storage of not quite vintage

I have a box that I add to as I find it, stuff that was never even opened. Programs (Microsoft windows 1.0/1985, windows 3.2, word, Windows XP), old AOL and other programs, I have no idea or reason why I'm keeping them, if they were never open, they go in the box. Maybe it will be a "Time Capsule" of value someday. As I find this stuff, I always have same question why would someone buy or keep this stuff and never have opened it?

I have another box more hardware related with (Netgear wireless, Colorado 350, Verbatim MC 3020 cartridge), that's just three items on top layer of my other/never opened computer stuff. Honestly I don't have a clue what most of it was, is or if it has any value. If it was never opened, goes in a box. I keep it all in a room for better than scrap stuff, dry, at room temperature.

My plan was to hire a person at start of this year, to start selling eBay and warehouse sales. With those sales being part of recycling/scrap metal business now in it's fourth year. The drop in scrap metal and some personal medical issues has made me put that in a holding pattern for now. I plan to continue my "trash to cash" plan, expand and develop a way of reducing business trash cost, by diverting trash from a landfill and into a useful resource.

The one thing the last four years of looking at trash has taught me, there's got to be a better way. People throw just about everything and anything away, finding out how to sell it to those who need and want it is my plan. I have and will continue to give it away for free to those in need, better than throwing it in a big hole and covering it up with dirt!

Doctor said slow it all down for now and my body does too!

30 years? Hmm.

Collecting habits (I assume you are targeting collectors and not industrial companies looking to keep old equipment running) will change quite a bit over 30 years of scrap machines. You can play the game of keeping everything you find and store it in a government warehouse like in Indiana Jones and the ark but few people have that kind of CHEAP space.

I think parts are the way to go. You can store a ton of CPU's, heatsinks+ fans, motherboards, power supplies, video cards, various floppy drives, sound cards, RAM, hard drives in a small enough space sorted by era as you get them. People will mostly want specific machines that mean something to them and if they can find them in 30 years odds are they will need parts to make them run and that's where the money will be. Look at current power supplies now, a good gamer PS costs a pretty penny but they are heavy on the 12V side which won't help you on older systems that need a large 5V side so an older PS will be needed.

Hoard anything not being made anymore that nobody wants now, basically anything with a PPC chip in it (Apple Powermacs, powerbooks), also Sparc machines from SUN. 68K equipped machines are already starting to fetch decent money after being worthless a decade ago. People will also be shifting their collecting to laptops down the road and few people bother to keep those around (intact). IDE drives of all types are still common now but they will not be in 30 years, same with SCSI (working 50 pin SCSI drives in the 500mb to 4GB range make bank now). Save a few thousand IDE and floppy drive cables. Somebody will probably make a killing saving used and working LCD panels from laptops if you can keep them from freezing or getting scratched.

I have seen a few people with warehouses full of this kind of stuff have to dump it all because of illness so you might want to go in with a few people who have the resources to keep this stuff intact and safe for the 30 years needed before it is valuable to make a decent profit. As far as storage goes keep UV light out (no windows), seal the stuff in moisture proof tubs on dry days (use desiccants in cloth pouches), expect some spoilage and check on the contents every few years.

Basements that do no flood are an option if you have a house. A shed out back with a concrete floor might work as well if sealed well from extreme cold and water. If you pay extra for storage don't bother its not worth it.

If you are talking about a semi truck load, why not buy a used refrigerated trailer and park it out of the way and fill it up. They are well insulated and sealed after you close up the hole in front where the reefer unit was.

Store them in old friges.