# Scrapping computers



## Dave86 (Apr 22, 2012)

Is it possible to make a decent profit scrapping computers? I'm trying to do some maths on this (working out all my costs, time etc), but I have no idea how much scrap value is in an average computer. From what I've read on this forum and the wider internet, values seem to vary massively, which leads me to believe there is a lot "BS" floating around this subject.

My thoughts are to offer a free collection service for unwanted computers and other electrical appliances (DVD players, printers and the like). I would then scrap them and seperate the different metals (copper, steel, aluminium) and precious metal bearing parts (processors, RAM, boards). I would sell the bulky items to a local scrap yard and sell the precious metal bearing items on ebay or to a specialist buyer.

I think this would be a good time for me to start this, because the local councils recycling depot has just closed down, and it had a section for old electrical stuff that always seemed to be packed up. I guess that leaves a gap in the market for someone to collect it all.

The missing information, is actually how much scrap is contained in an average computer? I can find values for processors and RAM etc, but these are in lb, and I have no idea how many computers would have to be scrapped to get a lb. Also, I can't find much on the value of copper and aluminium in computers. I have used the search feature and can't find anything definitive on this subject, so appologies if this has been covered before but I can't find anything.

Regards,
Dave


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## NobleMetalWorks (Apr 22, 2012)

On a small scale there are far too many variables, you might be able to get a better number the more items you use for the sample, but even still, too many variables, way too many.

Variables

Brand of computer
Year it was made
Country it was made in
Country it's parts were made in
Type of gold or other precious metal plating
Wear and use

And the list goes on and on and on, then there are the other variables, how much your equipment costs to process, including the consumables. There there is the process you choose to use to recover the precious metals, then another process to refine it. Then there is who you are going to sell your scrap to, and how much they will pay you for it. The value in a single computer varies greatly, specially the cheaper ones.

What I usually try to d is this, find someone who is doing what you want to do, and there are a lot of small and large places doing what you are talking about, and benchmark against them. Study what they do and how, even down to their prices. If you cannot do things better than they do, then you need to increase what you would pay for the items accordingly, if they are picking up their scrap for free, then you need to offer something more so customers will use you first. Find someone that does what you want to do, and do it better.

I will tell you this though, if you do it right you can make a living scraping electronics. I was doing so until I started moving towards recovering and refining myself. And I moved their from the computer field. Go figure, from Wan Manager, to Scraping computers, and now recovering and refining precious metal. Another thing you might want to do is find a job with a local recycle company so you can learn the business from the inside out.

These are just my suggestions, there are a thousand different paths to doing what you want to do, and all of them are right for whoever is using them.

Scott


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## Dave86 (Apr 22, 2012)

Thanks for the quick reply Scot.

I looked into refining and decided it wasn't for me, at this time anyway. Way too much work to do to make a profit on a small scale, and dangerous too. I'm talking about just scrapping computers and doing no other processing - simply seperating them into their different components.

I know there are quite a few big companies that do this in the UK, but I am not aware of any on a local scale that offer what I would (i.e. free pickup on a small scale). I have a full time job that I have no intention of leaving, but I am looking for a second income that will be worth my time and effort. Do you have any information on the range of values of computers? I.e. from X amount to Y amount?

Thanks,
Dave


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## NobleMetalWorks (Apr 22, 2012)

Dave,

The problem is going to be valuating how much a computer is worth to you, to process, not what values the computer actually holds. There is no average. Even different CPU's of the same name have small differences because of cache etc. When you start getting into the older computers, because of the way they were sold, they are often times configured totally different and that can make a huge difference in the amount of material in the computer that will be worth recovering.

This all could be as easy as checking prices on eBay, or calling your local recycling company close to you and finding out how much they will pay, or combine both, you don't want to auction low grade boards, but you don't want to recycle material that you can recover precious metals from. Once you know where you are going to sell your scrap, then you know how you can even begin to figure out how much you can get from an average computer.

I live close to Silicon Valley in Ca, there is a lot of IT waste as well as I-Waste in the area. When I was doing it, I could buy pins as industrial waste, and sell in lots of 1 lb each and make a 100% return doing it. My customer was happy, and I made a little so I was happy, and everyone makes a little off the deal. You may want to consider trying to find those people whom the company close to you dealt with, there may be some very good I-Waste opportunities you can take advantage of.

