question on boards

[radical351]

can the forum give me a grade on these boards. low grade mid grade etc. what do you'all think these are?


ray

 

[jeneje]

I have sold some similar to those to boardsort for high grade. Hope this helps you. I would check with Chris at Boardsort.com they are great people to do business with.
Ken

 

[MMFJ]

I agree, though the second board has a lot of 'bulky items' on it and I'd have to push it more toward peripheral (unfortunately there is no 'middle grade' at boardsort - one of the challenges I have often with folks selling me boards).

If for California, it is common to grade by "populated" - 'low populated', 'medium populated' and 'high populated' - 'low' somewhat relates to what boardsort calls peripheral and 'high' meets 'telecom', but there really isn't a mid-populated grade with them.

If you remove that bulky stuff, I'd call it a telecom grade (boardsort requires pictures be sent before paying that, so you have to get Chris to grade it - do not rely on anything anyone else says).

The only truth about grading is - check with the folks you are selling to - they are the only ones that really count in any grading!

 

[Geo]

definitely milspec. some of the best Escrap you can get aside from medical.

 

[radical351]

thank you all for replying. i have sent a pic to boardsort tuesday afternoon but i have not recieved a responce. thats why i made the post. i just wanted to make sure they were good boards and not a low grade board.


thank you again

ray

 

[MMFJ]

thank you all for replying. i have sent a pic to boardsort tuesday afternoon but i have not recieved a responce. thats why i made the post. i just wanted to make sure they were good boards and not a low grade board.


thank you again

ray

let's just say that you don't have that worry on any of these boards! If you can get this stuff in quantity, you'll have no problem selling them for a good price.

Again, a good way to tell about 'quality' is by the number of IC chips on there (the black square or rectangle things made of something that looks like tile, in case you don't know the term) - yeah, the stuff these boards are just filled with! That's the parts on the electronics that have much of the gold.

You could also sell these boards to forum members in the 'Sale or Wanted' section. Be sure to tell where you are so people can determine the shipping rates.

 

[radical351]

i did brake an ic chip apart and looked at with a magnifying glass and didnt see any gold in there. is it in very small amounts?

 

[MMFJ]

i did brake an ic chip apart and looked at with a magnifying glass and didnt see any gold in there. is it in very small amounts?

some are very, very tiny and some are visible, like in the top picture, left side - looks like you broke two apart there. Also, take the paper off the ones next to them and look for a little glass window - those are really easy to see the gold (though it is still tiny bits!)

 

[Geo]

not all Eproms have gold,but i found the ones with the silver looking pads under the chips seem to be palladium.

 

[radical351]

this is where i am on this.
seller wants 4.50 a lb
i tested one board if i tore it done and sold off the parts.
i did it to the first board pictured in the post
the board was 13 oz
it cost me to buy.....$3.71
if i sold it.... with the pins off.....$3.44
with the ic chips off i would get
ic chips.....$2.25
then the board would be low grade and i would get 6cents for it.



please correct me if im wrong, but this sounds like a bad deal

 

[Geo]

are you considering the value of the parts as you remove them? your only listing the depreciating value of the board as parts are removed. if the pins will yield 1 grain of gold, thats like $15.

and too, in the top picture, i see three canister type diodes.those yield high gold content. under the iron cap is a chip with gold bonding wires and the base is thick gold plate on the bottom and top of the bottom base.

 

[pinwheel]

We consider these high grade boards. The more chips on board the better.

 

[MMFJ]

seller wants 4.50 a lb

(said in best Mythbuster's impersonation possible....) - - Now, THERE's your PROBLEM! :shock:

1. Even if the gold bits yield $10 - $15, you still have to process them (takes time, chemicals) = little/no profit (though perhaps a learning experience if money is unlimited in your world....)

2. If boardsort (may not be "the" place to sell, but everyone on this forum references them and for most purposes they are the benchmark price...) is only paying $4.15/lb (6-22-12 rate), how can you justify $4.50/lb??? Even taking the parts, etc., which they obviously do somewhere down the line, their profit margin is pretty low on any one board (they make it up in volume), so just how could you ever pay at/near their price and make anything???

3. FYI, we pay about $1.35/lb for such boards and get quite a few each week (not meant as a solicitation, only as an example of what you might look at for pricing).

4. Basic rule (print this out on massively large letters, tattoo on forehead - whatever it takes for you to remember....)
YOU MUST BUY FOR LESS THAN YOU CAN SELL IT - and, a good 'rule of thumb' is 1/2 of what you know you can sell it for QUICKLY leaves you a reasonable margin of error and a profit - then, there's never a question of 'deal' or not!

 

[radical351]

thank you all for the replies and all your wisdom.
i did pass on this pile

ray