Cost per tower/servers?

Just trying to figure what the maximum bid I should put in for several auctions. These are all dell towers with hard drives removed and no hard drives in the servers. Just don't want to get wrapped up in the auction and not make a decent return on my investment.

You can only answer this if you know what you are going to do with them. There are several threads here regarding the return per tower/server/etc, but the answer can vary depending on what you plan to do with them and who you are selling to. Many of us have worked very hard to discover the right methods and models for our own business, and encourage you to do the same.

You need to figure what you are getting paid for the components if you plan to break them down. Then come up with an average amount of components based on what you are buying. If they are all the same model, this is much easier. If they are machines with parts that can be re sold, you can justify paying more than scrap for them.

I have seen scrap yards pay between 10 and 50 cents per pound for whole computers. The rate that works for me may not work for you. Don't forget to factor in your costs(labor, gas, vehicle wear) and possible shipping costs if sending to a buyer. Many auction sites also charge a premium on the final price that can be as high as 15%.

In short, unless you are in a market with zero competition, you are going to get eaten alive with online computer auctions. They often go for way more than scrap value, even if they are junk.

That is a problem so full of variables that there is really no exact answer anyone can give you. It matters if you're going to resell or scrap them. It matters what age the towers are and the mix of towers and servers. It matters if you already have a relationship with a scrap buyer and know what you can sell for. You have to take your logistics into the equation, like how far they are from you, do you have to have them shipped or rent a truck? It also depends on the size of the lot 10 or 1000 units. The first thing to do is check out the buyers on the forum and see what they are paying. That will give you a starting point. The rest is figuring out what it will take for you to purchase, transport, break down, sort, and ship. When you get all those together, then you can know what you can bid.

I know that doesn't sound like a very helpful answer, but really it is. Experience is going to be the key and if you're just starting, you might want to take a shot at an auction that won't bite your budget too much. Then you can break it all down and sell it while taking careful notes and learn (and share) from it.

Also, read a bunch of past threads and you will find out how others have done buying this type of lot.

Good luck.

If this is an online auction and you can't look inside the towers/servers then I wouldn't pay more than 3.00ea for the towers and 5.00-8.00ea on the servers. Like Brass said most of these auctions for computers will sell for way more than scrap. Good luck.

Originally Posted by happyscraper

If this is an online auction and you can't look inside the towers/servers then I wouldn't pay more than 3.00ea for the towers and 5.00-8.00ea on the servers. Like Brass said most of these auctions for computers will sell for way more than scrap. Good luck.

Yeah, that's what I pay. Maybe a little less for the servers. About $4-$5 for servers.

I'm going through the same exercise now with some local online auctions. In my case there are several dozen lots of computers, no one lot larger than a small stack on a pallet. I'm not confident in my ability/knowledge to refurb or resell the components, so I'm bidding on them all as scrap. I'm no expert, but $3 each for Dells without hard drives seems like a safe benchmark (but remember to add in any buyer's premium and sales tax first!). I bid a little high on some of the lots mostly to see what happens- I'm willing to pay a slight premium to learn the ropes- but as all the lots are relatively small I won't have a lot of money tied up in any one of them should I actually win one. I calculated out the potential value of each pallet (pretty much ignoring any other components- like desk lamps!- thrown on top of the computers), the premium, the tax, set my max bid and have kept my hands in my pockets since.

In reading the comments here and looking at past auction results, I'm guessing that I have about a snowball's chance in heck of actually coming home with any of this stuff (much to my wife's relief). I've seen some pretty crazy prices come out of these auctions...

cheers,
tbg

One piece of advice i can give is find out the rules concerning the pick up of your won items....im not sure how the online auctions work, but with live auctions sometimes you have a limited time to remove your items. it is very important to know when you can pick up, if you will need tools, if you will need to bring labor...