If you are doing this as a second income, then you might want to just purchase the material and simply do it in your free time. That's how I started. Then when you collect so many pins, you can sell them on eBay or someone local. When you collect so much whatever, you can turn it in. Nature will take it's natural course, you will get gold fever, and soon you will be honing your buying skills purchasing only those items you can turn a profit on in the time you would like it to, with the amount of work and effort you invest in it. For me it was pins, hard to process if you don't know the little tricks, but you can make around $100 dollars per lb. Or more if they are military, old, from medical equipment, etc. You might find a customer that wants to do repeat business with you because the whatever you sent him looked so clean it made his job easier, and now he's willing to pay a little more, so then you focus on that.

I know I am giving you a lot to consider, and possibly nothing new at all. Only my thoughts. An average price on a computer to sell for scrap? I wouldn't pay more than 5 dollars per computer, specially if they are after 2000, the technology changed and the gold layer on the connecters is laid down super super ultra thin. Before then, it all depends on the year it was made, the company, the type of CPU, for example: if it's a Pentium Pro or a Celeron. A single Pentium Pro CPU will bring around $45 on eBay, where a Celeron will bring you nothing, so now one computer is worth $45 more than another.

I hope you see my point, so far as I can tell, trying to figure out an average profit per computer is really not possible, it's something you can judge and sometimes you are wrong, a lot of it is speculative, and there is so little written about it that it makes it very difficult to find any information. But you have every cheese ball get-rich-quick scheme artist attempting to sell you their perfect formula for making money in this type of business, and they probably got what little real information they have, right here on this forum somewhere.

If it was me, I wouldn't worry about what the average computer can yield, I would get some, break them down, and figure out if I even liked doing it. There are some okay video's on youtube about it, that you can kinda use as a guide for what to look for.

I hope I am not offending you, I was just thinking about this, you probably have already watched the video's and know what you want to do. Very simply, you cannot tell how much is in computers, in general, only individual types built specific years, etc.

Good luck, you seem tenacious though, I doubt you are going to let anything hold you back. :mrgreen:


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## Buzz (Apr 22, 2012)

Dave,

Whereabouts in the UK are you?

Buzz


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## ericrm (Apr 22, 2012)

Dave86 said:


> I think this would be a good time for me to start this, because the local councils recycling depot has just closed down, and it had a section for old electrical stuff that always seemed to be packed up. I guess that leaves a gap in the market for someone to collect it all.



if nobody does it in a 50 mile radius ,go for it that a good idea 



SBrown said:


> What I usually try to d is this, find someone who is doing what you want to do, and there are a lot of small and large places doing what you are talking about, and benchmark against them. Study what they do and how, even down to their prices. If you cannot do things better than they do, then you need to increase what you would pay for the items accordingly, if they are picking up their scrap for free, then you need to offer something more so customers will use you first. Find someone that does what you want to do, and do it better.



if i was to speak freely about what i just read ,everything that i would say would be bad, so i will filter what i have to say...

no dont go spying on other cie ,it is legaly a crime and it make you moraly a peace of shit...
find yourself some fresh idea and not just thinking first degree as in : other do it so i will do it too...


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## NobleMetalWorks (Apr 22, 2012)

ericrm said:


> SBrown said:
> 
> 
> > What I usually try to d is this, find someone who is doing what you want to do, and there are a lot of small and large places doing what you are talking about, and benchmark against them. Study what they do and how, even down to their prices. If you cannot do things better than they do, then you need to increase what you would pay for the items accordingly, if they are picking up their scrap for free, then you need to offer something more so customers will use you first. Find someone that does what you want to do, and do it better.
> ...



I am going to try and answer this, so that I clarify for you exactly what I was suggesting. Obviously you think that I am suggestion something that is either not moral, or against the law, and that's simply just not true at all, couldn't be further from the truth in fact.

SPYING is the act of subterfuge, there is no subterfuge in what I am suggesting.

If you have been in business for any length of time, or studied business at all, or have a business degree from an accredited college, you will understand what I tried to explain above. Benchmarking against someone that is doing the very best in the industry is what all businesses do, matter of fact you can benchmark against someone and not even be in the same business. Let me give you an example.

JIT = Just In Time. It has been used all through history but did not become a catch term for business until around 2000. And since it's been employed all over the world as a sound business concept. "Just In Time" means that you keep no physical stock in your warehouse, but rather order and replenish straight from the manufacturer when needed. That way you don't have money tied up in inventory, and you can open more stores, expand faster, etc. JIT was a concept that originally was dreamed up by a large retailer, however it's been adopted by just about all major retailers. So if I was selling plants, and I learned that a retailer who sold tools was using JIT, then I would BENCHMARK against him, he's doing things better. Benchmarking really means looking at another business, comparing to your own, and finding out how you can do your own better.

