2 Best Gold and Precious Metals Refining and Recovery Books

Thousand have download my free report on recovering gold from plated materials, though I do not recommend that anyone do their own refining unless they REALLY know what they are doing, follow all the regulations and safeguards. I thought that even if one does not want to do their own refining, it is good to know how it is done when dealing with refiners. Both of these books helped me a great deal early on in my business. In fact, I was fortunate enough to have corresponded with both authors and got a lot of help.

I've provided links to the books at Amazon.com. They're pretty pricey. You may be able to do better at a local used bookstore.

Recovery And Refining Of Precious Metals by C.W. Ammen

Gold Refining by George Gajda

Best of Luck and MERRY CHRISTMAS

Mike

Free Subscription to Resource Recycling and E-Scrap News

I have found both Resource Recycling and E-Scrap News very helpful in my salvage and recycling business. You can subscribe to Resource Recycling for free at resource-recycling.com/freetrialsub. You can also receive free E-Scrap News and Resource Recycling newsletters at resource-recycling.com/esn_mag.

I hope that you find these resources helpful.

Mike

Pallet Load of E-Waste to Cashforcomputerscrap

Hi - Well, after my terrible experience with ECS Refining, a wasted day and 400 miles of driving for nothing, I palletized my load of mid to high grade circuit boards and sent them off to Cashforcomputerscrap. Once I hear back about the value of the pallet, I'll fill you in on what was promised and what went wrong at ECS Refining. I've dealt with Cashforcomputerscrap once before and it was a perfect deal. I sent CPUs and memory and I was paid about 15% MORE than I expected. There was no out of pocket expense as they arranged shipping and then deducted the cost from my settlement. I had a check in my hand in California in less than 10 days after sending my shipment to their facility in Mentor, Ohio. Such a deal!

Mike

Electronic Scrap, E-Waste, E-Scrap Adventures - Sorting out e-scrap buyers

Hi - Well, I've had quite a couple of weeks with e-scrap. I'm responsible to you all - readers of the blog, visitors to the website and purchasers of the ebook - to investigate buyers of our scrap and to report back to you. I've found a buyer on the West Coast who treated me right, one that didn't at all. A great one in Ohio. I'm busy today palletizing a load, but hope to have photos and a detailed reports on the "good, bad and the ugly." :) Stay tuned.

Mike

Scrap Metal & E-Waste Prices. Are We In a Bubble? What To Do

Hello - Been awhile. First, I'm really sorry for not writing more lately. I've been working hard in my scrap business. I thought I should tell you about this.

I got a very interesting email from a fellow wondering what is happening with scrap metal prices. Though I haven't yet taken the time to really research the subject thoroughly I do have some thoughts based on my three decades of experience and what I've heard and read recently.

check out Scrap Metal Prices Up/Down. Is This a Bubble? What To Do and let me know what you think.

Best to you,

Mike

How Can I Get Good Value for Collectibles When No One is Buying?

I hear this question a lot. Everywhere I turn, it seems, I hear people saying something like no one is buying anything.

They're right. With few exceptions. People just aren't buying stuff, especially collectibles.

Sometimes the best value for something is not money, but something of more value. Recently I was able to trade a couple of old (and valuable in a good economy) bottles for a really nice sailboat. Here's a picture:

You can read more about this deal here and maybe it will give you some ideas for how you can get really great value for your collectibles.

Mike

E-Waste Conference Coming Up Soon

Hi - Just a quick headsup. The 2012 E-Waste Conference is coming up September 19th in Dallas.

E-Waste 2012 Website

If you go, tell us all about it when you return.

Thanks

Mike

West Coast E-Waste and Electronics Scrap Buyers and Refiners

Hi - I've been tearing down a lot of old computers. Also been looking at all the prices various companies pay. All the regular ones are in the Midwest or East, but I thought there's gotta be some places in the West. Specifically I'm looking for ones in Northern California. So, I started calling and so far have found one in Sacrament, CA. Prices are about 80% of what I've seen in other parts of the country. This is not bad considering savings in shipping, but it's curious. I mean, in the West, we're closer to Asia where I imagine most of this e-scrap ends up, right? So why the lower prices? Maybe not enough competition?

