# Best types of gold scrap to refine



## SilverHound (Jan 26, 2016)

Hello all-

I have had the pleasure of refining fingers, pins, and many types of plated material. Much met with great success! I am looking to purchase from ebay(or other recommended site) more material to refine. I am just curious as to what type of gold bearing material most find suitable for cost vs. quantity. I do not want to mess with karat gold at this time. 

Thanks in advance


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## SilverHound (Jan 26, 2016)

Pins- in my opinion, not much gold with the amount started with
Fingers- Best amount of gold I have found thus far


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jan 26, 2016)

You will generally pay more for material on Ebay than what you will recover in gold value.


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## alexxx (Jan 26, 2016)

avoid ebay... You will pay more than the actual PM content..

check scrap yards in your area... or computer shops... Low ball them for their material, cherry pick the good stuff, sell back the scrap after...

my2c

Alex


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## jeneje (Jan 26, 2016)

SilverHound said:


> I am just curious as to what type of gold bearing material most find suitable for cost vs. quantity. I do not want to mess with karat gold at this time.


The best type of scrap is *KARAT* scrap. Why do you not want to do karat scrap? 
Ken


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## SilverHound (Jan 26, 2016)

jeneje said:


> SilverHound said:
> 
> 
> > I am just curious as to what type of gold bearing material most find suitable for cost vs. quantity. I do not want to mess with karat gold at this time.
> ...




Not yet able to inquart. Havent processed enough silver


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## SilverHound (Jan 26, 2016)

Barren Realms 007 said:


> You will generally pay more for material on Ebay than what you will recover in gold value.




I figured that. darn it!


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## jeneje (Jan 26, 2016)

SilverHound said:


> jeneje said:
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> > SilverHound said:
> ...


You can use Copper to inquart if need be. Silver is the best choice but, copper will work.
Ken


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## Anonymous (Jan 26, 2016)

alexxx said:


> avoid ebay... You will pay more than the actual PM content..
> 
> check scrap yards in your area... or computer shops... *Low ball them for their material*, cherry pick the good stuff, sell back the scrap after...
> 
> ...



The single most stupid piece of advice I have seen on this forum in a long while. Follow this advice and guarantee yourself a finite, and ever dwindling supply of material. It's really quite useless.

Alternatively do your homework, learn what material yields, and then pay a fair price for it so you can keep going back and getting more. You're better off making 40% of a lot of money than 100% of very little. 

Jon


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## SilverHound (Jan 26, 2016)

spaceships said:


> alexxx said:
> 
> 
> > avoid ebay... You will pay more than the actual PM content..
> ...


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## jeneje (Jan 26, 2016)

SilverHound said:


> I have found 5 oz of pins for $10.00. Even if I get a gram im still in the black.


WRONG...by the time you count your chemicals to process the material, your time, electric used, chemicals to neutralize the waste solution and then, disposal of the waste solution, you are in the hole. YES!!!,,, i know, we all say it is for the learning, BS, it is about the money. That is why we do this. 

First, you need to truthful with yourself, then you can move forward in your learning of this skill.

Ken


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## Grelko (Jan 26, 2016)

jeneje said:


> i know, we all say it is for the learning, BS, it is about the money. That is why we do this.



There are many other things to life besides money :lol:


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## Lou (Jan 27, 2016)

Until you run out of it.

Excess money doesn't assure happiness, but the lack of even a small excess guarantees misery.


In any event, I think karat is a good material.


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## SilverHound (Jan 27, 2016)

jeneje said:


> SilverHound said:
> 
> 
> > I have found 5 oz of pins for $10.00. Even if I get a gram im still in the black.
> ...





Easy there sparky.... First- NO, its has nothing to do with money.
Second- Chemicals, electricity, disposal...... all part of the hobby
Third- my time is worth what I say it is worth
Forth have a coke and a smile.... and if it was all about the money every one would be doing it!


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## Anonymous (Jan 27, 2016)

Nah you see Silverhound that's where we will probably disagree. In an open and friendly way of course but we'll still disagree 8) 8) 

Once you get over the initial excitement of producing your first beads of precious metals, and the rush of good feeling subsides, you'll not do it for very long if you lose money at it- I can promise you that from experience...