FORD in the 1920s, figured out a new management style, that is still used today. Nobody stole from them, nobody spyed or did anything illegal, yet the concept is sound and almost everyone has adopted it and uses that management style today.

Matter of fact, doing things better than competitors is exactly what good business is all about, it's the basic fundamental concept of a free market.

Now, if I were to suggest that he work for a company and not just learn about scraping from them, but then went into their records late one night, and steal their customers contact information, that is something totally different, that is spying, and that is illegal not to mention morally wrong.

If you cannot separate common business practice from theft, then I suggest you do yourself a favor and read some books or takes some classes in the subject before you post a nasty message in regards to something you don't know enough to comment on.

I would prefer you apologize in the thread, I will do so if I am out of line, or wrong in some way so I would prefer it if you do the same.


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## ericrm (Apr 22, 2012)

:shock: :lol: 
you want me to apologise for what?????


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## NobleMetalWorks (Apr 22, 2012)

ericrm said:


> :shock: :lol:
> you want me to apologise for what?????



That's alright ericrm, I think I made my point clear enough for anyone who reads this thread. If you didn't understand, I am afraid I cannot explain it in terms you would.

Good luck...


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## ericrm (Apr 22, 2012)

i think i understand 
you took personnaly an opinion of mine that wasent directed at you personnaly.

i will not change my mind about the fact that going in other cie to work to learn and steal theyr process and knowledge(that they have taken years to discover, made *that person* a (put insult here).

i know that it is a commun practice and it make me mad to think that i will train someone just so he can take advantage of me,and stick a knif in my back as soon as he can.
it piss me off to see poeple dont even realize that there is a minimum amount of client needed to make a business healty,and when to much poeple get in the same line (rather that find there own new way) each time a price war come in and both loose or barely survive.


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## NobleMetalWorks (Apr 22, 2012)

I feel confident, that if you understood what I was trying to express you would not be upset at all. Working for someone, and learning from them, is called being an "APPRENTICE" another method of learning far older than any other. If you want to keep the way you do things, all proprietary, then you can always patent the business model or procedure, so that it cannot be used by anyone else unless you are paid a royalty. I used to make the Nicoderm Patch, and this was the case with that as well. You can hold a patent for 7 years, before it is legal for someone else to use it. When the 7 years was up for the design of the Nicoderm Patch, ALZA, now owned by Johnson & Johnson then applied for a patent to protect their process, and another to protect the proprietary plastics used in making the patch, thus protecting themselves for a longer period of time. However, after their patents are up, anyone can use the same process, legally, without any moral obligations or issues.

Again, you do not understand enough to even know you are wrong in your argument. You don't even know enough to understand that you made a personal attack on myself:



ericrm said:


> if i was to speak freely about what i just read ,everything that i would say would be bad, so i will filter what i have to say...



This sounds like you want to say something you consider bad, about my post, or what I have said. You are insinuating you want to insult me, personally



ericrm said:


> no dont go spying on other cie ,it is legaly a crime and it make you moraly a peace of ****...



You are suggesting that I was suggesting the original poster do something legally, or morally, wrong. Then you go further to say that people who do that type of thing are morally a piece of ****. Another personal attack.



ericrm said:


> you took personnaly an opinion of mine that wasent directed at you personnaly.





ericrm said:


> if nobody does it in a 50 mile radius ,go for it that a good idea
> 
> SBrown wrote:
> What I usually try to d is this, find someone who is doing what you want to do, and there are a lot of small and large places doing what you are talking about, and benchmark against them. Study what they do and how, even down to their prices. If you cannot do things better than they do, then you need to increase what you would pay for the items accordingly, if they are picking up their scrap for free, then you need to offer something more so customers will use you first. Find someone that does what you want to do, and do it better.
> ...



How else am I to take what you said? You directly quoted, then referenced what I suggested and then went further to say it was illegal and morally wrong, when neither was true.



ericrm said:


> i will not change my mind about the fact that going in other cie to work to learn and steal theyr process and knowledge(that they have taken years to discover, made that person a (put insult here).



