Info on Items

We spoke briefly thru PM..........This is obviously Scrap Metal Forum so things are worth money in quantity......It takes pounds and pounds of material to make any money.......Some of that stuff could possibly listed in lots on ebay.......Some sold to local scrap yards......and the higher grade circuit boards sold to buyers on this forum......For example its not worth the gas for me to drive a pound of copper to the yard but if I accumulate 20LBS then it would be worth my time....Good luck in all your adventures but I'm afraid you may be stepping over dollars to make dimes (or however the story goes).......Accumulate computers and break them down......Prepare the boards to your buyers specifications and sell them.......Acquire money and go find more material.........I re-furbish computers as well and none of what you have would be of interest to me........Anymore the computers are so cheap no one does major repairs........About as far as I go is replace a power supply........I do not solder or replace caps I just scrap it and grab another off the pile............You can pick up decent computers for a little more than scrap value and most of the stuff you buy from the gov't institutions works just needs a little upgrade.......These computers did not lead a rough life.......They were usually in offices where smoking was not allowed and no pets were involved........The nastiest computers come from individuals who smoke or have pets............Either way good luck !!!!

could those that view this thread tell me what's valuable(no rates) and what isn't in this list?
Transformers .20 - 30 a lb.
Mica Capacitors(I have em in blue, orange, yellow, no silver)
Can Capacitors - no real value
Film Capacitors
Solid State Relays
IC Relays
Toggel Switches
Push button Switches
IDE Ribbon - Low grade wire, usually .20 - .60 a lb.
IDE Ribbon Pins
Resistors
LEDs
Motors - Usually same price as transformers
Stepping Motors
Jumpers
PC boards with jumpers/memory/cpu removed - Listed in buyers section
PCB Board Scrap - Listed in buyers section
Electronic Plastic(pc covers, wire holders, etc..)
General E-Scrap - Listed in buyers section
Heatsinks/floppy drive bodys(not covers) are recycled as aluminum, and all metal is recycled as metal.
Only a few bodies of floppy drives (without cover) are cast alum. Occasionally you'll find some guide pins inside the cast cases have brass for the guides. Only takes a few seconds to punch them out.

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

We spoke briefly thru PM..........This is obviously Scrap Metal Forum so things are worth money in quantity......It takes pounds and pounds of material to make any money.......Some of that stuff could possibly listed in lots on ebay.......Some sold to local scrap yards......and the higher grade circuit boards sold to buyers on this forum......For example its not worth the gas for me to drive a pound of copper to the yard but if I accumulate 20LBS then it would be worth my time....Good luck in all your adventures but I'm afraid you may be stepping over dollars to make dimes (or however the story goes).......Accumulate computers and break them down......Prepare the boards to your buyers specifications and sell them.......Acquire money and go find more material.........I re-furbish computers as well and none of what you have would be of interest to me........Anymore the computers are so cheap no one does major repairs........About as far as I go is replace a power supply........I do not solder or replace caps I just scrap it and grab another off the pile............You can pick up decent computers for a little more than scrap value and most of the stuff you buy from the gov't institutions works just needs a little upgrade.......These computers did not lead a rough life.......They were usually in offices where smoking was not allowed and no pets were involved........The nastiest computers come from individuals who smoke or have pets............Either way good luck !!!!

I realize everything is worth in poundage but I mean, if i'm scrapping out transformers and gather 4 or 5 pounds only to find out they aren't worth anything that's lost time so I figured I'd ask what's valuable and what goes into my general e-scrap pile because right now, most of what's on that list is sitting in my general e-scrap pile.

-Matt

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

We spoke briefly thru PM..........This is obviously Scrap Metal Forum so things are worth money in quantity......It takes pounds and pounds of material to make any money.......Some of that stuff could possibly listed in lots on ebay.......Some sold to local scrap yards......and the higher grade circuit boards sold to buyers on this forum......For example its not worth the gas for me to drive a pound of copper to the yard but if I accumulate 20LBS then it would be worth my time....Good luck in all your adventures but I'm afraid you may be stepping over dollars to make dimes (or however the story goes).......Accumulate computers and break them down......Prepare the boards to your buyers specifications and sell them.......Acquire money and go find more material.........I re-furbish computers as well and none of what you have would be of interest to me........Anymore the computers are so cheap no one does major repairs........About as far as I go is replace a power supply........I do not solder or replace caps I just scrap it and grab another off the pile............You can pick up decent computers for a little more than scrap value and most of the stuff you buy from the gov't institutions works just needs a little upgrade.......These computers did not lead a rough life.......They were usually in offices where smoking was not allowed and no pets were involved........The nastiest computers come from individuals who smoke or have pets............Either way good luck !!!!