A lot of people "claim" to be happy doing it for a loss whilst grinding their teeth and wishing they could make money at it, and that's a well known fact amongst the community here. It's a great hobby AND it's very very easy to make money at it but you're better off listening to the folk who DO make money as opposed to the ones who don't (mostly because they don't listen to the ones who do and think they know better.)

Either way you have fun with it and I wish you all the very best with your journey. 

Jon


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## jeneje (Jan 27, 2016)

SilverHound said:


> jeneje said:
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> > SilverHound said:
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A thousand pardons... Good luck Sir.

Ken


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## nickvc (Jan 27, 2016)

To do this as a hobby is fine but to do it safely does cost money and with all the other costs thrown in it mounts quickly. You don't have to make money but it can be done so that it doesn't cost you, the main problem most have is sourcing materials to work with, that's the first thing to look for, a regular source.
It can be done it takes time and effort plus a knowledge of what is worth chasing and what to pay for it.
If you want your son to take an interest in math then make money and share it with him, that will encourage him to look for materials and learn their worth, the recovery and refining will teach him some chemistry
Many members here refine in the grams or ounces per year, we have a fair few that do kilos a day and the general consensus is to make it pay, maybe not by a lot but it has to worth the risks, money and effort.


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## rickbb (Jan 27, 2016)

The way I look at it is I could be spending my time sitting in the recliner drinking beer watching TV. How much does that pay for my time?

Or I could spend my time keeping my mind sharp by learning something new and maybe break even or make a bit, and get a shiny little bauble for my trouble. Won't get paid for my time, but may get enough return to cover chemicals.

As a hobby you won't be able to pay for your time and you won't even cover the cost of chemicals, lab glass, safety gear and such if you have to pay for your source material. Set yourself up as a "free computer/electronics recycler". Many places have banned e-scrap from the landfills and actually charge to dispose of it. You may be surprised at what you can get just by asking around and offering your "services" to take it off their hands.

Dismantle it, sort it, recover what you can/want to and sell the rest to someone else, maybe even on eBay. :lol: What I sell to others actually pays for my chemicals so what I recover is mostly profit. BUT, I do get all my source material for free, if I had to pay for it, I wouldn't be doing this at all.


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## beav3r316 (Jan 27, 2016)

Lou's post hit the nail on the head ...

As well as a few others' posts.. 

Yeah, it's an expensive 'hobby'...but it can pay back, so long as you pay your dues... And not just buying the chemicals, but devoting your time to properly learn the trade.. 

A few quotes that have served me well in my limited venture so far--"the stingy man pays the most"-Irons
"Money can't buy happiness...but it can buy a jet-ski...you ever seen someone NOT happy on one of those?"


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## upcyclist (Jan 27, 2016)

Overall, while I'm not terribly concerned about making lots of money while I learn, I would like to make money off refining eventually. Besides, I have enough expensive hobbies--this one needs to be at least revenue-neutral 

Anyway, back to something at least more related to the OP:


jeneje said:


> SilverHound said:
> 
> 
> > jeneje said:
> ...


Especially since you say you're _not _in it for the money, silver is not that expensive (<$15/ozt.). You could buy a troy ounce from me or any number of forum members, and that'd be enough to inquart almost 18 grams of 14K gold!

It may be more fun to use silver that you've refined, but that's a pain best reserved for larger quantities, and that would put inquarting even farther into your future.