AGAIN you insinuate that what I suggested was stealing, and illegal, then you suggest that another insult is in order. Again, you are responding to me directly, how am I to take your insult, or your desire to insult?



ericrm said:


> i know that it is a commun practice



If you know it's a common practice, then are you also saying that it's common for all these people practicing this are doing so outside the law, and that morally they are what you intended to insinuate you thought of me being?



ericrm said:


> it make me mad to think that i will train someone just so he can take advantage of me



Did someone learn from you, and then rip you off? Did you come up with some process that you did not learn here, or from some book, or from someone giving you advice, then have someone steal it from you? What do you call proprietary advice freely given on this forum? Everything you have learned to process precious metals, you have learned from someone else. Are you saying that they should have kept that information to themselves, since it took them years and years and years to figure out the right way to do it? Do you think Hoke should have kept her information to herself?



ericrm said:


> it piss me off to see poeple dont even realize that there is a minimum amount of client needed to make a business healty,and when to much poeple get in the same line (rather that find there own new way) each time a price war come in and both loose or barely survive.



It's called a "free market society", when someone does something better than you, and can do it for less, they deserve to be rewarded, and are. People will do business with them, before you, because they are doing business better. Are you trying to suggest that once you have a customer, that for someone else to bid, and beat your services, is someone morally wrong?

If you are basing this off your personal emotions, then you are making an even bigger mistake. Try this, when you calm down, remove your emotions from the discussion, then think about what I have said, logically, and perhaps you will see where you are wrong. And if you cannot see where you are wrong, I really don't see any point in taking this further, in this thread. If you really want to argue your point, and try to convince me that I am somehow wrong, then you can feel free to email me. You can see that I do not get emotional about any of this, and I'm able to express myself without becoming emotionally attached to some illogical idea that has nothing to do with the truth.


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## ericrm (Apr 22, 2012)

that is gonna be my last post about that
if the hat fits you, wear it


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## Smack (Apr 22, 2012)

If a company is worried about an employee taking technology and leaving to go to work for someone else or start a business of their own, they will have a employment contract stating amongst other things, that upon termination of employment said employee agrees to not engage in said business activities or work for someone engaging in said business for x amount of time. The short version.


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## jimdoc (Apr 22, 2012)

Smack said:


> If a company is worried about an employee taking technology and leaving to go to work for someone else or start a business of their own, they will have a employment contract stating amongst other things, that upon termination of employment said employee agrees to not engage in said business activities or work for someone engaging in said business for x amount of time. The short version.



Or they just kill them.

Jim


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## glorycloud (Apr 22, 2012)

Where's Dad when you need him? :lol:


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## nickvc (Apr 23, 2012)

Contracts of employment can be a waste of space as many courts take the view that you can't stop a person from earning a living, some exceptions do exist such as using propriety information or processes but generally they give little protection for the companies using them unless they want to spend lots of time and money to harass ex employees which few will.


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## Geo (Apr 23, 2012)

if you do a good job and pay a fair amount, then you will succeed. im reminded of a couple of guys that worked for me awhile back. they went with me to load and unload the truck and would help tear down components.one of my regular costumers called me friday and asked if i knew these two fellows names. i told that i did and he said that they showed up at his place a few days before wanting to know if he had any scrap that he needed cleaned on the half and that they understood i had been doing it and that i wasnt doing it anymore.they also said that they were willing to do it for a quarter of what i was doing the same work for. he took their number and said he would get back to them.of coarse when he called me to determine what was going on, he said he had the feeling that there was something not right about those two.

the point of this is, the man trusted me and he trusted my work. if he didnt he could have let these two have the work and made more profit (in theory) actually the two are drunks and i found out they both do meth and was no doubt trying to get quick money to buy drugs.

so you do a good job and you pay a fair price and nothing anyone can do will change the outcome.if they cheat you once, shame on them. if they cheat you twice, shame on you.


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## Dave86 (Apr 23, 2012)

Buzz said:


> Dave,
> 
> Whereabouts in the UK are you?
> 
> Buzz



Blackburn, Lancs.

I know there are some companies that do this for large organizations, but none that I can find who do it for households.


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## Smack (Apr 23, 2012)

Rignt on Geo, I wish I had a buck for every time one of my customers told me someone came and gave them a bid for less but they said we are happy with who we have.

The then owner of Lippert Components once told me "It's better to do a little work and make good money, then it is to break your back just to break even". I've been doing business by that for 17yrs., the two years prior I just about did kill myself for a minimal net.

Nick, one way a employee could win in court is if they could prove they signed the contract under duress which would be nullified by the contract it self stating that "I am in complete agreement with the contract and am signing of my own free will". If the contract is properly written, the employee loses that battle every time. Why? This is a civil case so if they want representation it will cost money, good money, money that employee who is now jobless most likely does not have. But lets say they find a good attorney, that attorney will inform his/her client that he or she has no case. And if that employee tries to go ahead with self representation, the companies attorney will eat them up in court. The people writing contracts are experts and many experts have went before them, refining these contracts over and over through the years. I have went against two contracts in my life and lost both cases, best thing to do is think long and hard about it before you sign, or don't agree to it and move on.


