Trying to collect escrap. Where's the best place to get it? - Page 2

Sirscrap is right... $1 per phone is aboutwhat tou get retail per pound on most phones for sscrap.ie not your goal to break even. I buy used smart phones...and I have paid $200 for a cracked screen iphone that functions fine...only because i can unlock it and flip it (at that time) for $300ish on ebay aftwr the unlock. I pay for NO phone that 8s not for resale...I take care of those asa courtesy...I make about $1 on scrap for phone and a bit on battery. Way too many of those running around to pay for them....UNLESS a business has a bunch...then I might offer .10-.25 each for non smart...but not unless last resort. Ie If I get $4/lb I might pay $1/lb so I make $2-2.50/ lb after expenses.

Everyone is into escrap now its hard to buy now

Originally Posted by miked

Do more reading in the electronics section. Net work with your family and friends, as always. You are not the only one doing this so many may have asked before you. Start small and build on success, do again what has worked for you.

Contact other scrapers in your area and ask them to sell you there computer finds. DO NOT over pay for what you buy. I still pay $3-$5 for computer towers. You NEED to have the experience of processing all those items so you will know the return for YOU. Be careful paying for everything before you know what you can make off of them. Prices change and if you read the old threads you will understand that from the examples in them.

Once you establish a price you pay to one of your suppliers it difficult to lower the price with out a reason other that you paid too much before. I learned this the hard way.
Thanks for the wisdom, Mike..much appreciated. LOL Yeah,the "Lots of gold" comment always makes me laugh too-THAT much I do know.
I am so thankful for this forum!!. Have a great day!

Also you run into people who try to convince you they know that "there's lots of gold in those computers". I have to work hard not to laugh at them when I hear them tell me that.

Again there are uncounted numbers of examples of where to find ewaste hidden in the old threads. Mike.

Thanks for the wisdom, Mike..much appreciated. LOL Yeah,the "Lots of gold" comment always makes me laugh too-THAT much I do know.
I am so thankful for this forum!!. Have a great day!

Reading this i feel the need to chime in to the OP im going to paint you a picture when it comes to buying ewaste from the public at least in my experience vs free removal

My adds usually state "why pay (insert company name) haul your stuff to the landfill when i will come to your door or location of choice and remove free of charge"

responses to this ad are usually quite plentiful and it makes people feel like they are getting a good deal ('i dont have to do the work to get rid of it and they dont even charge me" I often get asked how i make any money doing it like this the few times i tested posts offering to pay "iso your unwanted and broken computers (up to 5 for towers and up to 10 for laptops) it caused some problems imo.

Problem #1 when you offer to haul somethign off for free you are instilling in the person that it does not have much of a value and the work verse profit is no anythign they want to get into. By offering to buy it you have informed them that there is a value to it and it will turn Joe Schmoe down the street into your competition!

Problem #2 at the very least everyone will feel that their item is worth your maximum price

Problem #3 Most people become greedy quite fast so you are offering up to 5 or 10 and even when you offer your max price they expect to get more because they "know" you must be making a good amount of money on it and they feel they are entitled to most of if not all the profit the item can produce

Problem #4 because of problem #3 you will end up declining several deals offered to you which will in turn give people a bad taste and they will tell their friend "good for nothing would not pay me for my stuff like they said they would"

that was the long so here is the short

offering discounted or free disposal will make it look like you are doing them a favor and in my case has gotten me more stuff "hey while your hear what would you charge to take XXXXXXXXX away to". But once you confirm there is a value you may end up losing out on alot of stuff Its better to offer free removal and then pay them a lil bit after the fact this will get you a great referance "hey ya know that guy that came offers free disposal well he came by and picked up all the stuff and even gave me a few bucks for some of it

And yes being personable is the best i have several repeat customers because i am polite i actually had one seek me out on facebook asking where was the "nice guy that takes time to talk to you went i have a working dryer and 2 working ac's i want him to haul off"

Wondering on how scalemomma is making out. X 10 on getting your name out there and having patience. I started by plastering ads in the local Facebook "for free" and "yard sale" pages, even got booted off of one. I had been getting calls sporadically until today... it's freaking NEW YEAR'S EVE and I've had 5 calls today for e-scrap pick ups and even a few bed frames. Just went to get a cup of coffee and one of the guys I work with stopped me in the hall, he's cleaning out his garage and getting rid of all of the electronics that are just sitting around. Towers, printers (yup I take them), monitors, keyboards, even 2 still new in the wrapper mother boards, a few years old but should be fine for Linux boxes if I can find RAM and CPUs for them.

Bottom line, keep plugging away and get your name out however you can. I don't expect a avalanche every day but everybody that's called me has asked if they can pass my name along to their friends. I'm gonna have to find some place to store these CRTs until the recycler comes back to town, I'll have a couple of pickup loads for them LOL.

Good luck!

Rabid

I'm new but learning quick, Dumpsters, side of the road are good places to start, but people seem to be afraid of just throwing out electronics...especially computers. I've found the best places are peoples homes. My family has old computers from the 80's, I just went around asking them if they had old Computers, Printers, Scanners, Hard Drives, CD/DVD Roms, Floppy Disk Drives, and even Ink Cartridges. You would be surprised at the amount I came up with, Right now I'm researching each computer components to see if anyone wants them whole before I tare them down for scrap metal. Good Luck

The only things I can suggest are.

'Swap a computer for 1lb dry cat food' advertisement.
Most computer people are cat people and having a 'quirk' in your ad may make the difference.
I can put up with being hungry, but I can't put up with a hungry cat......

Real estate agents, seem to go thru computers pretty quickly.

'On the spot hard drive wiping'. Probably actually involves using a screwgun, torx driver and hammer.....