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## SilverHound (Jan 27, 2016)

OK,

Please allow me to explain. I completely understand where yall are coming from! I would love to be able to make money with my hobby! I started this hobby with gold fingers and pins and had great success at it. One day my son came to me and told me he thought we didn't spend enough time together. Here I am thinking I was, but sadly had to admit to myself that he was in fact correct. I was so blinded by my own selfishness that I didn't see my own nose at times. My son expressed interest in gold and silver refining. So, I brought my little bud on board and haven't looked back since! I understand the cost involved. But the way I see it those same costs could be wasted on crap that would hardly make a memory. Legos here, chucky cheese there, hopefully yall understand what I am getting at. Point is, what used to be my hobby, is now something my son and I do together! My first rule to him was to start to read Hokes and ask any questions he may have. We take every course of action to remain safe and he knows nothing goes to waste, only the stock pot. Yes, I admit making money would be nice, maybe in the future. One day when we pour our first full troy ounce, he will have his first gold piece and I bet the memory of it will be worth far more to him than the spot price any day! Thanks for all the replys and advice!


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## SilverHound (Jan 27, 2016)

upcyclist said:


> Overall, while I'm not terribly concerned about making lots of money while I learn, I would like to make money off refining eventually. Besides, I have enough expensive hobbies--this one needs to be at least revenue-neutral
> 
> Anyway, back to something at least more related to the OP:
> 
> ...






Thanks for that! I am looking for any source of gold and may go about honing my craft with karat soon.


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## SilverHound (Jan 27, 2016)

rickbb said:


> The way I look at it is I could be spending my time sitting in the recliner drinking beer watching TV. How much does that pay for my time?
> 
> Or I could spend my time keeping my mind sharp by learning something new and maybe break even or make a bit, and get a shiny little bauble for my trouble. Won't get paid for my time, but may get enough return to cover chemicals.
> 
> ...





That's one great idea! Thank you!


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## SilverHound (Jan 27, 2016)

jeneje said:


> SilverHound said:
> 
> 
> > jeneje said:
> ...





Alas, this is why I dislike texting or any of that sort. I reread my response and my humor seemed to stop with the key board. Did not mean to come across the way it may have seemed. I was trying to be humorous, and failed I think.


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## jeneje (Jan 27, 2016)

SilverHound said:


> jeneje said:
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> > SilverHound said:
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No problem, all is good.
Ken


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## Grelko (Jan 27, 2016)

Lou said:


> Until you run out of it.
> 
> Excess money doesn't assure happiness, but the lack of even a small excess guarantees misery.
> 
> In any event, I think karat is a good material.



I was just trying to make a point about knowledge compared to money. I didn't mean to offend anyone.

It really depends on "what" you know. After years of learning about different plants, repairing things, how to cook, hunt, make clothing, tools, first aid etc, I could go into the woods and live off the land, without the need for money at all, and still be happy.

I never really had much money growing up, so I learned certain skills that I could use to just live without the need for it. Right now, everything is paid off, no kids, no credit cards, no cell phone, no debt. (If I had more money, about all I'd do, is buy a couple acres of land for a garden and some fruit trees, like my grandparents had).

The only thing that I've actually used for this hobby is a bit of time, since I had to learn how to recover/refine. The material I got for free, the steel, aluminum and other metals paid for the tools and acids. If I don't feel like taking my truck to the scrapyard, I'll walk down. It depends what type of material I have.

I do understand what you are trying to say. Money can't buy happiness, unless having many personal posessions releases an over abundance of serotonin constantly, then technically I suppose it could. On the other hand, if you are always struggling to pay bills, having trouble getting food or clothing etc, it wouldn't be much fun.

I also feel that karat is a good material.


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## Smack (Jan 27, 2016)

Still not paying for anything and still no shortage for me. I must be the exception. Way too much work taking it all apart I tell them and they are just happy to have someone that will take it all and recycle it responsibly. The ISP's around me keep me well supplied. Door to door is your best tool, always has been for me, phone book ads work a little but nothing like flyers and business cards delivered by a good looking nicely dressed human being but not too nicely dressed. I get calls from the phone book listing all the time asking me how much I pay. I say "I don't pay, I come pick it up from you for free and keep it out of the landfill". Then let them make the decision. All my best customers have come from me going door to door and then word of mouth from that. It's funny to me, some of the places I have been to look at what they have in computer scrap, have asked me what I pay and I tell them (businesses), nothing and they act like I should have offered money, so I leave and six months later they call, "Can you just come get this stuff out of here? We need the floor space". Space in a business is way more valuable than any scrap from a computer, so use that to your advantage.


