I used eBay to get enough raw materials in the initial learning stages. It didn't take long to figure out how much people embellish on the true amount of recoverable gold. I also learned there's one born every minute, like I was, so much so that now that I found where to get materials, I put a lot of it on eBay knowing that it LOOKS like lots of gold, but I can get more value (money) from someone who sees the gold and gets emotional over it. Emotion always overrides logic as they say in the sales business. That's not to say eBay cannot be a good source, but buyers should set the prices, not the sellers, especially in an auction type venue
Find other places and be skeptical about overseas sellers offering "too good to be true" deals. One example was a vendor in Cameroon offering a full ton...2,000 lbs of Intel pentium pro ceramic chips for $700.00. The shipping was a flat fee and that was before I even told the chap where I wanted it shipped. He said he had an "arrangement" with a shipping vessel.
Best practice......keep your eyes open. Like just yesterday walking into Walmart right next to an Office Max, someone just tossed their used printer ink cartridges on the ground next to where their car was parked. Easily overlooked, but they are already part of my next batch to ne refined. Like I said, keep your eyes peeled and you see stuff all over the place.
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