I'll keep researching. I plan to take a load in within the next 5 days or so. Once I do, I'll let you know how it goes.

If you know of any West Coast e-waste buyers or refiners, please let me know.

Thanks,

Mike

Recycling and Salvage Success Stories

Hi - I've written a lot about my successeses in the business, but I haven't heard too much from you all. I'd love to hear about what you are doing. Your successes may encourage others to do the same. Also, you may learn from the successes (and failures) of others. I'll post anything you send me here on the blog and at recyclingsecrets.com. I'll only use your initials and town/city. If you do not want me to post your response, be sure to tell me.

Finally, I'm always open to questions and I'll answer as best I can. Check the website above for emailing me any questions or just post to this blog.

Thanks,

Mike

State Legislation and Impact on Electronic Recycling

Over the last years 20+ states have enacted e-scrap legislation according to E-Scrap News. The negative and positive impact of these laws is a major topic at the E-Scrap Conference in Dallas, TX, September 19-20, 2012.

Signup for a free online subscription to E-Scrap News

Learn more about the E-Scrap Conference in Dallas

Mike

A Reminder About Making Money in the Home Based Recycling Business

Hi - First, a thanks to all those that have bought my eBook, How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business.

Second, for all those who have not yet purchased the eBook and who are not yet into the salvage and recycling business, I believe it is time for you to take the leap and get on with it. I do a lot of reading and research and I hate to say it, but things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. You can think what you will, but I'm counting on it and making life and business decisions based on this.

I'll be writing more about what I believe the future holds and how we can at least hold our own by doing salvage and recycling. In the meantime, if you have not yet purchased the eBook, How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business, it may be just the right time for you to do so now.

Thanks and Good Luck,

Mike

New E-Scrap Video: Recovering Gold & Precious Metal from Computer Components

Hi - I just uploaded my very first YouTube video. It's pretty good, but I do see some room for improvement. This one is about the basics of tearing down scrap computers for their gold and precious metal bearing components. Once I have torn down these 80 or so computers I'll then do some research about getting the most return for the effort. This will include a review of various e-scrap buyers, looking into possible values in hard drives, dvd/cd drives, selling cards with or without the gold fingers, etc. Also, I hope to find some good info on selling some components for reuse. All or most of this should be in the next video.

For now Check out the new e-waste video on youtube

Good Hunting,

Mike

Download How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business - Link Fixed

I spend so much time doing salvage and recycling that, at times, I don't pay enough attention to the Recycling Secrets website. I just discovered that the link to purchase the eBook How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business was missing! I'm not sure how long it has been missing, but if you have attempted to purchase the eBook and could not, my apologies.

The page is now working correctly. You may now download the eBook How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business without further problems.

Again, sorry for the inconvenience.

BTW, I'm breaking down 80+ computers over the next few days. I'll report back on what I've recovered and who I've decided to sell the material to.

Good Hunting,

Mike

Setup Your Own Free E-Waste Collection Events

Here's an idea that may work for you. Over the last months I've accumulated 100+ computers. I never pay for them so, if there's a monitor, I take it as well. I know that some folks actually scrap the monitors too, but for me, it's just too much work and too toxic to deal with so I save them up and take them in on a free e-waste day in a nearby town.

This time I took in 32 monitors. Turns out it was a big Southern California e-waste company and they were getting tons of computers and other e-waste for free. I'm in a small very rural Northern California county of only 20,000+ people and when I got there on the second day, they had filled enough pallets with giant cardboard boxes full of e-waste to fill a couple of 40 foot semi-truck flatbeds! That's a lot of e-waste.

Many of the people brought their computers, printers, laptops, etc. from neighboring towns anywhere from 20 to 35 miles away. It struck me that I could setup free e-waste days in my town and then at some point take what I didn't want to salvage (like the monitors) to the BIG free e-waste day like I did the other day with the monitors.

In my area there are plenty of businesses with a little yard or parking lot space that would allow me to have a periodic local free e-waste day. Another option would be to partner with a local community agency, church or thrift store and share the profits with them.

