cost of shipping worth the effort?

Hi,
I have a bunch of computers and parts I need to get rid of. I used to have a repair and have lots of electronic waste to get rid of.
There isn't any local escrap buyers so my only option is to ship or drive 100 plus miles one way to scrap them out.
Lets say I have 10 complete computers, 1- 286, 1 -386, 2- 486 and 6 Pentium / p4 mixed.
if I remove the mother board, cpu's, memory, isa & pci cards, and disassemble the hard drives and cd rom drives for escrap would it be worth my trouble by the time I pay shipping?
The metal from the cases would go to a local scrap yard along with other steel and metal scrap I have.

Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can give. I live in northern Michigan BTW

Depending on location an the buyer..I'd say maybe, but I'd be betting more likely not.

I'll shock every one here...For only 10 computers you may want to test the waters with eBay if your not already there, or a part of the down with eBay club(Free lighter with every membership! ). Could sell the boards for better then scrap price, an the buyer pays the shipping(see I do pay attention).

Unless your in the same state I'd say your better off selling on eBay, Cl or whatever, to one of our buyers here who pays more then scrap price for HD's. PTS an a couple others I believe do so.

Good luck an let us know how it turns out. Also, maybe adding your location, state at least could help us help you a little more, far as finding a buyer near you.

Sirscrapalot - Keeper of the traveling cooler.

Thanks for the info. I had a feeling it wouldn't be worth it. As I said I am in Northern Michigan.
I looked at doing ebay but the listing fees are usually not worth the cost if an item doesn't sell and I have so many computer parts here it would take a month of sundays to take pictures and list.
I just used the 10 computers as a start. I have piles of expansion boards and computer parts going back to the 8088 cpu's plus I vcr's and other equipment with low grade boards.
Tomorrow I will get a count and weigh some of what I have and see if any of the scrap dealer on here is interested.
It would almost be worth spending the money on shipping just to get rid of this crap.

well having a lot changes things. Ship away!



Like Mike I also ship to OH, an I'm on a sandbar out in the Atlantic. Far as listing fees, it's been a while since I've done the eBay thing so one of our experts will chime in with the best way for you to limit those. If I recall they used to offer so many free.

No matter which route you go good luck. Both seem as if they'll be profitable for you.

Sirscrapalot - If there is a post - it note, is there a unpost - it note?

Thanks you all, you have given me a lot to consider
I did a lot of looking at like items on ebay today and reading a lot of the escrap forums.
I also took an inventory of main components and tried to calculate what I might make scrapping everything out.
My grading skills are still developing but I think I could come out ahead a few dollars and get my workshop cleaned
out a little in the process.

I already have all of the computers tore down so the inventory went pretty fast.
CPU's
2- 486 dx 2 1.6 oz
1- 486 dx 4 .7 oz
1- 386 dx .6 oz
1- amd 586 p75 .8 oz
1- cyrix 686 mx gold top 1.6 oz
3 amd k6 2.4 oz with al top
5- p4 with heat sink 3.4
1- amd sempron 1.4 oz
1- celeron sl656 ?
1- celeron slot processor ?

total weight 12.5 oz maybe $30?

Memory
72 pin silver/tin 3.7 oz
72 pin gold 5.2 oz
ddr gold pin 1 lb 6 oz
1- rambus ?

total 1 lb 14 oz maybe $23.82

Mother Boards
2- 8088 3 lbs
4- 486 4.4 lbs
large socket 5.5 lbs
small socket 3.6 lbs
3- with cpu onboard 2.3 lbs

Total weight 18.8 lbs Maybe $48.73

Finger Cards (PCI, ISA, ect) 13.2 lbs Maybe $50.00

Hard Drives
1 5 1/4 out of 8088, the rest are 3.5 12 lbs maybe $9.00

If I am even close I figure the value $161.00.
47 pounds and if I can fit everything in 3 flat rate boxes it would cost 53.70 to ship leaving me $107 profit.
I tried to figure low and based it on Ewasted's current price list also if I have a ? after it in the inventory I didn't included it in the total, probably only a few cents difference anyway.
Still not bad, almost like getting paid to clean out my shop.
Now I just need to figure out what to do to get rid of all the plastic I removed from the cases.

Originally Posted by Metalbestos

You have a few buyers in your area . Check the buyers thread .

I have a few scrap yards in my area but none of them take escrap. The closest I have found in the buyers thread is 152 miles one way and they pay about 20% less then the buyer in Ohio.
Gas would cost about same as shipping so I would make more shipping it out of state.

Originally Posted by webuyselltradestuff

we also told you that you SHOULDN'T use your own shipping rates...request one from Ewasted...you put all of that stuff into ONE box and I bet you get .30-.40/lb.....it wil kick the crap out of any flat rate box you try to ship in because they won't all fit....I know I do this all the time. Ewasted get premium rates BECAUSE he gets so much shipped on his account.

We also told you to check ebay on the OLD stuff...ie the 5 1/4" drives even for parts will sell for more than scrap most likely....DID YOU CHECK TO SEE IF THEY WORKED?? Same with the 8088 BOARDS....they will sell for more than scrap most likely even if they don't work (either for gold recovery or someone will fix them that know what they are doing...if they work then ABSOLUTELY they will sell for more.

you also DO NOT ship floppy drives...not worth shipping...same with any hard drives...you pull the hard drive BOARD off and ship those at $10/lb....the hard drives themselves would be a losing deal. Take apart and sell locally...part are aluminum and the rest generally
stainless steel. there is a thread on this board about breaking down hard drives.

Just saying that we gave you some REALLY good info, but only part of it seemed to have been read.

Yes I read it all, didn't you read my post? I didn't list the floppys or cd rom drives because I didn't think it would be worth shipping them. I was just doing a quick inventory and figuring the least I would make if I scrapped the items on the list as is.
I did not realize from the posts that Ewasted could get better shipping rates though.
I am considering listing some of the old stuff on ebay but to be honest I am not doing it for the money, my main mission is to get my shop cleaned out so I have room to move around LOL. The sooner, the better, If I get less money but get the stuff gone quicker I'm ok with that.
I do plan on taking the boards out of all the drives shiiping them and scrapping the metal parts locally

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Pull the boards out of the cd/dvd drives also.
I sent 40 some lb to Ohio for about $17.-18. shipping, how could you not come out ahead??
Put it all in one box, take the smaller stuff and put in sandwich bags, freezer bags. On the rambus, pull the heatsink and put it into the regular memory pile. Keep the silver memory separate.

Is it worth it escrap the boards out of the floppy drives too or would I be better off scrapping the whole lot locally?

wow u guys get much lower rates from ewasted than me maybe its my box size I use 22*18*12 3 boxes 140lbs I just shipped for $119 prepaid maybe not shipping enough weight at a time though too

Because of distance (Calif. to Ohio) I think for me it would be more cost effective to ship a 600 pound + pallet. Rather than shipping many 70 pound boxes more frequently. I think even if it was just once a year. Am I wrong? Has any one worked out the cost difference between many boxes and a single pallet? When you consider time, distance and efficiency factor, has me convinced that a pallet would be best for me! Would like the feedback, as most of you have way more experience with e-waste. To everetswift thanks for the post and not trying to hijack your thread, hopefully just add to it.