Motherboard scrap prices?

Hiya,
Was just looking at scrap prices at a couple of places, can anyone tell me if the prices change according to what you have done to the board?
For instance, one site says large socket mother boards (no batteries) $2.80 lb. Small socket $1.60 etc. I am totally new to this e-scrapping!! My
question is this: Does that price stay the same if I have depopulated the boards about 100%.

Originally Posted by Magzz63

Hiya,
Was just looking at scrap prices at a couple of places, can anyone tell me if the prices change according to what you have done to the board?
For instance, one site says large socket mother boards (no batteries) $2.80 lb. Small socket $1.60 etc. I am totally new to this e-scrapping!! My
question is this: Does that price stay the same if I have depopulated the boards about 100%.

As long as the socket is still on the board you'll be fine. Without the socket they can't tell if it's a large or small socket...

Depopulating the boards will lower the price. If you're taking off chips that are permenantly attached, you've reduced the amount of PM that can be recovered

Originally Posted by Magzz63

Hiya,
Was just looking at scrap prices at a couple of places, can anyone tell me if the prices change according to what you have done to the board?
For instance, one site says large socket mother boards (no batteries) $2.80 lb. Small socket $1.60 etc. I am totally new to this e-scrapping!! My
question is this: Does that price stay the same if I have depopulated the boards about 100%.

If you mean "depopulated the boards about 100%" literally then no one will give you anything near that price, at least not if they want to stay in business. I wouldn't buy a completely stripped motherboard for higher than midgrade-low price and then only if it had visible gold trace.

If you are new to ewaste, why are you depopulating boards??

I have a bad habit of doing thing hastily! I guess I figured if I was going to remove all the plated pins, IC's, MLCC's, Tantalums,That the rest was garbage anyway so I depopulated a few boards. This is why I came to ask before I did anymore. My scrap is adding up fast and I am over my head as far as knowledge about this stuff. I have a lot to learn for sure.
I just found that a lot of my sound blaster audio cards are totally gold plated under the solder cover, same with a pile of synaptic cards I got from really old IBM think pads. I like collecting all the PM's and chips and stuff, like I said it's a hobby to me. So if I have the time it is better to get less for board and keep collecting the rest?

Originally Posted by 520

My last post was sarcasm. To get the most monetary value from your boards you should sell them without depopulating anything. Then is you want to collect PM take the money from selling your boards and buy some gold or silver.

BTW what solder cover are you talking about on sound blaster cards? I have boxes of new sound blaster cards.

I think he's talking about the green solder mask.

Solder mask or solder stop mask or solder resist is a thin lacquer-like layer of polymer that is usually applied to the copper traces of a printed circuit board for protection against oxidation and to prevent solder bridges from forming between closely spaced solder pads. Wikipedia

Most circuit boards have copper under the solder mask but a few have gold. There are some display boards in in certain phones I scrap that have the gold under the solder mask which means more money.

Originally Posted by jimicrk

I think he's talking about the green solder mask.

Solder mask or solder stop mask or solder resist is a thin lacquer-like layer of polymer that is usually applied to the copper traces of a printed circuit board for protection against oxidation and to prevent solder bridges from forming between closely spaced solder pads. Wikipedia

Most circuit boards have copper under the solder mask but a few have gold. There are some display boards in in certain phones I scrap that have the gold under the solder mask which means more money.

Yes the solder mask, thank you Jimicrk. the sound blasters have a brown solder mask. What is your opinion Jimicrk as far as depopulating my boards? Is it worth more in the long run to someone like me that has all the time to do it? If I just sell off the boards as is it kinda kills the hobby part for me.

Originally Posted by Magzz63

Yes the solder mask, thank you Jimicrk. the sound blasters have a brown solder mask. What is your opinion Jimicrk as far as depopulating my boards? Is it worth more in the long run to someone like me that has all the time to do it? If I just sell off the boards as is it kinda kills the hobby part for me.

My main reason for not doing it is because of the hazardous materials that are in some of the components. I don't wish to contaminate my work area or myself.
I like 520's idea. Sell your boards and buy your gold.

Originally Posted by Magzz63

Yes the solder mask, thank you Jimicrk. the sound blasters have a brown solder mask. What is your opinion Jimicrk as far as depopulating my boards? Is it worth more in the long run to someone like me that has all the time to do it? If I just sell off the boards as is it kinda kills the hobby part for me.

If you can safely depopulate boards without lead or silicate contamination then for your next batch do the math according to a buyer's price list before depopulating then compare it to what you get paid in your return for depopulated boards and precious metals returns. My own recommendation for the highest and safest returns is to take all that time you'd spend depopulating boards and use it to source more e-waste.

Originally Posted by JJinLV

If you can safely depopulate boards without lead or silicate contamination then for your next batch do the math according to a buyer's price list before depopulating then compare it to what you get paid in your return for depopulated boards and precious metals returns. My own recommendation for the highest and safest returns is to take all that time you'd spend depopulating boards and use it to source more e-waste.

I thank you for your advice on checking with buyers price list. According to the list I was looking at and the weight of some of my scrap, I have been making almost nothing for my
time spent. Trimmed gold fingers $25 lb, I put to much time into a pound to get back $25. I have lots of CPU'S and found the price list just confusing. I wish I had never started removing things from the scrap. I guess my next step is to learn more about the scrap and stop removing things til I know its worth it. I still have about 100 mother boards untouched, so now i need to find a local buyer.

Originally Posted by Magzz63

I thank you for your advice on checking with buyers price list. According to the list I was looking at and the weight of some of my scrap, I have been making almost nothing for my
time spent. Trimmed gold fingers $25 lb, I put to much time into a pound to get back $25. I have lots of CPU'S and found the price list just confusing. I wish I had never started removing things from the scrap. I guess my next step is to learn more about the scrap and stop removing things til I know its worth it. I still have about 100 mother boards untouched, so now i need to find a local buyer.

With CPU's you should be able to just send them to the buyer and let them sort them out for you.

520, did you check your cards for gold plating? If you do have some there is a way to remove the solder mask so not to scratch the gold if you need to.

Originally Posted by Magzz63

520, did you check your cards for gold plating? If you do have some there is a way to remove the solder mask so not to scratch the gold if you need to.

No. All my sound blaster cards are new in box. If they don't sell then i'll just scrap them for 3.50 a pound.