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## NobleMetalWorks (Apr 23, 2012)

I think companies weigh what they can gain, against what they would spend. To hire lawyers for a civil case is not a usual practice, it costs more than they gain, unless proving one guilty would also allow them to lay claim to whatever secret or process that someone else was using because of the information divulged.

I had a female employee accuse one of my managers of sexual harassment. What she didn't realize was that he wasn't interested in females, at all. I thought I had a pretty clear cut case, as well there were several other employees that would have had to corroborate, and they wanted the chance to speak the truth about the female employee because it actually hurt her case a great deal. I hired a lawyer and right away started loosing money. Thankfully it was a long time friend, and he advised me to simply settle, and fast before my costs rapidly increased. Even though I knew I could win the case with no issue, I would have to pay a lot more in attorney fees, then it would cost to settle out of court with her. So that's what I did, I sometimes regret letting her get away with it but at the time it already put me into a tough situation so far as my business was concerned.


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## nickvc (Apr 24, 2012)

I think the truth about law is you can only get proper justice if your either rich or very poor where costs are paid by the state, the average Joe can't afford to take on big companies or rich individuals not with the costs of lawyers/ attorneys and or other professional advisers so many of us have to backdown or go bust trying to get justice, I'm not blaming the lawyers per se,as they need to eat too, but the system, I guess some things never change and never will.


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## butcher (May 5, 2012)

Seems like our "systems" are getting more backwards all of the time, too many foxes running the hen houses.


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## Smack (May 6, 2012)

Yup, we need a reset button. There has been a war on the middle class for over half a century. They are biting the hand that feeds and I'm afraid I will be long gone and won't get to participate when that hand turns to a fist.


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## MMFJ (May 6, 2012)

I'd like to get back to the topic, as I think many are interested in an 'answer' (although several of the posts here make it pretty clear there is no simple one - but, then, that is just life and business!)


Dave86 said:


> I looked into refining and decided it wasn't for me, at this time anyway.


Dave86, I couldn't agree with you more. My situation is more of a 'no where to process', but then I even went so far as to try it a bit (out in the parking lot...) and quickly found that the most dangerous mix was ME and chemicals - of any sort! 

So, I focused my time and effort on my core business - what I knew I could make happen myself, and also on building my TEAM around me that could do the other things I would need. Now, don't take that sentence lightly - it is one of the things I see that many people don't do and that is their crucial point of failure.

No one person can do it all - I don't care who you are (or even who you think you are...), we all need a support system around us to survive (the nice thing is that anyone that could actually prove this wrong would never be reading this post as there is no way to get on the internet without support! :shock: 

Anyway, building a TEAM is important. 

Just yesterday, a guy came to me with 50 lbs of motherboards (old Pentium style). He showed me a bottle of pins he has picked out, thinking he will process them himself (don't we all start that way?). After I spoke with him a bit, it was clear that he knew nothing of the method, and had no support for doing it - and the worst thing was, he didn't WANT any help or advise (I was going to recommend the forum to him, but he told me he already "knew" what to do....). I offered him $150 for the bottle (about 5 lbs of pins, with several bits of 'trash' in there - I estimated there would be about $200 - $300 of gold and hopefully more, then after I paid to ship it to a refiner and they take out 20% - 25%, I would get my money back and likely a small profit. He told me that he was just going to process it......

We talked about the other boards that I buy and he told me he had a "backyard full of that stuff", yet, again, was hesitant to sell, though he admitted that he really needed some cash - ??????

My point here is that without a TEAM, this guy has now become a HOARDER and has started to "love" his piles of trash! With a team in place (i.e., you already know where and what you are going to sell L O N G before you buy it, so you don't get caught up in hoarding garbage. 

Taking the time to think about what you are getting into with computers (btw, there is a LOT of scrap metal and plastic to deal with - you MUST have an answer to that as it piles up very, very quickly!) and how you are going to get out of it is really important.



Dave86 said:


> I'm talking about just scrapping computers and doing no other processing - simply seperating them into their different components.


The 'technical' terms is "E-WASTE DISMANTLER", and it is become a real 'fad' (1. because it is simple to do and 2. because it is rather fun, I think!)

