Frustrations!

[Tmcfarland1983]

Well I've been into the gold refining "scene" for about a month now. Countless hours I've spent pouring over posts, researching chemicals, watching videos and looking for the ever elusive e-scrap. I had two old AMD computers sitting around the house and I've separated those as best possible. Even without buying the first chemical or smelting any gold I've been hooked on this since I stumbled across LazerSteve's web page. But I've ran into a pretty big roadblock and thought I'd let you guys be my emotional tampon and get some opinions. I can't seem to find any scrap anywhere! Posts on craigslist, a trip to the local metal yard, phone calls to friends; They all have turned up dry sources. The scrap yard was wise to the PM content in E-waste and had allready began to pull towers out of the junk. The post on craigslist are clever enough, stating that "I'm out save the planet" and "keep it green!" still no calls. You guys have no idea the obsession I have with this! Someone steer me in the direction of the mounds and mounds of e-junk being thrown away daily, please?

 

[escrap]

Where are you located at. Knowing your location may help with pointing you toward the right direction.

Zack.

 

[joem]

check out my posts on advertising

 

[Tmcfarland1983]

I've read a couple of posts on advertising as well, haven't tried that route yet. I'm located in GA, about 50 miles north of Atlanta.

 

[escrap]

Being located near a big city is generally a good thing. The best advice that I could give you would be talk to the computer shops in your area. Most of those places generally do not have an outlet. And if they do it is somewhere they have to bring it too. Offer to pick it up from them and save them a trip. Most places will jump at the chance to get rid of their junk and not have to go anywhere to do it. This is how i started and now I have all the scrap I could ever dream of, but now i just want even more, lol.

 

[joem]

I have really found in my diiferent online postings that saving the planet is not high on people's lists. Offering a service with a little perk (free coffee and donut) does better. Putting usable computers into the hands of needy organizations or schools works too. Saving them trouble and hassle also works. But just getting your name and services out there will also pay off. You need to put in some gas money and go around to different computer suppliers and repair people and talk to them. Create a regular weekly route that they can depend on your arrival on certain days.

 

[Palladium]

I'm located in GA, about 50 miles north of Atlanta.

You need to be looking in the ground instead of the dumpster in that part of the country. lol

Welcome to the forum.

 

[dtectr]

I'm located in GA, about 50 miles north of Atlanta.

You need to be looking in the ground instead of the dumpster in that part of the country. lol

Welcome to the forum.

GA is STILL gold country! lol

re: joem - he's the king of advertising & promoting himself, which is what this biz, like most service-type ones
are about. They have to give someone their stuff, they'd rather give it to someone they like. Its sales, & successful
sales is about selling yourself/company.

For example:
I tore down a laptop that was beyond repair, but the cd/dvd-rom & wireless module were still good. I took them to a local
computer shop I'd been to before & offered to sell them to him for $5. He bit & though we both know I could have got more on FleeBay
he seemed to appreciate the gesture. he's now on my route.

Unfortunately, everyone else does FeeBay & they see computer components bringing ridiculous prices, so they think they're sitting on a goldmine.
Fortunately, a lot of people are also lazy, so after their first or second bad online auction experience, they may be more likely to part with it.
use the time to build up an image of confidence & professionalism, & PM joem re: some advertising ideas or go to his profile & search his posts for them.

Joem - hope thats ok??

good luck & hang in there.

just my dos centavos.

just my dos centavos.

 

[joem]

hehe, dtectr, hardly a king, but I just love doing that stuff and I love computers and the insides, but most of all in this type of thing I love money.
I will help where I can and If I can't? maybe I can direct someone to the right information. When one of my students make a mistake or need a new direction, I use my tag line "It's all learning".

 

[glorycloud]

There are lots and lots and lots of folks in Georgia "hauling" off
computers for free. It's pretty competitive. You need to know someone
before they will simply hand over their computers to you here.

Good luck amigo.

 

[Ocean]

My path to community approval and officialdom (read: butt loads of e-scrap!)has been paved by the befriending a succession of different professions:

1. Scrap(Junk) Haulers: They do not want to take anything apart in most cases, and you can pay them a little more than they are getting at the scrap yards. Find them and let them know this.

2. Computer Repair & IT companies: They are major producers of "junk" electronics. Offer them something, no matter how little, and most will be glad to have you buy it from them and take it away. There may be some competition here, but be persistent, confident, and friendly.

3. Charity Organizations: I am now holding Electronics Recycling Events by partnering with Charity Organizations to raise money for them. This has turbocharged my business and provided me with more electronics scrap than I can process with one full time employee.

