today's disappointing pickup

this morning i get a call from a long time customer, he says he needs a pickup asap.

so..... i rush over (45 minute drive on a sunday) when i get there he has 14 - "2 cubic foot" boxes full of very small pieces of metal, plastic plates from the cd rom slot on new PC cases, plastic bags with audio cables that go from the cd rom to the motherboard ($2.00 worth) & thats it.....(grumble grumble). :!: ...

i say thank you, shake his hand & off i go back to my shop.
halfway back to my shop i turn right on to the highway & head home when i should have turned left to go to my shop.....(grumble grumble).. :!: ..

i get home, park in the parking lot & get out of my van, i pull out my phone to text my wife about how .....(grumble grumble). :!: ... my day went.

as i am looking down at my phone i see a $50.00 dollar bill on the ground, thinking quick i pick it up, wet my finger in my mouth to see which way the wind was blowing, i look in the direction of the wind & there was a $20.00 bill. at that moment i was very happy that i took that right turn & not a left :lol:

and no longer cared about being called out on a sunday to pick up a bunch of worthless scrap.......... :!: ...(happy happy, free tank of gas).. :!: ..

It is always smart business to take the bad with the good.

Wait...He sent for you to pick up new plastic CD rom hole covers, wire and bits of metal...
Huh..
Wonder where all those new PCs are going and what's gonna happen to all those old PCs?

B.S.

i have picked up many old PC's over the last 4 years from him, i think with our last big snowfall & then a thaw with some rain may have flooded his basement, the boxes smelled like mold.

i will take pictures, its in my van. maybe i will crawl under a few cars looking for another $20..... LOL

i was at his shop 2 weeks ago. got lots of clean boards & cards (30lbs) cd rom (80lbs) hard drives (4lbs) yep four, about 60 lbs of good wire & guessing 20 - 22 PC's

here is some of it.

I get a haul about that size every 3 months or so from a small PC repair shop
The best was the first haul. They gave me like 30 dead laptops. I don't love tearing them apart but the boards are nicer compared to some of the newer desktops.
. Keeps me happy and in my hobby.

For that kind of contact, when they call, you run. For what ever and say thank you.
I got a pile of laptops I'm dredding "D" day...Destruction. Same with hundreds of cell phones. Might just sell them.

I did however win a small lot at an online auction. Went Saturday to get mine and asked about what gets left behind. Take them was my responce. Not alot and I handed the guy a $20 for letting me. Got my name in and a van load of scrap to cover costs and have boards to process.
About 30 finger cards made the 0 profit day worth the effort.

B.S.

i don't take laptops apart, remove the ram & hard drive & its $0.40 a lb, if the screen is good there is a quick $10.00

i can never find philips bits small enough to use in my drill for laptops & i don't like dumping all that plastic