Just got back from the yard in Marshalltown -
Computer wire - .35/lb
Auto batteries - .20/lb
AC Adaptor - .18/lb
Transformers - .10/lb
Power Supplies - .13/lb
Mixed floppy/CD drives - .13/lb
Computer fans - .03/lb
Some of the prices may be low - I had talked with their e-scrap buyer multiple times and had settled on $2.85/lb for high grade motherboards. I showed up with my standard mix of motherboards like I have for the last 2 years - after weighing everything I see on my inventory sheet that they have marked all my boards as low grade.
I ask the guy who grades things why they are marked low grade and he says that they have changed the way they rate their boards, and if I wanted to discuss it to talk to the e-scrap buyer in the office. Off I go to the office and am informed that any boards that a) don't have a large square processor socket b) have ANY colored plastic on them and c) don't have ISA connectors are now considered low grade ($1.90/lb).
I had a few problems with this considering that I had spoken with him twice in the last couple weeks to get settled on a good price. He never mentioned their new grading system so I had no way to know that the load of motherboards was going to be worth a heck of a lot less than I assumed. I was trying to clarify how exactly the new grading system works and he was very specific on the fact that if the board had one single blue IDE socket, it was instantly downgraded to low grade. I had plenty of 'high grade' boards in the batch but they automatically downgraded everything to low grade.
I told him I can do a heck of a lot better than that online and told him I would head back to the other side of the yard and would be taking all the motherboards back with me.
Thankfully since I noticed the grading on the original sheet I was able to tell the staff to hold onto the boards before they threw them in the pile - gonna get these together and get them sent to Ewasted. I highly doubt I will ever go back to this place, it was a rotten trip and not the first time they've jacked me around!
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