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## nickvc (Jan 27, 2016)

You may be able to afford to lose money but let me point out that spending $1000 to make $ 200 is not giving your son the right message.
There are no free lunches in this world and to show him different is wrong..
You can have fun and refine a few grams if it costs $20 for chemicals and gas but to pursue this and lose considerable money is crazy and gives your son the totally wrong message.
Your basically saying it doesn't matter what it costs so long as he and you are happy, well if at some point you can't keep funding this idea how will he take that?
How will you feel?
Your not doing your son any favours not pointing out that this world isn't fair or kind or that the paper money you so easily dismiss is unimportant, tell your IRS that!
Please enjoy your hobby and involve your son but point out the real costs, don't make it unimportant that your losing money, it's a terrible message to give any youngster.
We live in a throw away society with few rules that kids listen to or care about...until they grow up and have to deal with all that collection of horrors we as adults face every day. They then either swim or drown, a little early lesson or two will help him handle the real world.
I wish you and your son well and hope you understand where I'm coming from.


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## upcyclist (Jan 27, 2016)

nickvc said:


> You may be able to afford to lose money but let me point out that spending $1000 to make $ 200 is not giving your son the right message...


Nick, I get your concern, but nowhere did he say "I'm telling my son that losing money is okay." What he did say is that what used to be a hobby is now something he and his son can do together. Just like when I take my daughter to the movies, it's not about supporting an industry that stereotypes and under-represents minorities, or some deep economic lesson about how to be successful--it's just a movie, and we enjoyed it and our time together.

Can we ease off this end of the thread and get back to his original points?


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## Anonymous (Jan 28, 2016)

Gents I think my comments may have either been written badly or alternatively taken out of the correct context. If written badly then I offer my apologies.

My main concern was lowballing people who you can grow to consider a valued supplier. People who discover that they've been taken for a ride don't tend to carry on trading with people and that was my main point. We all do this for different reasons, and yes I do it to make money which I simply refuse to be ashamed of. As Smack does, I too have suppliers where I get product for nothing, alongside others whom I pay good money to. That's a good mix and a balanced approach. The guys who suggest trading on the low value stuff and keep the good stuff at zero cost are correct because it keeps the whole mill turning.

Upcyclist I tend to agree with a lot of what you say on here but I've never seen the benefit of shutting a conversation down because I'm not happy with what's being said. Healthy debate is productive even though I myself often have to face up to a few comments that I don't like or appreciate. (When you're as blunt as me that tends to happen a lot!!) At that point I'll just walk away from the convo and let it carry on 8) 8) 

Maybe we could have a thread about approaching this recovery/refining as a profitable venture although I think it might have been tried a few times with no success. Then again the old saying goes "You can lead a horse to water..."

All the best guys!

Jon


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## SilverHound (Jan 29, 2016)

How would one go about figuring what is a decent/honest sum to pay for scrap? Yes I know if one was proficient in his/her craft they would know what is in the scrap, but the problem I have is when the person that has the scrap thinks its worth way more then it actually is. This question is just to see how others go about doing this. 

Thanks in advance.....


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## Barren Realms 007 (Jan 29, 2016)

SilverHound said:


> How would one go about figuring what is a decent/honest sum to pay for scrap? Yes I know if one was proficient in his/her craft they would know what is in the scrap, but the problem I have is when the person that has the scrap thinks its worth way more then it actually is. This question is just to see how others go about doing this.
> 
> Thanks in advance.....



You can go to www.goldnscrap.com and he has calculators to determine the gold content and value of Karat scrap and gold filled scrap.

If the seller has pie in the sky prices they want then it is best to just politely walk away from the deal.


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## SilverHound (Jan 29, 2016)

Barren Realms 007 said:


> SilverHound said:
> 
> 
> > How would one go about figuring what is a decent/honest sum to pay for scrap? Yes I know if one was proficient in his/her craft they would know what is in the scrap, but the problem I have is when the person that has the scrap thinks its worth way more then it actually is. This question is just to see how others go about doing this.
> ...