Somehow missed your reply(musta snuck in while replying to Mike). Anyhow, of the floppy drives I've broken down that were aluminum bodied were out of gateway 200s, although I ripped through a 5.25" drive from a 286 I think is aluminum today. Thanks for the reply with the values.

Yes transformers are worth something but 5 pounds at .20/lb is $1.00............

the 5.25 drive is worth more than scrap check Ebay

Originally Posted by logansryche

I don't trust ebay for prices, they vary too much and I already tore it apart - the reader was missing when I took it out of the tower I have.


I never said I had 5 pounds but was using it as an example. I just want to know what's valuable on my list so I know what to pay extra attention to.

Your best bet is to call a scrap yard close to you (they are usually in the yellow pages)........Its fine if an item is valuable but if it is only valuable to someone in South Africa and it costs more to ship than its worth then its an exercise in futility..........Start with local yards and go from there........WISH YOU WELL!!!!!!!!!!!!

i tried to answer........most of that stuff has little or no value(is that what you wanted to hear)

Originally Posted by logansryche

Yes, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. It means everything but the motherboards, fingers, pins, and a few other items stay in the general e-scrap bucket. Saying stuff directly to me without any fluff in it is the best way I understand something or else I'll never get it.

was trying not to be rude

Originally Posted by logansryche

While not answering my questions, looks like I have no choice.

Some folks are trying to help you out, but honestly we have all had to learn a lot of this on our own through trial and error. Research the old threads on here, take stuff apart, and talk to the yard/buyers you plan to sell your stuff. What's worth my time may not be worth your time. Your prices may be better than mine, they vary all over the country/world. Not trying to be rude, but you will have to do some leg work yourself and see what makes YOU money.

Originally Posted by ScrappinRed

Some folks are trying to help you out, but honestly we have all had to learn a lot of this on our own through trial and error. Research the old threads on here, take stuff apart, and talk to the yard/buyers you plan to sell your stuff. What's worth my time may not be worth your time. Your prices may be better than mine, they vary all over the country/world. Not trying to be rude, but you will have to do some leg work yourself and see what makes YOU money.

I understand that and I'm not backlashing anyone that's helped me(I'm thankful a board exists for people like us who do this for whatever reason). However, I have looked at old threads and was confused by what I found thus the reason for creating this thread. I searched the buyer/sellers area and that kind of gave me an idea but not quite so I created this threa to see if what I had been doing the past years was worth it or a waste and the end result was it was in the middle. It wasn't quite a waste but wasn't quite worth it, but I have learned alot since coming here like what a tantalum capacitor is(I had no clue) and that even plated pins have some value. To a small degree I have taken what I learned and applied it to what I have. Now that I know now what I know, I can apply that to what I have. The end result was that most of what I have is a good e-scrap bucket and that's fine because that means I'll be sourcing a buyer that handles that kind of stuff(of course it also means I'll be emptying my other sorted buckets as I sorted most of this stuff based off old information).

Thanks for the input on the matter.

Capacitors, copper beairng and electric motors are all .15/pd here. Disappointing. But many have a heavy steel casing, so it adds up.
None of this is fast big money, a majority of the time. It's all about collecting items and letting the weight add up. Sometimes saving items can seem like you're getting nowhere and "where's the money in all this?!" but I'm trusting the answer is in getting volume and weight. The items I am counting on the most are copper (wire for me), brass and ali, and a few more. The rest I throw in a shred box, why not, since I'm taking stuff apart anyway. Whatever I get will be better than tossing into a landfill and I'm not making individual trips. it all goes together, so why not take it all!?

I havent taken my 1st load of non-ferrous yet. It is slow going…but my garage is full of untapped money!! Whether something is worth your time has been debated here many times. The basic conclusion seems to be it's a very individual decision, based on time, storage space, mood, price and other factors. What's worth it today may not be if I'm in huge hurry and have a large load, etc.

Maybe you need to experiment? Try taking everything the 1st time, see what you get, talk to the yard and then make adjustments? Learning itself is more valuable than anything else toward future success.

Good luck!