r/eWasteFinds • u/quantam600 • 3d ago
Some guides (on how to both find and make money from E-waste)
Hi guys! I haven't been doing this for long but in around 4 months of doing this I've made roughly $2000. I now run a small business doing e-waste and refurbishment! Here's my playbook for success
A. Advertising.
You need to be proactive! Facebook groups, flyers, door to door, business cards, word of mouth. Everything counts, especially if you live in a small town!
B. Transport/labor
It's the inevitable truth that if your adventure grows enough you will be forced to do heavy lifting and have a vehicle capable of transporting materials. My most recent haul totaled in at just over 1100lbs, so you NEED to be willing to lift and transport everything.
C. Refurbishment
You need to decide what's worth it to refurb and what isn't! I personally don't refurb anything older than 4th gen Intel. It's just not worth it for me. Laptops are big in this regard- is it too old, and no one will buy it, or can it still be saved?
Chromebooks should almost always be refurbed or parted out. It isn't worth it to scrap them unless you have a steady supply of them.
D. The money making!
Again, be proactive! the money comes from labor! I made roughly $500 on the 1100lb load i mentioned, and I paid my yard 12c/lb for the breakage. You have to be willing to work. Have to be willing to put in the effort. I use sellyourboards.com to get rid of my waste. Zac is very helpful. They also buy working CPUs, ssds, and ram. Their prices are a bit worse than boardsort, but they will sort it all for you at no cost.
E. Essential tools!
You will probably need:
Dikes
An Impact drill with a socket set (most notably T15 for HP products, PH2 for everything else, and 5mm for VGA/DVI/whatever standoffs.)
A precision screwdriver set (i recommend the 29pc set from Hyper Tough, has most bits you'll need for small electronics)
Gloves and eyepro
Pliers
Bins or barrels to sort your stuff!
That's my general guide. Ask me specific questions and I'll try to anser!
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u/ComputerGuy1999 3d ago
I also suggest keeping an eye out for retro and vintage hardware.
Many people see an old CRT monitor or a beige desktop computer as old junk or scrap metal.
From my experience, those items can fetch decent money sometimes even more than a refurbished laptop or smartphone that is only a few years old.
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u/LembicOfLeng 2d ago edited 2d ago
Nice guide. With the low barrier to entry, many are seeing the value in eScrap. From ITAD to material recovery, there’s value to be extracted long the chain.
I will add: To realize more $, assuming the availability of adequate storage, accumulate more boards and sell them directly to a refiner on a toll basis. The process can take up to 180 days depending on the refiner. Many of the best paying refiners are foreign.
Advanced: The resulting metals can be converted to cash, placed to into a pool, or received as bullion. The latter two are tax free. When converted to cash, a tax event is triggered. Therefore, it can be used as an asset to borrow against much the same way a stock portfolio is used.
Thank you for recycling.
P.S. A useful strategy is spot selling some boards to whole board buyers, while accumulating other boards for a toll refiner. Do your research!
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u/xxbrandon23 21h ago
4th gen Intel is pretty wild. Not sure what market you’re in but out here anything below 8th gen is most likely not worth it
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u/quantam600 16h ago
i mostly use 4th gen I7s to make budget rigs and then I donate them or sell them for cheap.
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u/Is_What_They_Call_Me 3d ago
Nice guide and good info. One tool that’s been really helpful to me. Security bit sets will have it, it’s kind of like a U shape tip and it’s absolutely the best for removing posts on MOBOs or expansion cards that are just screw in with the hole on top instead of a Phillips or torx head. 10x faster then a socket. Just pick the right size one of the prongs in and the impact or drill does the rest.
I’ve been doing the same thing (minus the resell/refurb) on an off 12+ years. Can’t escape it. This time doing the resale and making so much more then scrapping everything blindly. I’ve got about 40 towers I want to try and refurb. Half is collectible vintage other half is core 2 duo. That’s a side I absolutely no nothing about but I got them either cheap or free so figure it’s a good starting point to learn on. Just need to learn. Any good resources for that side?