escrap questions - Page 2

Originally Posted by happyscraper

First, don't forget to take the plastic off the slot processor. Second, take a flat screw driver and a hammer and see if you can get the screw driver between the aluminum and the copper it should be soldered on and it should pop right off.

I actually thought of doing that like an hour ago, as I am going through my inventory of escrap.

Will let you know tomorrow if it was a success, and I hope so! lol

So, I have been curious, since my time here, I have read from many of you on how much ewaste you send in.

So, out of curiosity, how do you guys decide when it is time to cash in? I realize that the market is one key factor.

But do you base it on how many computers you break down, say every 30, you cash in?

Or do you base it on lbs. Say, every 50 lbs you cash in?

I like to cash in every week or 2 if possible. But thats usually when im getting around 1000-2000 lbs i flipping out cause im running out of space. Today alone filled my garage glad i got a pickup scheduled for next week. AND im finally getting paid the same day for all my Escrap is a Christmas miracle.

Originally Posted by GeorgeB

So, I have been curious, since my time here, I have read from many of you on how much ewaste you send in.
So, out of curiosity, how do you guys decide when it is time to cash in? I realize that the market is one key factor.
But do you base it on how many computers you break down, say every 30, you cash in?
Or do you base it on lbs. Say, every 50 lbs you cash in?

I base mine on if I need money at the time for bills or maybe to buy another load. I try to sell a couple of hundred pounds at a time to make it worthwhile.

I thought I was going to ship every month or so when I first started about 5 months ago. My first delivery was scrap from about 120 towers and servers. My 2nd month I thought I mastered my skill and doubled my frst month. So I thought Id keep that pace. But for whatever reason I ended up stockpiling and skipped a month. Then the prices dropped and in a way I'm glad they did. It gave me time to rethink my game and that's what led me to this forum. Since then I've learned to resell before I scrap and I've built a strong network of four guys who battle it out for my my "good" towers and LCD monitors. I've now sold over 10 towers for $50. Its safe to say I sell about 35 percent of all my towers for $20 to $40. In about 2 months time i have sold a total of 54 towers and 68 monitors. Now that prices have gone up a bit I'm now making arrangements to deliver over 4000 lbs. This wasn't the original plan but it's where I'm at today. I choose to drive my stuff to my buyer so I can spend some time learning from him. So to answer your question, since I basically have the space and storage containers to hold 4000 pounds I wait till I have that quantity. I was able to accumulate that in 2 months after selling what I could.

Originally Posted by Dunemaul

I like to cash in every week or 2 if possible. But thats usually when im getting around 1000-2000 lbs i flipping out cause im running out of space. Today alone filled my garage glad i got a pickup scheduled for next week. AND im finally getting paid the same day for all my Escrap is a Christmas miracle.

Well it will definitely take more time and networking to reach those weights, but that is pretty good. Who do you generally sell to?

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I base mine on if I need money at the time for bills or maybe to buy another load. I try to sell a couple of hundred pounds at a time to make it worthwhile.

That is exactly how I am. I have scrap metal stock piled at my in laws. Waiting for the prices to rebound which will be very soon around here!

Originally Posted by Scrapcrazy

I thought I was going to ship every month or so when I first started about 5 months ago. My first delivery was scrap from about 120 towers and servers. My 2nd month I thought I mastered my skill and doubled my frst month. So I thought Id keep that pace. But for whatever reason I ended up stockpiling and skipped a month. Then the prices dropped and in a way I'm glad they did. It gave me time to rethink my game and that's what led me to this forum. Since then I've learned to resell before I scrap and I've built a strong network of four guys who battle it out for my my "good" towers and LCD monitors. I've now sold over 10 towers for $50. Its safe to say I sell about 35 percent of all my towers for $20 to $40. In about 2 months time i have sold a total of 54 towers and 68 monitors. Now that prices have gone up a bit I'm now making arrangements to deliver over 4000 lbs. This wasn't the original plan but it's where I'm at today. I choose to drive my stuff to my buyer so I can spend some time learning from him. So to answer your question, since I basically have the space and storage containers to hold 4000 pounds I wait till I have that quantity. I was able to accumulate that in 2 months after selling what I could.

I have been seeing more and more people doing like you described. Selling some of the towers to guys for far more than scrap prices.

What kind of guys do you sell to? Computer repair?

I am going to be start working on building my network of those kinds of buyers.

Multiple people on the forum suggested I try to sell before scrap. I was hesitant cause I didn't know too much about computers bedsides tearing them apart. Then I simply posted "lots of misc. Computer parts" on Craigslist. The next day I had a guy over drooling over my piles. He was a refurbisher. He basically begged me not to break any more down till I called him. Since then I've met a few more guys. All refurbishers. They tend to be interested in all of my stuff less than 4 hrs old and almost all my lap tops. I have multiple hospitals I get computers from and they seem to get rid of a lot of newer stuff. Im working with a 600 bed hospital right now, by years end they will have replaced all their older towers, leaving me over 800. One of my refurbishers takes scrap from his other guys he buys towers from as a "favor" and gives me all of it. In return I give him a tower or two. It works out great.
Another thing I do is place all of my empty towers on Craigslist as computer scrap metal for free. I do this with hopes of meeting another refurbisher who is looking for empty towers, hopefully he'll want to buy. At a minimum, I meet people who say they'll swap me a few full towers for my next load of empty 50. This is my source of networking.

