What is the scrap value of a depopulated motherboard?

Almost zero, the only thing you have left is the thin copper strips, very thin.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

Almost zero, the only thing you have left is the thin copper strips, very thin.

Exactly what I thought, Mechanic. So, this raises a VERY interesting question: if average PC boards have no value, why pay to ship them to a buyer? Would it not make more sense to remove the PM bearing components and ship only those to the buyer?

Doing so would not only cut down on shipping weight AND by taking the board out of the equation, it would make it possible to ship more tightly pack boxes, right?

Wouldn't this result in a win-win? To wit, the seller saves on shipping and the buyer receives only the PM-bearing components.

I'd certainly like to hear from the BUYERS as to whether or not this approach has any merit. And, if not, why not?

The reason why we do not want people to shear the boards is for the fact that someone may toss in low grade items...that cuts our profits so we like the boards whole as it lets us grade it better/faster and has less man hours in it. Some people will then shear it...our boards are balled milled down to a powered for acid refining. Each refiner have there own ways of doing it from shearing, ball mill, fire ect.

Originally Posted by easyrecycle

The reason why we do not want people to shear the boards is for the fact that someone may toss in low grade items...that cuts our profits so we like the boards whole as it lets us grade it better/faster and has less man hours in it. Some people will then shear it...our boards are balled milled down to a powered for acid refining. Each refiner have there own ways of doing it from shearing, ball mill, fire ect.

That's good enough for me. I'll take that as the definitive answer, since I anticipate doing business with you at some point. I'm glad I asked. I would have hated to have sheared a bunch of boards by mistake.

I only thought of it after reading all 35 pages or so of this forum--hundreds of posts within those threads--some of which recommended removal of specific components such as CPUs, heat sinks, connector ends, etc. Herein lies the confusion for newbies--there's a mixed message being sent in terms of direction from some buyers and more than a few scrappers, e.g., do not shear boards, but, oh, it makes sense to remove this item and that item and sometimes this other item. One can see how that might lead one to be a little perplexed.

Since I'm in the learning phase, I'm not making costly mistakes. Rather, I'm trying to become sophisticated enough to provide the buyer what they want while still maximizing my profit. I'm a big proponent of win-win scenarios when it comes to doing business.

And if I haven't said it before, I very much appreciate the expertise being shared in this forum by everyone who participates on a regular basis. It would be impossible to gain the requisite knowledge without that input. Kudos to you--and you know who you are!

you can take stuff off of low grade boards to maximize profits, just don't scrape it..... low grade only

The things you SHOULD remove are,
CPU heatsink, large metal attachments, memory and the cpu

things that should not remove but some people do
gold fingers and the heatsink over the north bridge (well..some buyers want this removed...some don't care..I dont care...so leave it on to add more weight to the board and make more than just scrap AL price.)

Things some buyers make you remove
north bridge heatsink as noted above
the motherboard battery
PCI metal strip on the front of the card (you can leave the metal strip on the front with me...some buyers are more picky...love to downgrade)


The only time you should go removing a chip (flat back) is if its on a low grade but then again there are some heath risks so know they are and find out if its for you or not. Ask you buyer as they may have a mid grade board pricing for boards that have a good chip count (we do..and we look at low grade boards on a case by case....there are so many types of low grade)

When you first start working with any buyer there is some learning...on both sides from you learning how your buyer wants it and we learn how you send it lmao. But once you and a buyer start working with each other....if you change buyers know that there will be that learning curve once again as they may do things a diffident way and have there grades labeled another day that can change the pay out.

thanks easy. that summed it up better than researching through the zillions of posts.

Originally Posted by jbravo54

thanks easy. that summed it up better than researching through the zillions of posts.

Thanks, each buyer is different so you need to learn the buyer your dealing with....kinda like a new gf...there's some things you cant get away with with her that you could with the last one lmao.

Originally Posted by junkfreak

I've come back to this thread several times in the last couple years. Why ,I didn't really know.
Recently I've had to change the way I do things and what I do.
I have never used eBay, but lately I've been watching and learning, what's selling and what's not. What iam seeing is components that I know are on mobo's and other higher paying boards. So there seems to be something to depopulating these boards for better profits.
Iam I missing something here?
I know there are things that buyers don't want to reveal, and that's just smart business.
But, is there any members who do this on a regular basis? And, most important is it profitable?
I'll continue to research this,and maybe try a few sales.
After all not all refiners want the whole board.

Perhaps you could include a couple of links that support your theory.

Also the extra profit must more than cover the extra work for depopulating, separating, listing and shipping.

I am not doing this for mobo's but other scrap items have been selling for me on ebay. Mike

Mike,
Iam not savy on posting links. I do everything from my android. I am a total idiot when it comes to doing things on a computer. I can break one down in less than two minutes, if I want. And I know what is what. But to post links , forget it. Not sure I can from my phone.
Pins off mobo and hard drives
Ic's,flat PACs
Mlcc's
Connectors off mobo
These are what I am seeing on eBay
I'll learn how to link things at some point I hope. It is getting frustrating not knowing how
Its not a theory as yet. Just an observation.

I just highlight the address at the top of the page, right click it, press the copy option. Then return to the page on the forum where you want to add the link. Put your cursor in the quick reply box and right click again, press the paste option and you are done.

I am fairly good a going from basic computer to slightly more advanced so if you want an mentor just pm me and we can work out a time to meet on the telephone and talk through it. Mike

Originally Posted by junkfreak

Thanks Mike, that's very kind.
I see your in J ville, they level Court st. yet?
That place got alot of my money back in the 70's. Lol

I was down there a few days ago at the Sheriff's dept. picking up Conceal Carry Permit paperwork. Court St. is nothing like it used to be. I remember going there for the first time in the early 80's. As a SSgt I was required to take a guided tour with other new to the area Staff NCO's and Officers. That few blocks was some of the crazyest I've seen in all my travels around the world. Mike