Cable boxes at the scrap yard

I was at the scrap yard yesterday. I saw a guy start to throw cable boxes into the shred feed/tin pile. I said "hey my friend, those cable boxes have valuable boards in them." He looks at me puzzled and says "whhuuuuttt...." I grab my hatchet/hammer and 5 seconds later, I have the lid(top) removed with the board exposed. "That board right there has tiny amounts of precious metals including Gold and is worth $2-$3 per lb if you sell it to a specialized buyer of boards." His reply "I ain't gut no time fer dat."



Knowledge is one of the most greatest things in the world. Many people refuse to take the time to learn something new.

if it was me, i wouldnt tell the guy anything
wait till he goes away- then remove the boards myself.

let them figure it out themselves.
and as u said- some ppl are not even interested even after u tell them.

Don't know what yard you guys are going to, but we can't remove (or even buy) anything once it is in the pile.

with my main yard- even if i go to offload my stuff after weighing and i see anything in the shred/subgrade heap that i want- no problem
as long as it goes back into my vehicle and gets weighed again.

so im just losing the few added pounds
and its not really a loss bcos shred/subgrade is the cheapest item and boards are way more valuable.


the unfortunate part is that the guys at the yard are not interested in saving the boards for me-if i see anything while im there- i take it but the rest ....forget about it.

Around here, no dismantling anything in the scrapyard. You have to "process" off site. Probably insurance reasons or they'll get it later.

I guess some folks are the hit and run type, meaning quick buck with least effort. Don't have time for that might mean lack of knowledge, just sorting out only readily available easier stuff, or just don't care. Could also be they are big time scrappers/ demo contractors and really don't have time. I do it as time and accumulation dictate.

With knowledge, you should be able to process materials for maximum return. Knowing what you have and who buys what grades will gain you the most. This is important to know.

My best scrapping education was when I went to a local yard and asked questions. How do you sort your goods, why is this dirty aluminum , what is clean aluminum, difference between #1 and 2 copper, how do you identify red brass, does chrome on yellow brass downgrade (no), etc, etc. I knew some or most of the answers, but got their take. With this new found knowledge, I process to their liking, and maximize my return. In fact, I did 2 yards. The second was to a yard that bought e waste. Learned some and decided not to do business with them cuz they payout pennies on the dollar value. So my accumulations of ewaste are sold through here.

Shortly thereafter, I found this forum. Quoting another member, Knowledge is powerful. Lots of education here. I learn pretty much every time I read SMF and contribute when I can.

Originally Posted by msmoorad

with my main yard- even if i go to offload my stuff after weighing and i see anything in the shred/subgrade heap that i want- no problem
as long as it goes back into my vehicle and gets weighed again.

so im just losing the few added pounds
and its not really a loss bcos shred/subgrade is the cheapest item and boards are way more valuable.


the unfortunate part is that the guys at the yard are not interested in saving the boards for me-if i see anything while im there- i take it but the rest ....forget about it.

Used to do the same thing at Clean Steel, one day going over the scale had 500 lbs more going out than i had brought in.

When someone writes a phrase such as greytruck "Thats the way it is around here. No local board buyers so noone cares."....it makes my antennae go up. As an entrepreneur its like music to my ears. Providing a service that no one else does, and knowing how to turn that into a profit, is priceless. My recommendation is to advertise locally in a small paper or craigslist that you buy boards and pay a LOT more than scrap metal price. Offer half of what the forum buyers are paying and its a recipe for success. Telling someone they are an idiot never gets the best result. Showing them how to make more money and letting them figure out they were idiots before is priceless

The scrapyard doesn't allow you to take anything out like that. I wouldn't want to jeopardize my business relationship.