I have been seeing more and more people doing like you described. Selling some of the towers to guys for far more than scrap prices.
What kind of guys do you sell to? Computer repair?
I am going to be start working on building my network of those kinds of buyers.

I did that for a short while. I was contacted by a young man (computer geek) about my parts. Then he would take a few computers and rebuild them with some of my better parts and we'd sell them and split the profit. He moved quite a ways away so I'll have to go looking around again for another hobby/tech because I knew some of the computers looked really nice to be junking them. I made $115 off of 3 pieces.

Originally Posted by Scrapcrazy

Multiple people on the forum suggested I try to sell before scrap. I was hesitant cause I didn't know too much about computers bedsides tearing them apart. Then I simply posted "lots of misc. Computer parts" on Craigslist. The next day I had a guy over drooling over my piles. He was a refurbisher. He basically begged me not to break any more down till I called him. Since then I've met a few more guys. All refurbishers. They tend to be interested in all of my stuff less than 4 hrs old and almost all my lap tops. I have multiple hospitals I get computers from and they seem to get rid of a lot of newer stuff. Im working with a 600 bed hospital right now, by years end they will have replaced all their older towers, leaving me over 800. One of my refurbishers takes scrap from his other guys he buys towers from as a "favor" and gives me all of it. In return I give him a tower or two. It works out great.
Another thing I do is place all of my empty towers on Craigslist as computer scrap metal for free. I do this with hopes of meeting another refurbisher who is looking for empty towers, hopefully he'll want to buy. At a minimum, I meet people who say they'll swap me a few full towers for my next load of empty 50. This is my source of networking.

I was figuring that craigslist would be the best way of doing that.

I think that is what I am going to do here soon, is place a few ads on craigslist to get them to contact me. Then find out what specifically they are interested in the most, and be on the search for those pieces.

I have a lot of ewaste buyers around the area alone just for scrapping them, so I want to find some that will pay maybe better than scrap prices too.

It seems like almost every 3 or 4 junk hauling job that I have been doing now, I am getting between 1 to 3 pcs. It has been great.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

I did that for a short while. I was contacted by a young man (computer geek) about my parts. Then he would take a few computers and rebuild them with some of my better parts and we'd sell them and split the profit. He moved quite a ways away so I'll have to go looking around again for another hobby/tech because I knew some of the computers looked really nice to be junking them. I made $115 off of 3 pieces.

Yeah, that is why I would want a few contacts. When people buy stuff from me now, I always ask them, what else they are into it. I created a database and add to it, when I get new buyers, and in the database, I have what they search for it.

I am also doing that, because next year, once we get our takes back, I am taking between $500 to $1,000 and getting involved in storage auctions around here (Yes, I watch storage wars, and storage wars texas, but I am more realistic than that).

I just live in an area where storage places are as common as anything else. Plus, a friend of ours used to be storage managers, and another friend is a current storage manager, so I have good connections already.

So, in a few days, I will be able to test all my hard drives, and cd/dvd drives as well.

However, I was thinking about my video cards, sound cards, ethernet cards, etc. How do you test all of those?

Also, if I scrap them, is it better to remove the metal brackets that you plug your monitor and other stuff into?

Also, if I scrap them, is it better to remove the metal brackets that you plug your monitor and other stuff into?

That depends on your buyer, some do and some don't require you to remove the brackets, check with yours to know for sure.

Originally Posted by 1776Patriotism

What are the wires made of? Everyone I have cut into are silver in color, for towers, crts, and even on TV's. Is there any value to these wires, or trash, what do I do? Thanks.

Wow, have you done any of the reading yet, it is called tinned copper and almost always goes for #2 copper.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Wow, have you done any of the reading yet, it is called tinned copper and almost always goes for #2 copper.

Not to mention that there is no such thing as a wire that goes in the trash! If it has ANY metal at all it has value............PERIOD!













I'm old enough, by a long shot, to remember going to the library and spending days researching. If I was looking for a line from a poem or something else I needed, that would be the trip I would have to take.
Charlie Kaufman

Originally Posted by Hypoman

Not to mention that there is no such thing as a wire that goes in the trash! If it has ANY metal at all it has value............PERIOD!













I'm old enough, by a long shot, to remember going to the library and spending days researching. If I was looking for a line from a poem or something else I needed, that would be the trip I would have to take.
Charlie Kaufman

Exactly. However we live in a gimmie, gimmie, instant society now and kids just don't understand how things use to be.

Today it's all about the instant messaging, fast food dinners, and everything being handed to them on a silver platter. Then they throw the platter away cause they see no value.

It's only going to get worse from here on out for awhile.

Okay a few more questions.

I just got the stuff in the mail today to test hard drives, cd/dvd etc drives.

1. I have 4 programs to destroy hard drive data. The one I just used was Hard Drive Eraser. It took like an hour or so. (I took it off quick erase). Anyway, I dont have the patience for each program to take 1 or more hours. Granted, I could, but still. Anyways, for those of who you destroy them using a program, which one do you highly recommend?

I dont mind using 1 and it taking an hour, I just dont want to use 3 and they all take that long.

2. I am noticing on the hard drives that it says if 1 or more screws are missing then the warranties are void for it. On this particular HDD, 3 on one side, and 1 on the other side are missing. Would something possibly still buy this like that, or if it is missing even 1 screw, that it is just good for scrap?

3. I have several PCI cards...I would like to sell them for more than scrap, but how do you test them? Only way I can figure, is playing them into a scrap computer, and testing them that way, but im sure there is a better, smarter way of doing that. Also, would it be the same for RAM?

Thanks again!