Things you should be looking for when scrapping computers

[armygreywolf]

Oddballs. Find a 386 or 486 you've never seen before, or a dual chip p pro workstation? Stop! Don't scrap it, sell it whole. Ebay is a playground for this geek stuff.

Resale Value- Personally, I buy everything from whole computers, laptops power supplies, ball bearing fans, aftermarket heatsinks, graphics cards, memory, cpus, motherboards of nearly all types...and more that if you aren't at least doing your diligence you are basically throwing away potential money. What's the worst PTS, myself or the other buyers can say, it didn't work, it's scrap? What are you out...a few cents on the pound, if anything at all?

Things most people forget:

Check for the windows certificate of authenticity. XP has no value and neither does vista home versions, business is a few bucks...maybe. So many people email me and say something along the lines of "I just read your thread about the COAs but I already took the shells to the dump." Well...I'd have gone back to get them that's how valuable they are.

Even 512K memory has craigslist value...I mean how hard is it to sell 4 at a time for $5? I do...they don't sell like hotcakes but then again I still get people asking for P4 cpus...

THE CASE- Aftermarket cases have value, especially if they are clean, relatively undamaged and support oversized Workstation ATX type power supplies. Names like Thermaltake, Corsair, Xcedy...even original packard bell, IBM 496, 386, etc cases have value because some of us geek out on retro builds.



Cords- VGA, DVI, Power, USB cords that are 6 feet or longer, HDMI, DVI to VGA adapaters, VGA extension cords, ethernet cords longer than 12 feet...all of these have value. Power bricks made by toshiba, asus and IBM all have greater than scrap value. Buyers are right here on this forum for those.

Keyboards and Mice, the Microsoft Laser USB Mouse, the microsoft mechanical keyboard and the HP mechanical keyboard are all more than scrap value, anything apple of course and well...that list goes on for things like wireless keyboards who's problem is usually just a bad receiver.

I just want you newer guys to understand...it's more than just scrapping computers. Anyone can run a screw gun the more important thing is knowing what to look for. Later on tomorrow night (tonight for me) I will go over how to identify cpus, memory, sockets, motherboard brands and revisions, why certain things are more valuable than others...I might even post a quick video to run everyone interested through this.

[mthomasdev]

Are you personally buying the cords that you mentioned? If so, I need to dig thru my #2 insulated trash barrel. I have many that are still in plastic.

[armygreywolf]

We will see about the cords, I'm going to see another forum member today, I'm hoping he can dig up a box full of them.

[matador]

You have Packard Bell stuff? Do tell!

Seriously, I have a hobby with older "retro" computers. I seriously spent over 4 months rebuilding a Packard Bell. The parts can fetch decent prices. Do you know how hard it is to find a Gateway 2000 motherboard? Some people will pay for them.

Another thing to check for is the CPUs. A lot of us will pay for quad core CPUs. Make sure not to damage them! Some of those CPUs can go for $40 or more a piece! Compared to $4 a pound, that's an awfully good deal!

[logansryche]

Don't forget your high end video and all in one cards. Some can get a pretty penny. Especially since some still use them for bitcoin mining.

[matador]

Amen!

To add to Logan's point, check for motherboards with multiple PCI Express x16 slots (These):


It's the long yellow one. Find a board with two or more, and you likely have a gaming board. Those can fetch good money.

Make sure to keep the little I/O plate/shield in the back, though.

[Mudlucky]

Not to hijack Army's thread, but yes, there are buyers of DVI/VGA cords and power cords if they are new in plastic. It isn't much, but it is better than scrap, even after you pay shipping. PM if you have questions.

Sorry, Army, if you want, I can delete this.

[armygreywolf]

Quite alright, It's hard for me to build and keep inventory as it is, get enough of us looking for it, when I need it I know where to go.

In reference to graphics cards, that's my specialty, the market is volatile and I try to stay as on top of their value as possible. Graphics cards can make a break a good build, that's the truth, and so can the motherboard.

If you get a LGA775 or am2 or am2+/am3 socket board made by ASUS, try not to damage it and contact me, I buy those things. I even buy intel boards from certain revisions locally. Just today I saw no less than 50 boards, all damaged from being scrapped out...I'd bet if they worked the payout on them would have been more than triple. I keep a long list of revisions, brands and what I've found to be compatible with various CPUs, I call it my motherlode list, motherboards capable of certain cpu wattage and multi-core capable, meaning they will accept and handle a quad core chip within their design limits. I'm a bit OCD that way, I can dig through a pile and crack open various PCs to pick what I know I can use for refurbishing.

I'm hoping a few other buyers can chime in here to explain what they are buying and where to find it. We have a couple ac adapter buyers, some real good laptop buyers with more variety than myself, cord buyers like Mudlucky, Really though...I see it more often than not, money just thrown away for the sake of scrapping. Doesn't take much to segregate a pile of machines you think might have more value and then visually inspect them to see if they have all their parts so you can test it.