This is what we are doing here and it is paying the bills (which answers your 'is it profitable' question - though it must be clear by all the folks on the forum that do it there must be some profit in it...). What you need is a BUSINESS PLAN, which will tell you, up front, if it is profitable or not. This is simple enough to do, just make an outline that asks a lot of questions, then answer them. You have already started that, but as several pointed out in this thread, you need to take a small sample and find out answers for yourself.

For us, we focused on the question "Can BUYING ewaste can be profitable?", and built our business model around it. The questions we ask in building this model were based more on "How much time, money and effort does it take to go around, collecting all the 'free' stuff from dozens of houses per week?" and "What is the MINIMUM that we would be willing to go pick up and at what distance?", etc. 

We found that simply paying folks to bring it to us was much more cost effective (in gas and drive time) and that we could do other things in the time it took to drive there and back (like tear down a dozen computers or something), being a LOT more productive overall. Of course, on a small scale (which is what most people seem to want, though I don't know if it is possible to keep the interest up as you get small piles of stuff everywhere {there's that hoarding again...} and it just never seems enough to sell.....) going around to all those houses and picking up their trash may work for some.

Here's a super-sharp tip, from one of the LARGE donation centers that I work with. 

The lady in charge told me that they used to go around, door to door, collecting all the 'donation' stuff until they tried a central donation location and found that the quality of items went WAY up, and their overall profit margin skyrocketed. 

Just think about it.... 

I know for our business, we found the exact same thing, and it didn't take long to see it! On the few times we tried going to people's houses, all they have is TRASH, but when we 'force' them to bring it to us, they only bring the GOOD stuff. And, lately, we have only been focusing on the MOST VALUABLE stuff, which has brought us a lot more profit, and a lot less work (just like someone said about 'work less, make more' - I've found it to always be true - and I'm not ashamed to admit I prefer that lifestyle!)



Dave86 said:


> Do you have any information on the range of values of computers? I.e. from X amount to Y amount?


Although you have been given very good advice and reasoning about why it is impossible to give a 'figure', I have done some consulting with others in the field (that do this on a much bigger scale than we do - I'm always looking for mentors that have been there, done that before me....) and they gave me a figure that seems to work pretty well as a 'benchmark' to start backtracking and basing my offers on when I buy. What they found, on average, with pre-2000 computers (some say to go back even a bit further - I like to just say the "white case" ones...), the TOTAL value of EVERYTHING in them (from the scrap metal to the plastic, gold and every other possible recoverable) is $12, which is BEFORE taking out any sort of expense (including the chemical, labor, transport, etc.) You are welcome to use that figure, though as everyone has told you, it varies wildly and rapidly on any particular computer (for example, those that have several PCI cards in them vs. those with none). This number is based on a LARGE number of computers with a vast array of configurations - i.e., YOUR MILEAGE WILL VARY!

As for what to pay for any one computer, we found that a price PER POUND has done wonders for us. It not only eliminates the question about "well, MY computer is so special and it has this, this, this, blah, blah, blah....." (because, if it has "more" it will WEIGH more..), it also eliminates having to deal with folks that have only one computer (or our worst enemy, someone with only ONE "broken" laptop or cell phone they want to sell for big$$$$$!) - what time wasters! We came up with a solution that works for us, estimating the time it takes to tear a computer apart, what is likely inside, what a 'typical' computer weighs and what we will be able to sell the parts for, etc. (yes, a bit of a spreadsheet and business plan!). 

We created a webpage that goes out and grabs our buyers pricing as well as the current price of gold and silver, then through a special formula (grabbed some numbers from the air and started massaging them until it worked out....), our "buy price" now is based on many factors and changes constantly (which makes it difficult to quote prices on the phone - another thing that 'time wasters' don't like, which is good for our business!) 

Those with big loads see that we are serious about moving their product, and are willing to give them the best price possible at any time. We have one guy that just brings in a pickup truck load of stuff and says "Give me $1/lb for the lot", even though he has a big mix of boards. The first time he came, we looked through the load, piece by piece (which took nearly two hours...) and found that to be a very good average. He knows his business and was looking for a good partner to buy from him - he found one!

One last thought on the 'yah-yah' garbage going on in this thread - the only way any business grows is by COMPETITION, which is, typically, wrought from previous employees and/or others that have viewed your success and tried to copy it. Sometimes, that puts the original company out of business, but, as I see it, that only happens because the original company forgot to continue to GROW and EXPAND their thinking (and/or services, etc.). This includes the folks we are selling our parts to - we constantly look for other buyers and if they don't keep up, we will go with the highest bidder (or at least try them once - recently we have given two other buyers a chance to win our business and we look forward to them proving it was a good decision!)

