Old 386 and 486 desktops and towers

I just came across someone that has a garage full of old ibm 486/386 and gateway 2000 pcs some are flat desktops and others full towers.

He is firm on $10 a piece.

What do you think the scrap value of these would be? They are complete with Ram, HDD's , processors, boards, cards etc..

Would it be worth it to buy 100 of these for $1000?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

it would be close. having them complete helps.

I have done two analysis on two lots of 20 pcs, they were a mix of 486 - P4

both times gross revenue was between $12-13 per pc

I would think with all being 386-486 there would be a little more room.

good luck

I think I'd go for it nypc, but wait to get the consensus of the buyers...and good luck. That will be a lot of work, but a lot of fun, too.

if complete your looking at approx 17.50 ea

chips 486/386 $145 per pound - 7.00 (145/#)
board approx 1# 8OZ - 6.45 (4.30/#)
power supply w/wire - 1.45 (.48/#)
optical drive approx 2 #- .55 (.28/#)
memory 2 sticks .80 (13/#)
harddrive w/board approx 1 # 1.30 (1.30/#)
empty case approx 10 1.20 (240/ton)

these #s are approx and asuming each case is complete. add on cards or expansion boards would increase value

prices are from

processer ( advance research in georgia )

empty case - avg scrap yard price

the rest is from this weeks price list from arcoa

Don't forget to factor in your transportation costs. Both for going to get and bring home the towers but also to get your scrap to a buyer, if you end up shipping some of the scrap to get the best price this can be more than a trivial amount.

If I could get the prices posted by directrecycle and if selling the scrap for those prices involved minimal transpot/shipping expense I'd go for the deal.

Crunch your numbers hard first, make sure the end result will be worth the amount of work involved.

IF you do get this lot take out all the 5.25 floppy drives and sell them on ebay. I sell every single one I get on ebay and have gotten no less than $15 final auction price for them. After fees and shipping I usually make $7 to $12 per disk drive. Probable get more if I tested them.

My personal rule of thumb is to figure out what you can make and offer no more than 50% of that. Of course, the more work involved, the less I offer. I have worked for slimmer margins, but it always depends on the circumstances involved.

I like the idea of writing a check for $800 (or what other price you choose) and leaving the check book at home. Tell him this is the max of what you can offer and still be profitable. He may decline and look elsewhere, but let him know that you understand and that the offer is still on the table if he changes his mind. Give him a week of no phones calls/inquiries and that $800 will start sounding really nice. The trick that I learned from lawn care is being able to let a job go. Piece of mind is worth a lot. Nothing is worse then constantly worrying if you overpaid (or underbid) a job and was it really worth your investment. Good Luck!