Thank you very much!


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## upcyclist (Jan 29, 2016)

spaceships said:


> Gents I think my comments may have either been written badly or alternatively taken out of the correct context. If written badly then I offer my apologies.
> 
> My main concern was lowballing people who you can grow to consider a valued supplier. People who discover that they've been taken for a ride don't tend to carry on trading with people and that was my main point. We all do this for different reasons, and yes I do it to make money which I simply refuse to be ashamed of. As Smack does, I too have suppliers where I get product for nothing, alongside others whom I pay good money to. That's a good mix and a balanced approach. The guys who suggest trading on the low value stuff and keep the good stuff at zero cost are correct because it keeps the whole mill turning.
> 
> ...


I wholeheartedly agree on the bit about lowballing, Jon--whether you're doing this for fun, profit, or both, you'll have a much better time of it if you don't tick off your suppliers.

I didn't mean to shut down the conversation, sorry--I had originally included the phrase "or at least move it to a different thread", then deleted it for some reason. It's a good conversation to have, I just thought it was a hijack of the original purpose.


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## nickvc (Jan 29, 2016)

As I have pointed out to many new members learning to refine with the knowledge base here on the forum is easy, we'll sort of, finding regular happy suppliers to buy from or collect from is hard and in many ways the real problem. Use the Internet, phone books, work out who uses values close to you, it's not easy and takes time, get your son looking and reading doing the necessary research to find the product to refine, we have the information as to what to look for but unfortunately not where or how to get the material if you do find it... It's a challenge that kills of many a new refiners dreams, but it can be done!


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## SilverHound (Jan 29, 2016)

nickvc said:


> As I have pointed out to many new members learning to refine with the knowledge base here on the forum is easy, we'll sort of, finding regular happy suppliers to buy from or collect from is hard and in many ways the real problem. Use the Internet, phone books, work out who uses values close to you, it's not easy and takes time, get your son looking and reading doing the necessary research to find the product to refine, we have the information as to what to look for but unfortunately not where or how to get the material if you do find it... It's a challenge that kills of many a new refiners dreams, but it can be done!




many thanks


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## goldsilverpro (Jan 29, 2016)

nickvc said:


> As I have pointed out to many new members learning to refine with the knowledge base here on the forum is easy, we'll sort of, finding regular happy suppliers to buy from or collect from is hard and in many ways the real problem. Use the Internet, phone books, work out who uses values close to you, it's not easy and takes time, get your son looking and reading doing the necessary research to find the product to refine, we have the information as to what to look for but unfortunately not where or how to get the material if you do find it... It's a challenge that kills of many a new refiners dreams, but it can be done!


Good post, Nick. I have felt exactly the same way for many years. After one has gained the technical knowledge on how to refine and has put this knowledge to work with many hours of actual hands-on refining, the most important person in the place is the guy who can locate and obtain a continuous flow of selective (you have to be selective!) material that can make money. No matter what anybody thinks, it's out there and it's available.

I posted this awhile back and no one paid any attention to it. When I color-coded it, I didn't spend as much time on it as I should and I'm sure I could make some changes.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=43&t=21493


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## UncleBenBen (Jan 29, 2016)

goldsilverpro said:


> I posted this awhile back and no one paid any attention to it.



For one, I don't think I've read anything from you that that wasn't worth paying attention to. I just downloaded that list a second time. Oops.

I don't want to get into the make money/fund hobby debate, because I would like to keep it as a hobby instead of waking up one morning not wanting to do it because it had become a 'job' and something I 'had' to do.

With that said, I have to say to my fellow hobbyists that the scrap you want is EVERYWHERE! Just as the wise man said that money doesn't go looking for people, the scrap doesn't either. Nobody is going to come knocking at your door begging you to take their old computers. You have to look at it like you are prospecting unexplored mountains that are full of gold. You just have to go out and find it.

People constantly throw away precious metals. Don't be afraid look in the trash to find it. I get about an hour every weekday to make my rounds while I wait for the wife to get off work, and I find plenty to keep me busy.

