Refiners advertising in Tech magazines

I have to admit I do not look at every page of every tech magazine that is out there, however I was caught by surprise when I saw a metal refiner advertisement in a PCB magazine (printed circuit board). The ad had the caption of "What are you losing in lost scrap" with pictures of 2 buckets, 1 with circuit boards and the other with cash with an equal sign between them. Although a lot of us are on different levels of the this pyramid of scrap, I get the feeling that OldDude's use of the expression of "go big or go home" is getting more relevant. With the refiners at the top of the pyramid, reaching out directly to companies for their scrap boards, more lower level scrappers will eventually get pushed out.

Disclaimer: This is not a rant or a negative against refiners. Just an observation and feel free to counter it with your own observations.

Did you see the one with the gold statue of liberty ?

well, it comes down to who your market is. I think that while there is a lot of escrap to be had, it will dry up relatively soon given the state of the economy and a lot of people looking to make a buck. i'm not sure if it is possible to "go big" without a ton of capital investment, though. It is sort of like the new home construction business. So many regulations that make it difficult for mom and pop builders to survive. Skilled people end up going to work for a corporation, thus weeding out the small guys fast. If you are just looking to make a few bucks here and there part time, its not so bad. But like olddude i think that in 5 years this biz is going to be drastically different than today. My guess is that if i'm still in it i'll be working for someone else.

Here's my opinion on this subject:

1) Yes, I too agree with olddude, but for now it can create a healthy income just off the smaller customers that I am working with now and will work with in the future. I understand the "go big" concept, but for me, at this point in time "smaller is better".

2) I think this refiner advertisement could work to a small scrappers favor. How? Well, there are going to be a lot of small mom and pop places that these refiners cannot and will not work with due to volume (or lack there of). As a small scrapper, we could go in and take their smaller amount and make a win/win for both of us. The smaller mom and pop operations, small business with no IT people on staff and individuals are where my focus will be now and in the future.

I also have gotten certified by the EPA for handling refrigerant so that this is my backup when and if computer scrap goes south. Now if I could only find a way to legally, efficiently and profitably recycle CRT's.........

Eepah