Up until now I've been advertising in the county saying that "I can save you the trip to the free e-waste collection or save you the dump fee - I'll take away your e-waste for free." Doing that I get several computers each week, but nothing compared to what I saw collected the other day. Looking at what was brought in for the free e-waste day and comparing it to what I've collected over the same period, I'd say I maybe had collected in 6 months about 2% of what they collected in 2 days.

I'm going to give it a try in my town and if it works out, I'll hold them in other towns in the county as well. Maybe something like this will work for you too.

Best of Luck

Mike

How To Make Extra Money When Salvaging

I've always found that it pays to keep several "irons in the fire." When I'm out doing salvage work I often run into things for sale that I'm not interested in purchasing. If the item is nice and the seller is honest and someone who I would feel good buying from, I offer to list it for them on Craigslist. I normally ask and get 10% of the selling price. Some big ticket items I've listed for less. It only takes a few minutes to take the photos, another few minutes to list the item and a few minutes renewing the listings if need be. Just one more way to make money and keep those referrals coming :)

Here are a few listings that I did recently.

C-Dory 16 Boat in Excellent Condition - 2 Motors and New Trailer, $8,750

Horse Corral Panels, Heavy Duty 16 Feet by 6 Feet, 6 Pieces, $1,000

Like New Stubben Parzival English Saddle, $1,000

Good way to make some extra cash. Good Hunting,

Mike

Focus on WAYS of Doing Business and Making Money

You'll find here and at Recycling Secrets that I concentrate on ways of doing business rather than a specific game plan. I do this because, in my mind, to concentrate on a game plan is really a distraction. Some would like me to tell them to:

• Go to this location,
• Pickup these items
• Do this and that to the items
• Take them here to get your money

But this just isn't realistic. There is no one game plan. Most opportunities are location based - what works in Newark may not work in Birmingham. Interests and expertise vary. Physical abilities vary... on and on.

There are some things that are common to all of us in the salvage and recycling business and these are the ways we do business. By this I mean:

• How do we market ourselves?
• How do others perceive us?
• Do we do more than is expected?
• How do we get more business and referrals?
• How do we bootstrap and grow our business?

Here are excerpts of a recent email from Mike Bucchieri, a previous buyer of How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business. Mike says that my eBook and my blog and website articles helped to create a "scrapping monster."

Mike is from Parsippany, N.J. and focuses handyman work, estate clean outs and junk removal, demolition, and  metal recycling. Mike has become quite successful. He depends on his website, www.mkbenterprises.org and word-of-mouth referrals to grow his business. Mike has given me permission to post excerpts so that others might be encouraged and inspired by his success.

Here are the excerpts:

hello  Mike,  long time no e-mails, lol. This is mike from New Jersey,  I wrote you an e-mail last year about my scrapping business and how you created a scrapping monster.

Ive been keeping busy since the spring and summer arrived, business had really picked up, between giving out estimates for jobs, and all the scrapping im doing.

Like you said about the reputation from word of mouth.  It's amazing how much attention I get from people who need work done. Usually after i finish a job, I like to find out how they found me. its mostly  the search engines and my web site, or a big word of mouth from previous customers or friends. And the praise they told them about my work, and I'm like WOW !!,  its very flattering to hear that.

I had new customers tell me, "I heard bout your services from (blank) and he told me all about your work and the amazing job you did." Then they would tell me,  "i dont care bout the price - what it costs.   I want you to do my job and only you,   I'm not ever going to get other estimates!!!"    Now when I hear that,  I'm floored!!!   That puts me on cloud nine, and I'm sooo happy that I can help my customers and make them happy - no stress, no bull shit.

And i can pass that onto their friends or family. It's like the old days,  when  the company put 110% into their product, and their services  and service was # 1 priority!!

I love my work and my business and I'll go down tooth and nail fighting for it. I'm dedicated and have heart!

And that makes me proud to be an AMERICAN!!!!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR GREAT ARTICLES! Keep up the great work my friend       

         M.K.B. Estate cleanouts and junk removal
         Michael K Bucchieri
         Parsippany , N.J.


