Value of recovered circuit boards continue to slide

Deflation is the main factor. This will not continue for much longer. I would take this opportunity to stockpile precious metals as well as base metals. When this bubble bursts prices are going to go way up.

THAT is a very interesting article....sheds some light on the true values of circuit boards. Doesn't differentiate between green or Chinese boards either.

OH great now all the newbs who just look at the chart and don't read the actual report will think there boards are worth $8 a pound

Originally Posted by PartTimeScrapper

OH great now all the newbs who just look at the chart and don't read the actual report will think there boards are worth $8 a pound

Good point PartTimeScrapper. So to make it clear this is on average the value of the metal in boards after they are completely refined and does not include any of the cost of refining it.

Originally Posted by jghilino

Deflation is the main factor. This will not continue for much longer. I would take this opportunity to stockpile precious metals as well as base metals. When this bubble bursts prices are going to go way up.

I'm curious. I've seen you mention deflation a couple of times now. Deflation is negative inflation, as in the costs of living, or purchasing goods decreasing, in effect increasing your purchasing power with the same amount of money. As this is completely opposite to what I myself am experiencing (and I don't see others experiencing anything different), could you maybe specify what exactly you're referring to?

As for the referenced article; as it's simply a guesstimate of what the total value of mid-grade boards might be once completely, totally recycled, with 100% recovery of all values, with absolutely zero associated costs accounted for; I really don't think it should factor too heavily into anyone's pricing schedule. If moron newby scrappers take it as gospel, let them run with it and buy up and process everything in sight. Then, once reality hits and they go broke, come to their bankruptcy auction/garage sale and make some decent $$.

I found the article interesting in the fact that there was no difference or mention in the types of boards that they were talking about. It was circuit board value. Not green board value, colored board value, just circuit board value. I think it would be interesting to find out the value of certain boards. Say take a 10 lb lot of green small socket boards, 10 lb each of red,yellow,blue small socket boards, remove all the excess metals and plastics and then have each lot incinerated separately and refined separately. I think it would be interesting to find out what the yields would be on the pm content. There is no pricing difference between colored finger cards and green finger cards. The only difference is if the finger is removed or not, if they are manufactured the same as motherboards with the same type of solder masking, then why no difference in pricing?

Now we all know that no one in their right mind is going to pay $7+ for circuit boards unless they want to go broke and no one should expect that pricing from any buyer here. It could be an option for some though to take their boards , get a big enough load, and bring them to a reputable refiner and have them refined if the payouts are anywhere near the $7+ per pound rate that the article spoke of.

And this is why I never pay for scrap. No matter what happens to the price I always come out winning.

Fairly recently and perhaps because of complaints of the third world countries that it affects most, laws have been enforced and passed to prevent lower grade e-waste being sent overseas from the US. E-Waste refineries used to be able to cherry pick the very best boards, sending the lower grade boards overseas. Because of new restrictions, and new licensing requirements, these refineries are now required to process all the material they receive instead of cherry picking only the very best. This brings down the percentages that are being seen today.

I posted on another thread about plating, and a good book to read about the subject. Plating has not really changed at all in recent times, this is because in order to be useful, it must be a certain thickness and carry a certain electrical load. So it's not the plating, it's the fact that e-waste recyclers are now required by law to process material they otherwise would choose not to.

Here are some interesting videos on what this type of processing has caused in the past for other countries receiving the United States unwanted E-Waste.







And this is probably the best report by 60 minutes.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n

An interesting side note, I am being offered material I was never offered before because the refineries that are currently processing the e-scrap are 8 weeks backlogged on most accounts. This will also decrease the value placed on this type of material as the refineries that process it, have too much and the recycling industry is probably decades behind ramping up to deal with it.

Scott

[QUOTE=BRASSCATCHER;142451]I found the article interesting in the fact that there was no difference or mention in the types of boards that they were talking about. It was circuit board value. Not green board value, colored board value, just circuit board value. I think it would be interesting to find out the value of certain boards. Say take a 10 lb lot of green small socket boards, 10 lb each of red,yellow,blue small socket boards, remove all the excess metals and plastics and then have each lot incinerated separately and refined separately. I think it would be interesting to find out what the yields would be on the pm content. There is no pricing difference between colored finger cards and green finger cards. The only difference is if the finger is removed or not, if they are manufactured the same as motherboards with the same type of solder masking, then why no difference in pricing?

Now we all know that no one in their right mind is going to pay $7+ for circuit boards unless they want to go broke and no one should expect that pricing from any buyer here. It could be an option for some though to take their boards , get a big enough load, and bring them to a reputable refiner and have them refined if the payouts are anywhere near the $7+ per pound rate that the article spoke of.[/QUOTE

You are making the assumption that most of the general public that read that article have a modicum of common sense like experienced cyber scrappers, when most don't. all you have to do is look at reality shows and see how they have affected the pricing of most every available source we have. server and computer buy prices continue to rise while pay outs continue to decline.

If my computer store/repair customers read that article half of them will tell me that 5 lbs of boards in that scrap computer are worth $35 so I want at least $25v or $30 per unit now.

You are making the assumption that most of the general public that read that article have a modicum of common sense like experienced cyber scrappers, when most don't. all you have to do is look at reality shows and see how they have affected the pricing of most every available source we have. server and computer buy prices continue to rise while pay outs continue to decline.

If my computer store/repair customers read that article half of them will tell me that 5 lbs of boards in that scrap computer are worth $35 so I want at least $25v or $30 per unit now.

Full article at Scrap Metal Forum: http://www.scrapmetalforum.com/elect...#ixzz2PxHfvy9h

First I dont believe the general public will ever see that article since it looks to be from a recycling trade website. Yes, you are absolutley correct that the general public does not have a modicum of commone sense when it comes to ewaste. I have been told that there is hundreds of dollars of gold in a computer tower by people that have answered my cl ads. I tell them that when they find out who will pay that amount to please let me know so I can sell to them as well.

Hopefully your computer repair store customers have more common sense than the general public considering the business they are in. I have spoken to a few repair places and I buy from two with a third hopefully beginning next week. The people in the indusrty know the value of the scrap that they have and most places are looking to get rid of it due to space restrictions. The places I deal with do not have the time or employees to dedicate to breaking down towers, sorting parts and/or either going to a scrap yard or shipping it out to wait for a check. As a matter of fact the places that I do buy from I pay less than what the biggest buyer near me pays, because I offer the service of picking up their scrap.

I dont think the article is going to put a run on circuit boards or drive up the asking prices of sellers to buyers. That article does shed a bit of light on what can possibly be gained by going direct to a refiner with a large load of material. It also shows what some of the larger buyers in the country, like a Boardsort, may be looking at on their ROI. Granted the buyers have ALOT more overhead than myself or you or anyone of the other thousands of scrappers that are members or lurkers here. But for someone that does have the space and time to gather boards,ram etc it gives them an option on what to do with their materials.

I will ask this though and I do not expect you to give an answer nor am I asking anyone else here to answer this either. If someone is a buyer on this forum and they advertise prices that are lower than the bigger buyers here, like an ewasted, barren etc, and they have always sold to these buyers, but now their business is growing and doing well in their areas, are they going to continue to sell to ewasted or barren or are they going to go direct to the refiners looking for the larger payout?