Anyone that doesn't embrace CHANGE is destined to failure. 

We are a very typical example as we were facing company closure about a year ago. We looked at our business model, which had been working for many years, and saw that market conditions caused buyer changes, and our bottom line was nearly drained! We looked, long and hard, at how we might bring about something different and saw nothing in our current model that was very promising. So, we made a change and started dismantling computers (for years, we have thrown them away or donated them to charity - just getting rid of them as fast as possible!). 

So far, it has worked well, as we are the 'only game in town' as far as buying ewaste. 

Will someone else try to do it? Most likely. In fact, we look forward to it, as we believe our business model is strong and it would be near impossible to offer more than we do, which will continue to bring us the business, even though someone else may advertise more, etc. (which helps get the word out for us!) If we see they are taking business from us, then we just have to find a way to go grab some other 'piece of the pie' - embracing change...!

It all depends on how you face the world. You can do so with the LACK mentality ("there's not enough to go around") or with the PLENTY one ("there's more than enough, just what do I want to go grab"). I know which one I chose!


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## stevem4323 (May 6, 2012)

Dave86 said:


> Is it possible to make a decent profit scrapping computers? I'm trying to do some maths on this (working out all my costs, time etc), but I have no idea how much scrap value is in an average computer. From what I've read on this forum and the wider internet, values seem to vary massively, which leads me to believe there is a lot "BS" floating around this subject.
> 
> My thoughts are to offer a free collection service for unwanted computers and other electrical appliances (DVD players, printers and the like). I would then scrap them and seperate the different metals (copper, steel, aluminium) and precious metal bearing parts (processors, RAM, boards). I would sell the bulky items to a local scrap yard and sell the precious metal bearing items on ebay or to a specialist buyer.
> 
> ...


hi dave ....i do know the exact amount a scrap computer is worth as i run a computer recycling company in birmingham and if you are doing computer recycling "on the side" ...dont bother we have to do it in hundreds of tons at a time if you want to collect free of charge you will not make any money 1 computer taken apart in the uk is worth around £5 and as for scrapping other electrical weee waste .....worthless...dvd players scanners printers etc only worth it if you have lots and lots and lots of tons of the stuff so back to the £5 pc by the time you take out transport then the time and effort to take it apart and the refiners wont look at you unless you have over 100 kilo of boards or ram and then they will charge around £300 for a 12 pallet consignment ...so i would maybe stick to the day job unless you read everything on here and refine yourself and maybe make afew more pound on top so if you want to buy a couple of ton of pcs let me know 
regards steve


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## Geo (May 6, 2012)

steve, remember that profit is relative to whom you are speaking with. if you are a large company with alot of overhead, then of coarse you need to deal in bulk to break even. only a small percent of the readers here will fall under this category. this topic has been discussed on the forum at least a few times since ive been here whether or not Ewaste in general is worth scrapping and can a profit be made. it has been shown by quite a few members that happen to make their living and lively hood from this very same type of material, so like i said, its relative to who you are speaking with. what you said is a very broad statement that can be taken to mean that scrapping a computer is a waste of time, this is a view that is shared by a few members here but by and large theres more members that feel that there is a hefty profit to be made by scrapping computers. if you feel that theres no money to be made with Escrap, then by all means thats your right, but would like to ask you that when make a statement like that you would include that its just your opinion as new readers may take what is written as gospel and miss out on the experience or opportunity to recycle and keep waste from the landfill and (maybe) make a little on the side.


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## stevem4323 (May 6, 2012)

Geo said:


> steve, remember that profit is relative to whom you are speaking with. if you are a large company with alot of overhead, then of coarse you need to deal in bulk to break even. only a small percent of the readers here will fall under this category. this topic has been discussed on the forum at least a few times since ive been here whether or not Ewaste in general is worth scrapping and can a profit be made. it has been shown by quite a few members that happen to make their living and lively hood from this very same type of material, so like i said, its relative to who you are speaking with. what you said is a very broad statement that can be taken to mean that scrapping a computer is a waste of time, this is a view that is shared by a few members here but by and large theres more members that feel that there is a hefty profit to be made by scrapping computers. if you feel that theres no money to be made with Escrap, then by all means thats your right, but would like to ask you that when make a statement like that you would include that its just your opinion as new readers may take what is written as gospel and miss out on the experience or opportunity to recycle and keep waste from the landfill and (maybe) make a little on the side.