I found this this little digital thermometer in the trash today...



Then found these little darlings, pretty sure that's the first CBGAs I've collected so far...



That second pic is proof that people are creatures of habit. Found those in the same dumpster I found this box of boards. Mostly depopulated now...



Moral of the story; its out there, go get it before it gets buried in a landfill! This can be done without buying scrap!


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## jonn (Jan 30, 2016)

Uncleben, are you finished depopulating those boards? I'd like buy those connector ends if you're interested. Thank you, Jonn


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## UncleBenBen (Jan 30, 2016)

Not yet, Jonn. Finished heating off the ceramics last week. Those AMP pins will go in my AMP bucket to get processed by yours truly, sorry. Gonna make some nice buttons eventually!


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## jonn (Jan 30, 2016)

Good, I was hoping you wouldn't just toss those away. :roll: :lol:


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## NobleMetalWorks (Jan 30, 2016)

Good thread!

It's not easy making a successful business under any circumstance, and in one that relates to buying/selling precious metals it is difficult to make a decent margin as the seller always wants the most, and the buyer wants it for the least. But you can navigate these issues as many here have and make a living doing this. People who believe they are going to get rich recovering and refining metals seem to me to just be suffering from gold fever, and not grounded in reality. You can make a living, if you work very hard at it.

But for me, this isn't all of what it's about. Like others have said, having money can be many things. But I truly feel it's what we do on a daily basis that affects our lives in a more meaningful way. For me personally, my life equation is more like this. Find what it is you love to do, do that for a living, you will never work a day in your life.

So far as the best material to process is concerned, it's the material that meets your criteria. Mine would be a material that I enjoy processing in which I can realize a steady supply stream and process in such a way that I meet my profit percentages. I have been very fortunate to have been exposed to this forum, to have met people here who have helped me or pointed me in the right direction, and to even have made friends here, that is almost assuredly as important if not more so, than almost anything that comes after. I have also been very fortunate in that I am able to do this work I love so much, support myself, a daughter in college which thankfully has a scholarship, help other family members and enjoy my life. 

Happiness in this model, is my compass of success.

Scott


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## Anonymous (Jan 30, 2016)

NobleMetalWorks said:


> Good thread!
> 
> Mine would be a material that I enjoy processing in which I can realize a steady supply stream and process in such a way that I meet my profit percentages.
> 
> Scott



Scott I concur completely with this statement, thanks for putting it so succinctly. If I had to be picky and change one part subjectively, it would be to replace "enjoy processing" with "productively process" however the well put message is what I agree with and remains the same in both iterations. 

Jon


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## jason_recliner (Jan 30, 2016)

This is golden advice, right here.



Smack said:


> Still not paying for anything and still no shortage for me. I must be the exception. Way too much work taking it all apart I tell them and they are just happy to have someone that will take it all and recycle it responsibly. The ISP's around me keep me well supplied. Door to door is your best tool, always has been for me, phone book ads work a little but nothing like flyers and business cards delivered by a good looking nicely dressed human being but not too nicely dressed. I get calls from the phone book listing all the time asking me how much I pay. I say "I don't pay, I come pick it up from you for free and keep it out of the landfill". Then let them make the decision. All my best customers have come from me going door to door and then word of mouth from that. It's funny to me, some of the places I have been to look at what they have in computer scrap, have asked me what I pay and I tell them (businesses), nothing and they act like I should have offered money, so I leave and six months later they call, "Can you just come get this stuff out of here? We need the floor space". Space in a business is way more valuable than any scrap from a computer, so use that to your advantage.


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## Rmwatson78 (Feb 20, 2016)

I have spent roughly 3,000 dollars in the last few months on chemicals, equipment, and of course various forms of scrap to learn this hobby. Based on what I have done so far I seriously doubt I'll see even half that money back when I'm finished, but all be damned if I give up before I understand everything there is to know about gold refining. I only get into trouble when I become impatient during a process or do something different than what I have read because in my head I think it could work just as well. There are definitely a lot of other worse ways I could spend the money and I look forward to learning as much as I can.


