Old lady has a lot of old computers! get them or not?

brendan1414 · Nov 6, 2011

So my stepdad had found this old lady with a bunch of older computers, a "shed full" she said. i said we should go get them, but i am not sure at all how these things do with scrap content. So i called a local scrapyard and they said $0.03 a lb on computer scrap, and a CHARGE of $0.40 for monitors. granted that half of the computer stuff is monitors, is it worth going to pick it all up? please help me out and convince my stepdad to go get them :icon_pirat:

Brian B · Nov 6, 2011

Don't know a lot of puters, but search the htreads on here. Some good info. I think most sale the boards and stuff on ebay and craigslist. Just browse the old threads, you'll dig up some good info.

ilyaz · Nov 6, 2011

brendan1414 said:
So my stepdad had found this old lady with a bunch of older computers, a "shed full" she said. i said we should go get them, but i am not sure at all how these things do with scrap content. So i called a local scrapyard and they said $0.03 a lb on computer scrap, and a CHARGE of $0.40 for monitors. granted that half of the computer stuff is monitors, is it worth going to pick it all up? please help me out and convince my stepdad to go get them

A lb of motherboards, PCI cards, boards from CD ROMS. DVD ROMS etc is about $4.00 now (check boardsort.com). Plus RAM. Plus CPUs. Plus wire etc. I think a rule of thumb is a good purchase price for an average desktop is $4-5. Lower for laptops.

manorman · Nov 6, 2011

unless you can get rid of the monitors without paying you wont make money.
you might be able to drop off the monitors one at time to stores that have recycling programs like best buy.
Mike

brendan1414 · Nov 7, 2011

manorman said:
unless you can get rid of the monitors without paying you wont make money.
you might be able to drop off the monitors one at time to stores that have recycling programs like best buy.
Mike

First off i don't even have to PAY for them, ilyaz just pick them up! and i have a "dump" spot where my grandpa uses all the time so it shouldnt be an issue for dumping. and there is a solid 10oz of #2 copper fine wire in those monitors as well!

goverton · Nov 7, 2011

brendan1414 said:
manorman said:

unless you can get rid of the monitors without paying you wont make money.
you might be able to drop off the monitors one at time to stores that have recycling programs like best buy.
Mike

Click to expand...

First off i don't even have to PAY for them, ilyaz just pick them up! and i have a "dump" spot where my grandpa uses all the time so it shouldnt be an issue for dumping. and there is a solid 10oz of #2 copper fine wire in those monitors as well!

Not enough money in this to mess with. Tell her she should call Salvation Army or Goodwill to give them away.
Old Tech. that no one wants anymore. CRT monitors are not to mess with.....spelled C A P A C IT ORS

Bum Luck · Nov 7, 2011

Go metal detecting instead............. :icon_sunny:

jerseyben · Nov 7, 2011

I would LOVE it if someone offered to let me pick up a shed of old desktops. I personally only scrap the easy stuff: cpu, ram, and gold fingers (pci boards). Then I put it back together and put them on the curb and let the dozens of other local scrappers have at the harder to break down components. Almost every part of a computer is scrap-able. I just take the gold plated stuff to sell in bulk on ebay. Look it up and see JUST how much money can be made by doing this and it is very easy to store in a box.
Note: STAY AWAY from old monitors at all costs!

silversaddle1 · Nov 7, 2011

So let me see if i have this right. You want to pull the copper out of the monitors and then dump the rest in grandpa's secret dump site so someone else has to deal with them later?

Please don't bother with the computer scrap. Let someone recycle them in a safe and correct manner.

brendan1414 · Nov 8, 2011

no one has to deal, they will break down over thousands of years on his property. its not hurting anything

spankster13 · Nov 8, 2011

I started dealing with boardsort.com 3 months ago and won't sell anymore scrap on ebay. There prices are great if you don't have the ability to refine or recover the pm's yourself. Prices just went up this week on most items. Average desktop weighs 20-25lbs. Mobo's average 1-2lbs each($4.40 lb) same with the smaller boards. It takes 30-50 pieces of ram to make a pound but at 14.50 a lb it adds up. I will pay 5.00 tops for a dead desktop an make back at least 10-15$ each just in scrap. Shreader pays 12cents a pound in wv . I recycle between 5-10 desktops weekly and get them all off of Craigslist mostly for free. Most dead computers still have good hard drives, ram, and prosessors that can be sold for 5-10$ as long as you test them. You won't get rich from recycling computers but its good cash flow in the winter months when there are no yard sales to go to.

Felinepeachy · Nov 8, 2011

brendan1414 said:
no one has to deal, they will break down over thousands of years on his property. its not hurting anything

YES, someone WILL have to deal with it. He won't own that property forever. It is toxic waste and a hazard to people, animals and the environment. They contain many toxic substances, such as dioxins, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), cadmium, chromium, radioactive isotopes, and mercury. Circuit boards contain considerable quantities of lead-tin solders and are even more likely to leach into groundwater.

It's very irresponsible to just dump it, even on private property. Not to mention, illegal. >:(

jerseyben · Nov 9, 2011

spankster13 said:
I started dealing with boardsort.com 3 months ago and won't sell anymore scrap on ebay. There prices are great if you don't have the ability to refine or recover the pm's yourself. Prices just went up this week on most items. Average desktop weighs 20-25lbs. Mobo's average 1-2lbs each($4.40 lb) same with the smaller boards. It takes 30-50 pieces of ram to make a pound but at 14.50 a lb it adds up. I will pay 5.00 tops for a dead desktop an make back at least 10-15$ each just in scrap. Shreader pays 12cents a pound in wv . I recycle between 5-10 desktops weekly and get them all off of Craigslist mostly for free. Most dead computers still have good hard drives, ram, and prosessors that can be sold for 5-10$ as long as you test them. You won't get rich from recycling computers but its good cash flow in the winter months when there are no yard sales to go to.

This seems like a good resource for dumping unwanted misc board materials but a quick ebay search reveals that it is still more lucrative to sell the high gold content stuff on ebay (ram, cpu, and gold fingers). I like that they buy trimmed boards because before I was just tossing those! Thanks for the info!

cancrusher · Nov 11, 2011

i wish i was to no the location of grampas dump i would be going there with the POLICE to lock both of you very bad boys up

manorman · Nov 14, 2011

Old CRT glass is full of lead gets into the ground and and water, no good for anyone.
Mike

aaron7 · Nov 30, 2011

Check craigslist. I found a guy who's paying me $20/lb for memory (gold fingered or not, money is in the dense memory CHIPS!) as well as higher prices for everything else than boardsort.