if you look back i did say read all the posts on here and refine the computer yourself you will make a few more pound ...but to refine e waste as i said and not computers ie printers scanners dvd players is a different story ....as a business we make our profit on the removal and data destruction ....so on the whole i was basicly saying stick to computers read all the helpful hints and stay away from the lightweight ewaste ...and i agree keep it out of landfil since we have been going we have saved over 1000 tons from going in the ground


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## schomisch (May 7, 2012)

I must say I personally take in ANY type of E-waste this includes all the low grade stuff. I would say that 70-80% of the weight in material I receive is low grade(what some consider junk/ waste of time). Given this I can still say I make out very well. It pays all my bills and still puts money in the bank. I know many reading this will not be able to take in some things, like crts they consume huge amounts of space. The biggest thing to consider is what can I sell this for. You should know roughly what you can get for what you take in. Then you need to consider do I have room to hold this until I get enough to sell. Some plastics companies will only take it 40,000lb at a time while others may be at like 15,000lbs but this takes a good chunk of real estate. hehe If you can keep your overhead low you can make out well in this business =))

~Chris!~


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## trashmaster (May 10, 2012)

MMFJ thank you for your post and your insight. :lol: 
I know that it took some time to put that all together and was well writen..


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## MMFJ (May 10, 2012)

trashmaster said:


> MMFJ thank you for your post and your insight. :lol:
> I know that it took some time to put that all together and was well writen..


You (and all that appreciate and/or can benefit from it) are welcome.

It is nice to know that, on occasion, one of my 'soap box rants' gets read! :lol:


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## Synuae (Dec 26, 2012)

Post edit: Removed a good portion of this post due to its content, advised to read forum rules and proper conduct on the forum, we shall conduct ourselves here as gentlemen, we can disagree respectfully.
Butcher

I am offended by a post that wasnt even directed towards me...i think its the amount of disrespect i found in ericrm's posts when someone was just taking their own valuable time to give a well informed answer to a valid question.


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## Geo (Dec 26, 2012)

most companies that are concerned about employees learning the trade from them and then going into business for themselves have a non-disclosure agreement that stipulates that the employee can not engage in the type of business for a set amount of time after becoming separated from the company. any company that is unable or unwilling to go that extra mile is fair game. its called free enterprise. 

Synuae, i know what it must look like to you and believe me when i say, foul language was addressed after the thread started by Harold V (one of our moderators) and all members were admonished about using bad language. read this thread. notice the date of when the offensive language was used and the date Harold posted. you may go back and edit out what may be offensive as Harold already warned the guilty parties about this.

http://goldrefiningforum.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=14035


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## Pantherlikher (Dec 27, 2012)

All in all this is a good thread. Got several views on wether Ewaste is a waste or not. And there is always at least 1 that takes advice the wrong way and emotions intervein. 
In my own personal opinion. It's not worth the time involved to get every cent possible.. 
That being said, I have 4 kids in my care that no one else would be able to deal with so I can not have a full time JOB. "MOM" has a great JOB and can pay bills and all just enough for us to drown a slow and painfull death...
So, putting my "gotta know how it works and why" mentality to work. I went and tried the "give me your computer scrap" method. Not enough aound here in the country as well as several "buyers" already working on tight margins.
I goto local auctions and buy box lots as cheaply as possible and scrap every little piece of metal. Taring things apart untill unrecognizable to get as much "EXTRA", used loosely, Cash as I can to help.
Hoping 1 day to make enough to have a descent income from it.

So in the end, it's all a matter of perspective as to wether it's worth it or not.

BS.
Finding Sanity to be only a mass dillusional reality...


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## joem (Dec 27, 2012)

There are plenty of good and bad with ewaste. It does not matter if you classify it as "low grade" boards or "low grade" people. Some like it and some don't. For myself I accept all, period. Every piece of scrap is worth money to me and in the past two years I have made good profits which have given my kids lots of extras I could not have before I met ewaste and metal scrap. Some ewaste I buy and I have regular sellers, we both know we need to make profits and we both accept it. But Most comes from just telling people what I do and I ask for ewaste. Precious metal recovery, I my case gold, is just the icing on the cake. I will be expanding my gold recovery but in retrospect it was ewaste that brought me to where I am in my life. Years back when my wife became sick and could not work I took a job doing dishes in a restaurant. It kept me away from home most evenings and weekend just to cover the utility bills. Now I stay at home more often and make many times the money I made from the minimum wage job. It was mentioned that making money on ewaste is unique to each person, that is true, if you make it unique to you and accept help when available then you will succeed.


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