    Maine
    Posts
    1,351
    Thanks
    797
    Thanked 1,276 Times in 721 Posts
    < shrugs > Ahh ... it's no big deal really.

    The way i see it ... you've got your gross profit and your net profit after expense. Ewaste is a volume business. Shipping costs are a significant business expense. If you are a small timer like myself, your operating costs are going to be high and net profit low. That's just the reality of the situation.

    As i said before ... this ain't about the money. The knowledge gained is priceless. That's my real profit.

    I can't play favorites and recommend one buyer over another here on the open forum. That wouldn't be fair to everybody.

    Instead: Could you go over to the scrap buyers thread and check out the Ewaste buyers ? I know of at least a couple that are based one state over from you in Ohio.

    I would advise against making a special trip with anything less than a pickup truck load. The real cost of running a vehicle these days is probably around 50 cents a mile. That figures the real costs of wear & tear, depreciation, repairs, fuel, insurance,taxes, and so on. (It's just shipping cost in another form without even figuring in the value of your time.) It would be so easy to tip your business into the red without ever realizing it. You gotta figure these things into the mix when you're running your numbers ... ya know ?

  26. The Following 3 Users say Thank You for This Post by hills:


  27. #39
    SMF Badges of Honor



    Member since
    Jul 2011
    Location
    Jacksonville, NC
    Posts
    4,917
    Thanks
    15,632
    Thanked 5,861 Times in 2,713 Posts
    I will add to hills' recommendations, I think one in person visit to your buyer can be a great education. I have made two in person drop offs and learned from the experience.

    I did justify the additional costs of shipping by making a trip of it to visit family. In the past I have just held onto the ewaste until I could fill one or two pallets and shipping costs go way down. 73, Mike
    "Profit begins when you buy NOT when you sell." {quote passed down to me from a wise man}

    Now go beat the copper out of something, Miked

  28. The Following User Says Thank You to miked for This Post:

    520

  29. #40
    matador's Avatar
    SMF Badges of Honor

    We purchase laptop computers and many components for greater than scrap value. We offer a shipping reimbursement program.replies

    Member since
    Nov 2013
    Location
    Big Wonderful Wyoming
    Posts
    2,310
    Thanks
    1,813
    Thanked 3,204 Times in 1,450 Posts
    I'm on the flip-side of this: I'm a buyer. I love meeting with customers- when someone brings stuff to me, they'll often have questions that I can just answer better in-person, and I can show some tips and tricks to help them make more money. I deal in more than scrap value stuff, but for scrap, the same holds true. I'd honestly recommend making a "mini-vacation" out of it to see your buyer- sure, it'll cost you a LOT of money to ship that lot, but what you learn should more than cover that
    More than Scrap Value Shipment Tips: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/scrap...tml#post242349

  30. The Following 2 Users say Thank You for This Post by matador:



  31. Similar threads on the Scrap Metal Forum

    1. Any Ideas Where I Can Buy BULK Computer Towers?
      By StlitRockRecycling in forum Scrap Metal Tips and Advice
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 02-13-2014, 06:33 PM
    2. How many computer towers can you break down in a 10 hr day
      By camdaddy in forum General Electronics Recycling
      Replies: 27
      Last Post: 11-28-2012, 08:48 PM
    3. how much are computer towers worth in scrap?
      By mrvictor1 in forum A Day in the Life of a Scrapper
      Replies: 27
      Last Post: 06-17-2012, 10:49 PM
    4. Computer Towers
      By deputy in forum Scrap Metal Questions and Answers
      Replies: 11
      Last Post: 12-14-2011, 09:52 PM
    5. computer towers
      By nikaoman in forum Scrap Metal Questions and Answers
      Replies: 7
      Last Post: 07-24-2011, 01:28 PM

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

 
Browse the Most Recent Threads
On SMF In THIS CATEGORY.





OR

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

The Scrap Metal Forum

    The Scrap Metal Forum is the #1 scrap metal recycling community in the world. Here we talk about the scrap metal business, making money, where we connect with other scrappers, scrap yards and more.

SMF on Facebook and Twitter

Twitter Facebook