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## butcher (Feb 21, 2016)

Rmwatson78,
My opinion only.
Spending money, or trying anything, before learning is a mistake, you can set up a small lab with things found in the kitchen section or the hardware section of a second hand store, some chemicals can be found locally at hardware or pool supply, other chemicals, or supplies can be made...

Before spending your money on anything, or trying anything, learning is important, with that education you know what you will actual need. Know where to find it, know or be able to test its value. Know what to do with it...

The education is the key, that is where the true value is.
Like that old saying it takes money to make money.

It takes education to get the gold.

My suggestion, start off building your education work on that primarily, gaining the understanding you will need, and work on your impatient nature (it will only slow you down).

There are many ways to begin learning, I suggest:
Study every thing, beginning with safety, and how to deal with waste safely.
Then using Hokes book study it until what she teaches clicks in your mind, and study of the forum, reading these you begin to get the education and understanding you will need to be able to gain the experience, to work on your skills...

Limit your lab work to learning the basics first, using Hokes book as a guide, the getting acquainted experiments in the book, and expanding these experiments with things we do with some of the "work around" procedures you learn on the forum.

Use note books of what you study, and of your lab-work experiments... 

After gaining more of an understanding gained through your study and small experiments, begin working with a more simple material (again small experiments at first), materials like sterling silver, memory fingers, or karat gold, that have less base metals or materials that cause problems, working with them you have a better understanding, of what to expect when you start working with harder materials, you do not have as many problematic materials for getting things wrong in the different procedures, you will learn more faster...

Study each procedure, of the material or scrap your planning to work with, there may be many procedures, or many steps for each type of scrap, there may be different ways to get the same goal accomplished, in finding, preparing, recovery and refining of a particular type of scrap, also study the problems you will have with that scrap. study the safety precautions, or steps needed with that type of scrap, or with the procedures or materials you will be working with or using to prepare, recover or refine that scrap.

The forum is a great resource, some places to begin:
General reaction list.
Guide to the forum.
Welcome new members.
Safety and dealing with wastes.
This list can go on and on, but as you study you will find more.

Welcome to the forum, education is your treasure map, and the forum is the best treasure map I know of.


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## goldsilverpro (Feb 21, 2016)

If you really want to make money, stop messing with circuit boards.


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## Anonymous (Feb 22, 2016)

goldsilverpro said:


> If you really want to make money, stop messing with circuit boards.



Absolutely 100% SPOT ON.


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## troymoore4 (Mar 8, 2016)

I think that this can be quite profitable, but only over a good bit of time and by scrapping for more than just PMs. Scrap for aluminum and copper to and use the proceeds from those metals to supliment your refining of PMs you might even be able to find things that can be easily enough converted into equipment for the collection/refining of the PMs at little or no cost to you. You will likely find the ocasional source items for PMs as well.


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## Daswolter (Mar 23, 2016)

I have found that most company I.T. people are computer hoarders and don't throw any thing away. I have had 3 companies give me literally truckloads (pickup truck) of computers, printers, monitors, plotters, servers, and something's I don't even know what they were. Usually after the I.T. person quits or died and the company finds they need to clean up the hoarders mess. I am expecting one shortly from one of these companies. All for free other than a guarantee that the hard drive platters be destroyed. These companies are more than happy and very appreciative for my (service).

One guy asked me what I do with the scrap so I told him, He asked with wide eyes about the silver and gold. Him not knowing about the silver and gold in the computers. I thought well here goes my supplier. So I told him about stripping the components and getting more for the aluminum and copper then the gold out of the computers. I also explained that getting the gold and silver takes processing and knowledge. He thought that was pretty cool and looked at me like I was a genius or something :roll:. The components keep coming and as does the appreciation. If you say you are going to do something i.e. (Destroying the platters) then make sure you do it. Also be honest with them. Being that I only do this as a hobby This keeps me in more components that I sometimes know where to put them. Thank god I have a wife that is very understanding and also like to help strip components with me. :mrgreen:


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## blackwolf365 (Nov 26, 2017)

i think ebay is a good place to get scrap from, provided one is very careful about what you buy, how much there is in the lot, and what you are willing to pay for it. you can find good deals anywhere, so long as you are willing to take the time and patience to do it. another thing to keep in mind is that what might not be profit to some, IS profit to others. one such example i found skimming through the posts here. one guy said he does this with his son as a hobby, a way to spend time with his son. maybe if more of us went for that kind of proffit, the world wouldnt be so full of hate and violence like it is now...


