eBay Auctions - Local Pickup Only for small lots - Is this confusing?

This is Brad from SaveMyServer. I am running into a little problem with our CPU listings on eBay. Our e-scrap agreement with a certain vendor requires us to process equipment in small batches and report on each batch. We are not allowed to combine batches or mix with other equipment. Often the batches are 3-5 servers which amounts to 6-10 processors. We put our eBay CPU auctions up for 99 cents but it doesn't make sense to have shipping at $5/order so we specify this as Local Pickup only. In our description we state that most of our buyers buy multiple batches and we are happy to combine orders into one shipment to save on postage fees. However, we are getting very little exposure on eBay. I think eBay might be showing our listings to the Atlanta area only because we designated local pickup only. Does anyone else have a suggestion? It would be better if we could sell 200 processors at a time, but we need individual tracking on the lots. We can't put free shipping on the listings because most lots we are only receiving 99 cents (90 cents after eBay fees). We have a bunch of small lots and we have to process them as quickly and easily as possible. Thanks for your ideas.

I'm not understanding not mixing with other equipment. So you're saying you have to keep them in their own isolated area, break them down, and then individually take the components to their next destination without anything else going with it? So, say you take apart one server, you have to then carry the one motherboard to some place by itself, take the steel frame by itself to the scrap yard, bring the wire by itself, etc?

If this is just a tracking thing, just keep track of what you have in each grouping of scrap. If you have box "A" with mixed processors, you can then have an inventory list of where each of them came from.

This just seems harder than it has to be.

My client wants to make sure their e-waste will not be sent overseas where it would be processed with cyanide or mercury. I typically receive a pallet at a time from this customer. I am allowed to resell working components as I please but e-waste needs to have an individual record of each lot. I can combine steel, but not processors, memory and boards. This leaves me with small lots of processors. I might try putting it down for $1 shipping. Normally, one buyer purchases 20 lots so I can combine shipping. The local pickup seems to be confusing.

Selling your boards, cpus , etc to anyone on ebay does not say anything about the final destination of the material.

Thanks for all of the posts! You have confirmed my belief that listing the processors as local pickup only is hurting my business. I was wondering why we weren't getting buyers. We'd list 17 ounces of Pentium III processors and they would sell at 99 cents or wouldn't sell at all. Recycling isn't the main focus of our business, but it looks like we can do a little better. I'll check with our client and see if I can convince them to allow us to combine lots for a better price. My board dealer offered me $2/lb for all of our processors, but I think they are worth a lot more. We have several small lots of ceramic CPUs listed on eBay. Is eBay still an okay marketplace to list larger lots? I'm assuming so, since there is a forum dedicated to eBay buyers and sellers here. I figured a few pounds of processors wouldn't be worth the time for a dealer. Is there a demand for smaller lots through eBay? Or should I give up this approach entirely? I appreciate your responses. eBay is easiest for us since we already have our business there for our servers.

Your leaving much money on the table, this is what they're saying along with all the ebay stuff.

Numbers speak volume.

.99 each, plus shipping.. how your currently selling them I take it. Vs. 4.50 lb for the cheapies all the way up to 95.00lb for the high end.

An if you continue to sell on eBay you should be selling them in lots to refiners. I understand where your client is coming from on watching where the waste goes downsteam, an I commend them on it, but they really need to free you up a little so you can max your profit. Maybe promise you'll only sell them as refining material an only to folks in the US and Canada.

Good luck with it, but like the others are saying your leaving a lot of money on the table. An the guy who offered you 2.00lb for them is beat by at lest one of our buyers here on the forum. Might want to go dig around the buyer threads for various ewaste items an make your getting good prices.

Again much luck to you, oh an welcome to the forums. Ha! Two birds one piece of scrap..

Sirscrapalot - Keeper of the traveling cooler.