Turning a $15 tower from the auction into some nice profit.

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03-09-2013, 10:27 PM
PartTimeScrapper

Turning a $15 tower from the auction into some nice profit.

I baught 4 of these towers last month at the auction to experment with parting them out. I think Ill buy a few more next month. They were dell optiplex 330.
Dell Optiplex Mini Tower 320 330 730 745 755 305W Power Supply NH493 L305P 01 | eBay $9 + $10 shipping
Dell Optiplex 740 745 755 320 330 Tower Front Faceplate Bezel Cover KJ313 R6760 | eBay $5
Dell Optiplex Audio USB I O Panel and Cable TP004 CN312 HU391 | eBay $6.50
Dell Optiplex 330 SMT Motherboard LGA775 KP561 Tested 5704327684770 | eBay $36
TS H653 Toshiba Samsung DVD Writer SATA Drive Black P N 530413 001 DVDRW | eBay $10 + $6 shipping
SLA8Z Intel Pentium Dual Core E2160 1 80GHz LGA775 Computer Processor | eBay $12 + $2 shipping
ATI Radeon HD 2400XT 256MB PCI E Video Card Dell FM351 Tested | eBay $8.50

After fees and shipping costs I turned a $15 unit into about $65 profit in parts sold on ebay. Not to mention the rest of it as scrap. I would say I have about an hour of time invested in plugging in each computer to make sure it boot up then tearing them all down taking a picture than posting the itms for sale. Cant wait for this months auction. Hope to buy about 10 to part out this month.

This was an item I bought from the CU bolder auction. I originaly purchased it to part out as well but thought I would try to sell it whole first since it was SFF (small form factor). Im glad I sold it whole. I paid $20 for this one.
Dell Optiplex GX620 USFF P4 HT 3 4GHz 2GB DVD CDRW 80GB Mini PC Computer AC | eBay
03-10-2013, 06:24 AM
directrecycle

nice turn around
03-10-2013, 06:51 AM
grouchyolddude

aaaug.... I just broke down 5 of those yesterday without ever trying to power them up... I just can't seem to stop shooting myself in the foot lately
03-10-2013, 06:55 AM
jghilino

nice flip, thats why you always check resale before you scrap
03-10-2013, 09:57 AM
mikeinreco

Quote:

Originally Posted by grouchyolddude

aaaug.... I just broke down 5 of those yesterday without ever trying to power them up... I just can't seem to stop shooting myself in the foot lately

If u scrapped optiplex 330 thats crazy.....I also bought 10 last month at auction and sold all of them locally....I got up to $175 for a complete setup (tower, monitor, keyboard ,etc...)
03-11-2013, 07:46 AM
grouchyolddude

Ahhh a little salt in the wound :p Thanks Mike lol
best lessons I ever learned included a li'l pain with 'em
03-11-2013, 01:24 PM
mikeinreco

Quote:

Originally Posted by grouchyolddude

Ahhh a little salt in the wound :p Thanks Mike lol
best lessons I ever learned included a li'l pain with 'em

Sorry!....Rule of thumb if it is dual core or even hyper threaded it has more value than scrap......I still scrap most of the hyperthreaded machines because they sell slower and don't like newer operating systems as well as a dual core
03-12-2013, 05:22 AM
grouchyolddude

well, I went back andchecked those towers. They are "Optiplex 26os" I have a few more dells tho'. I'll be watching more closely from now on. Always always... learning something here. THANkS to ALL....
03-12-2013, 09:21 AM
mikeinreco

Yeah just sold a hyperthreaded setup for $80 cash....Took a couple of days on CL but it moved for better than scrap
03-12-2013, 11:31 AM
unknownk

People like giving those older machines to the kids so they don't hog their main machine (or break it). Locally nobody wants to touch anything that isn't dual core minimum, the P4 HT machines are not worth selling since they might fetch $40 (just the tower).
03-12-2013, 12:50 PM
mikeinreco

Quote:

Originally Posted by unknownk

People like giving those older machines to the kids so they don't hog their main machine (or break it). Locally nobody wants to touch anything that isn't dual core minimum, the P4 HT machines are not worth selling since they might fetch $40 (just the tower).

how is $40 not better than scrap?
03-12-2013, 01:15 PM
ryanw

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

how is $40 not better than scrap?

Sometimes the $20-25 difference isn't worth dealing with the public on this. I don't sell computers locally because when I did, I would get calls all of the time with people needing help with the computer that I sold them. This is after trying to set up times to meet them and them trying to haggle over prices, etc.

If I scrap a computer, it's done and over with. If something is parted out, generally the people buying these know what they are doing and need no further assistance from me.
03-12-2013, 02:40 PM
mikeinreco

Quote:

Originally Posted by rawresale

Sometimes the $20-25 difference isn't worth dealing with the public on this. I don't sell computers locally because when I did, I would get calls all of the time with people needing help with the computer that I sold them. This is after trying to set up times to meet them and them trying to haggle over prices, etc.

If I scrap a computer, it's done and over with. If something is parted out, generally the people buying these know what they are doing and need no further assistance from me.

I do agree with part of what your saying.........If it runs good and the graphics can handle a newer operating system I try to sell it..........If not I do the same........It is a headache dealing with computer illeterate people calling all the time
03-12-2013, 05:02 PM
unknownk

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

how is $40 not better than scrap?

Mostly because the towers usually come without a HD or need RAM upgrades, you need to find a working one, a "legit" copy of the OS, do the install and updates, then advertise and sell the thing and deal with the public. You have to invest time and some money (for parts) for something you might not even sell. Most people don't bother with selling systems unless there is a decent amount of profit for that time.