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## scrapper ben (Nov 28, 2017)

In my opinion if your after e-waste commodities then take into account there are many local scrappers in your area who have nowhere to sell their boards to because they have small volumes.

I started buying a couple years ago and over time have a large group of scrappers in my area bring me their stuff.

The trick is to have a commercial buyer lined up where you can send your unwanted commodities or stuff you can't get much gold from but the umicor's of this world can recover all PM's, not just gold.
Like pc motherboards, there's really little gold for the value you get selling to a large buyer.

So it's a balance, sell the difficult stuff to your buyer in large qty's, and keep all the cream stuff like ram, slot cards, vintage boards & telecom stuff as well as depopulated items like IC's, BGA's, Gold Fingers, Pins etc.

Well for me it's turned out good, sure there's still plenty of e-waste to get but that needs processing and if your out all day picking up, there's no time to scrap so I always end up overwhelmed with work to do.

Now I can slow down looking for scrap and put more time into buying stuff that has the labour taken out.
Since I already have a buyer for my stuff, it's just an add on when I buy boards for a bit less than my bulk buyer.

Anyways, from my experience there's a huge need for e-waste commodity buyers everywhere.

Here's a couple video's I recently did showing the stuff I buy & the price, unfortunately here in Australia our prices aren't as good as the US because it still needs to be shipped overseas to get processed, we have no facility here so prices are a lot less..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Sr7TF6eTw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCqTSsxmnYY


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## anachronism (Nov 28, 2017)

scrapper ben said:


> So it's a balance, sell the difficult stuff to your buyer in large qty's, and keep all the cream stuff like ram, slot cards, vintage boards & telecom stuff as well as depopulated items like IC's, BGA's, Gold Fingers, Pins etc.



This is something I and a few others have been banging on about for years, yet it appears to be a difficult concept for most people to grasp. Maybe they like doing things the hard way. 8) 8)


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## snoman701 (Nov 28, 2017)

anachronism said:


> scrapper ben said:
> 
> 
> > So it's a balance, sell the difficult stuff to your buyer in large qty's, and keep all the cream stuff like ram, slot cards, vintage boards & telecom stuff as well as depopulated items like IC's, BGA's, Gold Fingers, Pins etc.
> ...


I know that in my case, watching you, it took a while to figure out that when you process you are doing it mostly as a hobby or as an exercise in grading.




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Manjelle (Dec 2, 2017)

i am more into the scrapping part of this hobby just because im high strung and dont care to sit and watch tv. it keeps me active. i tried the refining part but just dont interest me as much as breaking material down.


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## jfzg (Oct 13, 2018)

感谢分享。


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## butcher (Oct 13, 2018)

jfzg,
Please translate your post to English, we cannot share with each other if we do not know what the other said.


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## macfixer01 (Oct 14, 2018)

According to Google Translate, it says: Thanks for sharing.

Macfixer01


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## jimdoc (Oct 14, 2018)

He will probably be back to add the spam links in a few days.


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## g_axelsson (Oct 16, 2018)

jimdoc said:


> He will probably be back to add the spam links in a few days.



He can't do that. I locked the post and removed any signature. If he wants to add links he needs to do another post. I do it with every first poster that doesn't add substance to a discussion.

Göran


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## Abdoulapapatte (Jan 25, 2022)

SilverHound said:


> Pas encore en mesure d'inquarter. N'a pas traité assez d'argent


you can using copper or lead


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## Yggdrasil (Jan 25, 2022)

Abdoulapapatte said:


> you can using copper or lead


Hi. Why are you posting and commenting all over the place?
These posts are 6 years old.


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