buyng from yards shred pile at 0.16 cents a pound ?

theres a local yard that I can buy anything at . I buy wire weekly and flip it . there a small yard and don't have a shredder , they often have a lot of AC units , Appliances and other copper rich items in the pile. I know this has come up , but would you buy copper rich items like window ac units for 0.16 cents a pound ? If so what else would you buy if you were in my situation ?

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

computer towers

especially if your were spending the fuel anyway, or there are quite a few

thanks guys just getting into e waste. how bout AC UNits and microwaves ? im selling used microwave turntables to if that helps. help defray cost

yes its 0.16 cents a pound. and its a small operation they have 5-6 guys maybe less , they have one guy who breaks stuff down , but hes not there every day because they do demolition jobs, I feel like they like to flip stuff fast. so ill prob get it for .16 a pound I hope. if I can get it to scale its all mine lol just gotta bring hand truck. So AC units and computer towers are the general consensus

Any High grade electronics that don't have a lot of weight due to steel, but you would have to know what to look for. Off the top of my head I would look for: server pieces that can be pulled, server arrays, some switch boxes, fire system boxes, alarm system boxes, digital keypads, and of course communication boxes.
Or even easier and something I have wanted to do that would be fast, just walk around with some side cutters and cut all the power cords you can find.

And cord you can see...obvious wire and anything that has alot of non ferrous on it... (brass fitting or tubing)...and heres a tip...get a small hand turn pipe cutter to pull off say copper or softer pipes from sinks ect. ANY computer tower or higher end electronic like flat monitors....regular electronics wpuld not be profitable generally at that price once labor is factored in. Of and things like the hoses, ends and container on nicer vacumns for ebay like those glass turntables in microwaves....same with trays on printers....they can be sold for several dollars all the way to $10-20 for the set.

Chainsaws are a good thing to pick up at .16. I got a Husqvarna a couple of months ago for $5 and had a carb kit put in for $61 and it runs great.

Keep a magnet so you can check for stainless. Lots of folks toss it in with steel and you will do well getting it cheap.

thanks guys . and miked I have broken down a lot of things .I just don't have a lot of experience buying scrap. I know from previous threads you guys do.

just got back from the yard , they wont sell acs or stuff like that . but they will sell straight up metal. I tried to get some aluminum out of the pile but there scale guy is sharp lol. I might be able to find stainless steel in the pile , as pnutfarmer said rookies toss it in the steel pile

I used to pull computers out of the shred pile and pay back weight at shred price before the yard bought them as electronics. Those days are gone unfortunately, as the yard caught on. I cant think of too many non ferrous items that wouldn't be worth paying $0.16 for.

thanks guys , I always see stuff that can be flipped. and thanks Brandon I will keep that in mind , I will also continue to look for non ferrous items in the pile. and Russell this yard doesn't deal in or know about ewaste ( im going to keep it that way) because there's also a tower in the pile here and there.