Bad pricing?

So I've been reading on here a lot and noticing the prices some of you guys get for your escrap. I then go look at the the closest escrap yard to me prices and I'm confused. This is what they pay:

Clean Green Motherboards $2.25 /lb.
CPU Processor Chips $5-10.00 /lb.
Memory Chips $5.00 /lb.
Harddrives w/Board $0.55 /lb.
Power Supplies $0.30 /lb.
Low Grade Non PC Boards $0.10 /lb.
Insulated Wire $1.00 /lb.
Laptops $0.40 /lb.
Back Panels CALL
Servers $0.18-$0.35/ lb.
Telecom Equipment CALL
Harddrive PC Board $3.00 /lb.
Whole Computer Towers w/HD $0.27/lb.
Cell Phones (NO BATTERY) $1.00/ lb.
Non-Green Motherboards $1.00/lb.
AL Heat Sinks $0.53 /lb.



Seems like they are way undercutting... Am I wrong or should I be looking for somewhere else?

Use a buyer here and you need to include shipping. And most things with shipping you would still make more money than this yard is paying. But you need to take advantage of the other stuff that would cost too much to mail out with the local yard.

Power Supplies $0.30 /lb.
Low Grade Non PC Boards $0.10 /lb.
Insulated Wire $1.00 /lb.

It looks like your insulated wire and low-grade boards aren't a bad price. Everything else is not great. Like others have mentioned, check out the buyers in the Buyers/Sellers section... even with shipping you might come out way ahead.

I use a buyer in North NJ that I found on this forum. He has good reviews here too.

Originally Posted by smvulture

So I've been reading on here a lot and noticing the prices some of you guys get for your escrap. I then go look at the the closest escrap yard to me prices and I'm confused. This is what they pay:

Clean Green Motherboards $2.25 /lb.
.......edited for brevity....
AL Heat Sinks $0.53 /lb.

Seems like they are way undercutting... Am I wrong or should I be looking for somewhere else?

Hi smvulture,

I visit that particular Morris County yard at least once a week, but I don't take the "high end" e-scrap to them. I take electric motors, #1 copper, #2 copper, insulated wire, brass, sealed units, dirty copper fin, Christmas lights, stainless steel, batteries, romex...basically everything in the top section of their online pricing.

The middle section, what they call "Computer Scrap - Price Listings" -- the only thing I take there is low grade circuit boards.

All the other e-scrap I sell to some of the buyers who get good marks on this site, as suggested by all of the members above.

Back to the yard in question, I can only say positive things about dealing with them. My one suggestion is if you have any doubts about a board grade, don't bring it there. They tend to view virtually any board that doesn't sparkle as "low grade." So as long as you know your boards, good to go.

Again, I give them 100% recommendation for being fast service plus fair and honest dealings. I've made more money with them on copper than at other places that quote higher rates, simply because they give you an honest weight. I'll be in there tomorrow morning with a few buckets.

you are paying for convenience when you sell to a local buyer instead of shipping. a lot of them are probably selling them for about what we get from the buyers on here, maybe a little more.
You may want to get to know the guys at the yard while you sell them the metal and lower grade escrap, then talk to them about prices. maybe they are getting ripped off on something and you can either buy from them or be a hero and tell them what they should be getting and maybe hook them up with a better buyer

Originally Posted by volvoscrapper

Hi smvulture,

I visit that particular Morris County yard at least once a week, but I don't take the "high end" e-scrap to them. I take electric motors, #1 copper, #2 copper, insulated wire, brass, sealed units, dirty copper fin, Christmas lights, stainless steel, batteries, romex...basically everything in the top section of their online pricing.

The middle section, what they call "Computer Scrap - Price Listings" -- the only thing I take there is low grade circuit boards.

All the other e-scrap I sell to some of the buyers who get good marks on this site, as suggested by all of the members above.

Back to the yard in question, I can only say positive things about dealing with them. My one suggestion is if you have any doubts about a board grade, don't bring it there. They tend to view virtually any board that doesn't sparkle as "low grade." So as long as you know your boards, good to go.

Again, I give them 100% recommendation for being fast service plus fair and honest dealings. I've made more money with them on copper than at other places that quote higher rates, simply because they give you an honest weight. I'll be in there tomorrow morning with a few buckets.

I wasn't putting them down by any means. Just thought it looked weird. That is probably what I'm going to do as well. Not so good at board grading yet though since I'm pretty new to this. Thank you everyone too. Once I get some bulk I'll be talking to some of the buyers.

cool. for now just give them your brown boards, and keep studying the past discussions in this forum, best resource you'll find

not sure where you are but I've gotten only good reports about the guy in Newton, but again, not for e-scrap.

I've been up to the one in newton too. But that was just bulk steel. I'm just moved to the stokholme area.

Those prices look good for a local place,

If I were you I wo8uld try to find a local e-scrap buyer that would give you better prices on low grade and mid grade boards. my .02

Originally Posted by happyscraper

If I were you I wo8uld try to find a local e-scrap buyer that would give you better prices on low grade and mid grade boards. my .02

Better than .10 for low grade boards?

Originally Posted by hobo finds

Better than .10 for low grade boards?

I get .25 for low grade.

I wouldn't even harvest low grade boards for .10# I'm not telling how much I get for low grade but I will tell you I pay .22# for them.

Originally Posted by happyscraper

I wouldn't even harvest low grade boards for .10# I'm not telling how much I get for low grade but I will tell you I pay .22# for them.

Agreed, I can easily pay 0.20-0.30/lb for them, maybe a little better if you have 1000 lbs or more!

Originally Posted by volvoscrapper

hey that's great, but Florida? Maine? British Columbia? I can buy a cup of coffee in Michigan for a quarter!

There's a guy in Japan who will pay me $3/lb for watermelons.

After I take care of him I'll ship my low grade to you guys. I'll save 'em up in and put 'em in an appliance carton -- about 100 pounds. It'll take me about six months to do that, and it will consume about a third of my garage.

After you get them, you can "easily pay" me...let's see, move the decimal point...wow...$30! That's awesome! I'd only get $10 from my local guy. That's $20 more...at the volume I do, it means I'll make an extra $3.33 per month!

Wait! Hold the phone! I forgot to account for shipping.

How much will cost me to ship an oversized box full of 100 lbs broken circuit boards to Canada? Gotta be less than the watermelons.

Maybe I'll haul 'em to Maine? The tolls are $32., but I'll make it up on the way back because there's no westbound toll on the Tappan Zee.

I was not saying to ship them to someone, just comparing prices.
I have a local yard that pays about .30 per pound less for motherboard then shipping to a buyer on this forum. It coast that or more to ship them. I have to go to the yard for other stuff so it saves me time. There are a few things they are low on like hard drive boards and he would not buy gold cable ends so I still will ship some items.
Chris