Best way to buy E-scrap?

CL ads, facebook, flyers, lots of ways. I dont wanna sound rude here man, but a quick search will give you even more ways. This question has been asked and answered a million and one times lol

But wait...Didnt you just have a hot lead on becoming a buyer for a scrap yard...?

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So I'm pretty much tired of cold reading PC repair shops asking if they have scrap. Is there a better way to do it, allowing me to buy and ship Gaylord's to my buyers

I'm sure if there's someone here doing that then their probably keeping it a secret. People have to work hard to get an in and sometimes they just don't want to give it all away.

With cash.

Originally Posted by Chrissm14

ive been posting on craigslist and freecycle, and picking up everything that people email me about. i wasnt saying no to anything but lately ive had to say no to larger tvs, running out of room. but i made business cards and ive given them out at every stop, and friday i picked up 2 towers 3 laptops a tv several stero receivers/amps and a bunch of other things. that person gave my card to someone else and now ive got my first large pickup next friday from a business. 10 towers, 7 tvs 2 microwaves, a few monitors, several printers and other computer accessories. Also i may be getting loads like this regularly from this guy. networking pays off ive only been doing this for less than 2 months, i havent ever even been to the scrap yard. also im doing it out of a 95 integra lol.

^this guy right here knows how its done. Take notes. Cant get a much better answer.

2 months in and your doing a hell of alot better than I am, being 6-8 months in. Good job!

Only a couple of times have I been able to go to one place and buy a Gaylord of boards then turn around and ship them to a buyer...........Normally it pays to go thru any Gaylord and pull out better stuff that the other individual or company may have left behind

Originally Posted by AuburnEwaste

I have found PC repair shops to be mostly a waste of time. You can go in and throw money at them and they still don't care. In 3 years of doing this I was able to convince 2 shops to let me haul away their old junk for free, and found one that will sell it to me.

My advice is to focus on customers who will jump at the chance to give it to you for free. Find the way to get businesses to come to YOU, not the other way around. I have not paid for scrap in over a year and I do just fine. I do have several accounts that sell me their working parts for re sale, but I never pay for scrap unless it is too good to turn down.

Focus on getting it for free, or even better get paid to remove it.

I used to have a small PC repair shop. Maybe the problem is that a Scrapper and a Tech look at the same item in a different light.

1) Everything is inventory and is priced per piece, NOT weight. Most likely that stick of memory has more worth to them than to you. Techs are paid to repair and sell stuff.
2) PC Techs are notorious hoarders but everything is for sale for the right price.
3) Different techs have different culling levels. Older stuff is more valuable to you. It is less valuable to them.
4) Time is money. Some time is worth more money. A tech might have 4 used PC's to work on per 1 used PC worth of time. Buy the worst 2 or 3.
5) Small shops are hurting for more money.

Advice...
1) Get them when they are not as busy. May and June were my slow periods. July and November were my Zerg rushes. I was more able to talk in my evenings when I was tired and done for the day and looking at revenue for the day and week. Hitting me in the morning or afternoon, during my A Game, during my busy season, is just going to piss me off. Hit them end of month when they are looking to pay the rent.

2) Keep it simple, keep it stupid. My yard pays steel price( 11.5 cents\pound) for incomplete PCs, laptops, printers, keyboards, peripherals, etc. Pays much higher( 60 cents\pound for wiring) and in between for Aluminum, complete PCs, power supplies, etc.

At that rate, maybe give them 10 cents\ pound for everything acceptable, 25 cents\ pound for aluminum, power adapters, and wiring, $1\pound for all motherboards, finger cards, and other circuit boards, $4\pound for all memory and CPU's? They will give you there oldest and most broken stuff. You will get the more valuable oldest stuff and work it for every cent. They will break it down for you for more money if they have the time.

Note, my biggest money maker so far is the wiring. I had more old school printer, floppy, IDE, SCSI, KVM, serial, UFO cables than I knew what to do with. Not so much memory which is typically precious to me. Also I laughed and looked at those guys like they were nuts at the idea of having a complete laptop. Most were already boned for screens, memory, and hard drives like a plane at AMARC. I would make complete PC's but that takes time. Disassembled components and odds and ends were no problem.

3) Give them a price sheet with your business card. Maybe pop in once a month and give them another one. Hit them up twice a month in May and June.

4) Be able to work with small batches on a constant basis. I'm not going to have a Gaylord box in my store or Gaylord box quantities. Most guys don't even know what a Gaylord box is. I could make room for a recycle tables, rack, or area and maybe top off the wire bin, throw in a couple extra towers, throw in a another old motherboard or laptop in a box the night before a two week pickup if it can get me a extra pack of smokes, a pizza, or pay my electricity, etc.

Originally Posted by KzScrapper

With cash.

Lol you beat me to it!!!