I hope my succesful road map can help you in some way.

Print cards and give them to everyone you meet. You would be surprised how many calls I get from those cards (free at Vistaprint.com)

Always be positive.

Always be friendly.

And never give up!

 

[rbramsey]

I've read a couple of posts on advertising as well, haven't tried that route yet. I'm located in GA, about 50 miles north of Atlanta.

I have dredged gold just a few miles north of you. To me it feels just as good to get gold from the ground as it does from the scrap. Check into GPAA for starters on panning and sluicing. Before long, you end up like me and have a 5" dredge. Gold fever comes in many different strains.

Richard

 

[Tmcfarland1983]

I've read a couple of posts on advertising as well, haven't tried that route yet. I'm located in GA, about 50 miles north of Atlanta.

I have dredged gold just a few miles north of you. To me it feels just as good to get gold from the ground as it does from the scrap. Check into GPAA for starters on panning and sluicing. Before long, you end up like me and have a 5" dredge. Gold fever comes in many different strains.

Richard

Yes GA is good for panning and such. My parents home is five miles east of the Creighton gold mine, which the Etowah River collapsed waaaayyy back in the day. I've done my fair share of panning in my youth and had plenty of color but the refining processes intrigues me. Gentlemen, I really appreciate all your input and suggestions. I'll stop by some repair shops and such, print up some business cards. All great ideas I completely overlooked.

 

[joem]

I was just out walking my dog and looking at the garbages at the curb to see if any unwanted electronic are there and it occured to me...
YES, get some cards or flyers printed ready for the new year. Since it's christmas and boxing week sales are comimg I'm thinking there are a lot of consumers buying new machines and probably do not know what to do with the old ones. You can be in the right place at the right time for pick up if they know you exist.

and an after thought for me " I need to make some - Santa got you a new "baby" ? Let me haul the old "Grampa" away! flyers.

 

[CARRJAM1981]

Just like E-SCRAP says try computer repair shops I do really well there. Also I started with an ad on C.S. reaching out for the scrappers. Let them come to you and if you buy some from them they are the ones out running there gas. Now I get so much I turn down the ones I need to pay for. Do not give up you will find some. I started the same way you did just wating for the next tower.

 

[ilyaz]

I actually had the same questions as Tmcfarland1983, so thanks much for all the advice. Now, I am curious whether the following twist on buying from scrap haulers would work. Since I am not interested in scrapping steel, can I offer a hauler that does steel everything that is left off when I take apart computers, microwaves etc in exchange for intact computers, microwaves etc? Has anyone tried offering this type of exchange in addition to/instead of paying them for this stuff?

 

[Barren Realms 007]

I actually had the same questions as Tmcfarland1983, so thanks much for all the advice. Now, I am curious whether the following twist on buying from scrap haulers would work. Since I am not interested in scrapping steel, can I offer a hauler that does steel everything that is left off when I take apart computers, microwaves etc in exchange for intact computers, microwaves etc? Has anyone tried offering this type of exchange in addition to/instead of paying them for this stuff?

I don't think you are going to find on that will do a trade like this but anything is possible. It would be better for you to buy the material and then take the metal to the scrap yard because the scrapper that you uy the computers from is going to try to buy the metal from you at a discount so they can make more profit.

 

[Ocean]

I actually had the same questions as Tmcfarland1983, so thanks much for all the advice. Now, I am curious whether the following twist on buying from scrap haulers would work. Since I am not interested in scrapping steel, can I offer a hauler that does steel everything that is left off when I take apart computers, microwaves etc in exchange for intact computers, microwaves etc? Has anyone tried offering this type of exchange in addition to/instead of paying them for this stuff?

I don't think you are going to find on that will do a trade like this but anything is possible. It would be better for you to buy the material and then take the metal to the scrap yard because the scrapper that you uy the computers from is going to try to buy the metal from you at a discount so they can make more profit.

I used a similar method to get started until I found better sources:

I told scrappers I would buy their old towers, and when they showed up to sell them to me, I would give them a little extra metal to sweeten the deal. This metal was from cases of other towers already taken apart.

Once my volume got higher, I stopped doing that to sell the metal myself.

 

[ilyaz]

I used a similar method to get started until I found better sources:

I told scrappers I would buy their old towers, and when they showed up to sell them to me, I would give them a little extra metal to sweeten the deal. This metal was from cases of other towers already taken apart.

Once my volume got higher, I stopped doing that to sell the metal myself.

How much did you pay them for a tower?

 

[Ocean]

I paid $3 if full

Or $2 if not.