Also, I'd like to take the time here to answer any questions outside of my buyer posts about more than scrap value items, like how and where to find cpus, what to look for in motherboards, etc. I've had to reject quite a few motherboards because of bad caps, I've also accepted a few with bad caps that still had value even with labor involved in cap replacement. I paid for these boards anyways.

Graphics cards can be a hot mess, some cards look old and worthless, but not all are worthless...Some have vintage value, ATI has made a few early cards from way way back in even the DOS days of gaming that still sell for 30-40 each on ebay. I'd also like to point out some other obvious choices of finger cards, fiber optic cards, digital or hd audio sound cards, low profile graphics cards, even older ones...have value. I just received a few good ones over the weekend, you have to pay attention to your scrap pile...try not to get too happy with hammers and screw guns right off the bat.

[travistemple202020]

army I love this as I make a point of it all the time in posts when people say they don't have time for ebay or researching its like saying I don't have time to make triple my money so I will settle with less. I have a hard enough time finding employees to break stuff down but I can always find people willing to get paid to sit and play on a computer and camera lol this business is so expansive if your not taking every route to make money then let us do it 24hrs in a day is a long time to get things done. always research stuff

[armygreywolf]

It helps I don't sleep much... hehe

[msmoorad]

all very valuable advice being dished out for free
but then u must get the bright sparks who will still ask the same questions despite being told to read the older threads.

as for me, i cant use these tips cos the situations different in South Africa
most of the time-stripping/scrapping is the best option-except for Quad core & Core 2 Duo CPUs-those sell.

[matador]

I'm always willing to plug myself!

I specialize in buying laptops and RAM mostly. Some tips:

If you have a dual core laptop, check with a buyer before you scrap it. I've seen a lot scrapped because of broken screens. Don't write them off for this. It'll lower the value of course, but some of those can still be worth a decent amount.

For RAM, check the type. For example, anything that ends in an F is server RAM. I buy it, as do a few others here, but it's paid differently. Don't just stop at "PC2". Make sure to see what you're looking at.

For power adapters, make sure that they charge, and that you've sorted them correctly. The charger end to an HP 6730p is the same size as one to a Dell E6400. Check them with both if it's aftermarket- just because it won't charge one doesn't mean that it won't charge the other. Both bricks will turn on both machines, but a Dell won't charge with an HP, and vice-versa.

For hard drives, check them for bad sectors if you're selling them. You can of course send them to a buyer to be tested, but expect some test failures then.

And, most importantly, if you're sending stuff, pack it carefully. If you don't know how, just ask us. We're more than glad to help. It pains me to see stuff ruined in transit. You get less money, and so do I. Nobody wins.

A couple of weeks ago, someone threw all their CPUs in a bag. They ruined a few AMD quad cores, and cost themselves over $50 on a small lot.

Food for thought.

[armygreywolf]

Oh, big one.

I will not take anyone's word for it. Meaning just because you tested it doesn't mean it passes. For instance, I get quad cores all the time that pass a post test but the stepping fails (core unlock on the amd boards). I get graphics cards that work...for 2 or 3 minutes. Memory that works if you wiggle it just right (bad smd chip soldering) and on and on. My testing strategies are based on maximizing likelyhood component will be fine in a working environment. Was sent 30 working sata drives from a member, one had a broken connector, no big deal at all we all miss something.

I have machines setup for each function, cpu testing, memory testing, graphics cards testing and more. SMART tested hard drives, etc. I don't necessarily reject anything out of hand, I will for instance, wipe and clean contacts, clean the heatsinks, replace a fan on a g card...and still pay you full price.

Visual inspections are important on CPUs especially, if it doesn't plug into the socket (amd chips) and I cant fix it with a pin comb your out of luck. SMD parts on the bottom of Intel chips are incredibly fragile. If they are damaged the chip may post but will not pass stepping or low power mode testing. Again, same as above, it will be rejected.

Example, I've got a customer who sent me a large lot of CPUs, clean, properly prepared and mailed on trays. An well packed shipment, should arrive clean and ready for testing, unless you as the customer enjoy waiting weeks for me to get to them all.

[aurum]

Another item that sells quite well are larger IDE Laptop hard drives. 160 GB and larger still sell well. Just sold a 320 GB laptop IDE hard drive (tested and working) for $60 on ebay. Also sold several 160 GB ones for very good money too.
This is something that is easily overlooked, as most people assume only the laptop SATA drives have value.

[usurp]

Keyboards and Mice, the Microsoft Laser USB Mouse, the microsoft mechanical keyboard and the HP mechanical keyboard are all more than scrap value, anything apple of course and well...that list goes on for things like wireless keyboards who's problem is usually just a bad receiver.

I just want to expand on this. Microsoft mechanical keyboards are very rare and so are HP. Many people wont find them. If you're trying to keep an eye out for vintage mechanical keyboards you want to keep your eyes out for the IBM Model M.

These things are heavy beasts and can fetch a hefty price on eBay.