Things to consider when breaking items down - Page 2

I think this is a great post. I would like to add how my system works. I will use e waste as an example.

I break down everything to what I call the first level of selling. This is the level where I can go right ahead and sell and be in the green. Then go on to the next item.

I only break down past lvl one if there is significant financial reasons, I'm out of scrap, I not worried about my $ per hour, I am multiplying earnings.



What I mean about not being worried about my $ per hour is this: I want to hang out with the family but the kids want to watch a movie with talking animals. I may break down a printer or pull pins. These are times where I am concerned about my earnings per hour as long as I am earning.

What I mean by multiplying earnings is any situation where I am being paid a wage or salary. I am currently still hauling manure. So last winter being stuck in Nebraska I could only work when it was light out. I would bring stuff, or find stuff to break down when I couldn't haul or waiting to be loaded, because even if I was only making an extra two blocks an hour it was better than watching TV in a camper with people I hate.

I guess nothing I said has anything to do with the OP lol which I agree with fully. I will sometimes break stuff down knowing chances are I'm wasting my time just to confirm or learn what's in it and decide for my self. If you learn from mistakes I'm going to be a super genius.

I dig the scale Metalbestos.

easy way to figure it out (and sometimes you have to do a few to learn)....FIRST thing you have to do is put a $$$ value on your time...ie HOW much do I need to make an hour based on the amount of time you scrap to make $XXXX. Once you have that figure it becomes pretty easy...if I broke down <whatever> for one hour, HOW much did I make more than what I could originally get for it....if that number is not the $$$ value you set for that hour of time or more, then nope. not worth it....use the time better by finding more stuff that WILL pay you the $$$/hr you set.

Easy example: I have my time valued at $50/hr...and I have a bunch of brown boards (like in many electronics, power supplier etc) (and I am not even looking at the time it took to get those out of whatever they were in since we are keeping it simple). They have some copper bearing things and generally some aluminum heatsinks

I get about .18/lb on brown board (give or take as I haven't taken any in in the last month)....

pulling the copper bearing stuff pays me what like .22/lb or something and aluminum like .28/lb (again just pulling some number I remember, but YMMV)...generally there is about 80% of the weight of those 2 as aluminum and 20% copper bearing AT BEST....

So I have to pull 45 odd POUNDS of copper bearing (that is for a whole $10) and 142 POUND of friggin' aluminum to MAKE $50/hr.......ummm not going to happen unless I had an AIR CHISEL that would cause me TONS of cleanup time for the brown board stuff AND EVEN THEN, I am betting 45 and 142 pounds is not going to happen....maybe, but my money is not on it.

THAT is the math...unless you have some REALLY cool equipment like say a wire chopper that can process 100 pounds of wire per hour automated....OR unless you have ACCESS to really big stripable copper or aluminum wire and a professional machine to do it.

WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER....the yards have spent the multiple $10K's or 100K's on the big equipment where they can pull that off...if you don't have the "good stuff" or equip to do it, use your time smater and just go get more stuff or more valuable stuff...I CAN do $50/hr on computers not trying to squeeze a few cents per pound out of whatever....it just is not physically possible in many cases, so on to other stuff.

AGAIN, your hourly may be different, BUT if you want to make any DECENT profit (minus expenses, insurance etc) AND keep your body in one piece, then SET your WORTH first and work around that. REMEMBER - profits happen when you buy/acquire it NOT when you sell it....IMO of course