You can see that Mike is very proud of the business he has built up over the past year. It's very gratifying for me to know that I've helped someone to this extent. If you have any interest in the business at all, I encourage you to check out the resources at Recycling Secrets and other articles here on the blog.


Best of Luck


Mike

Fire Truck Fun and Profit

Hi- Just ran into this deal and had to tell you about it. I just purchased a running fire truck for $1000. I bought it for fire protection at my place. We're very rural and though we keep our property fire safe, adjoining properties pose a risk for us.

I'd hate to see a beauty like this go to scrap, but there is a great deal of scrap metal both ferrous and non-ferrous and a lot of sought after parts as well.

The basis for this fire truck is a 1969 International Fleetstar 2110 - a very heavy duty truck. Total weight of truck would bring way more than the purchase price just in scrap iron. It also comes with literally hundreds of pounds of brass pipes, pump bodies, fittings, etc.

Parts are valuable too. I just checked ebay and found a single rear axle used for over $200
Here are a couple of pix:



By the way, this is another example of how referrals work. A friend of someone I had gotten some used lumber from, told him about the fire truck and it got back to me. It wasn't for sale yet - been out of service for a couple of months and they hadn't gotten around to it. Word-of-mouth accounts for 99% of my business. I rarely find things by lurking around craigslist, going to yard sales, going to auctions and the like. It pays to have a good reputation and give everyone you deal with more than they expect.
Just one of many ways to make money in salvage and recycling.
Good Luck
Mike

More About the Value of Word-of-Mouth Referrals

Can You Succeed in the Deconstruction Business?

I started off in the salvage and recycling business doing deconstruction and selling used building materials. Today I was told an inspiring story about a successful deconstruction business. Mark has given me permission to share it with you.

Mike -

I found you on the web today and wanted to share my company's story with you. Founded in 2009 after participating in a regional economic development summit, Deconstruction Management Inc. exists to preserve the memories contained within the materials of buildings that have reached the end of their useful life and then convert them into cash.

I am currently working to expand deconstruction, material reuse and reclamation opportunities throughout the Northern Ohio region and hopefully throughout the state and country through workforce development initiatives and the expansion of the resale market.

Please check out www.deconmanagement.com to learn more about my company.

Thanks,

Mark Rabkin
Co-Founder
Deconstruction Management, Inc

I hope this story inspires you. You can learn more about deconstruction at recyclingsecrets.com.

Old Automobile Reuse - Farm Equipment, Condom Machines

Very interesting article about a fellow who makes all sorts of things out of old car parts. It makes you hink of all the interesting and useful parts in automobiles that are scrapped in the U.S. Here's an excerpt:

Sierra Leone's Foday Melvin Kamara trained as an automobile engineer but, instead of manufacturing vehicles, he specialises in turning old car parts into agro-processing equipment and condom machines.

He started his business in 1997 with an investment of less than $100 (£63) which he had saved while he was in Germany as a student.

He told the BBC's African Dream series that he used part of that money to rent a house and the rest to buy steel products which were transformed into shovels and door hinges.

Indeed, we are able to convert waste to wealth”

"Then we sold that and we ploughed a profit into the business," he said. That initial profit was used to acquire scrap materials.

"Indeed, we are able to convert waste to wealth," Mr Kamara pointed out.

Read the entire article at BBC.com.

www.RecyclingSecrets.com for Free Home Based Salvage and Recycling Information Including: Metals, Deconstruction and Used Building Materials, Gold and Precious Metals and E-Waste. Check out: How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business

Beginner's Guide to E-Scrap, Metals and Electronics Recycling - The Short Version

Hello - Not sure that you are aware but recently I added a new page - Free Scrap Metal, Scrap Electronics, E-Scrap, Salvage and Recycling How to Get Started Guide for Beginners. This is not the more detailed E-Scrap guide that I have promised to all buyers - past, present and future - of my ebook, How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business - This guide will be coming soon. I'll let you know when it is available for download.

Good Hunting

Mike

www.RecyclingSecrets.com for Free Home Based Salvage and Recycling Information Including: Metals, Deconstruction and Used Building Materials, Gold and Precious Metals and E-Waste. Check out: How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business

Free Guide to Starting Up In Scrap Metal, Scrap Electronics, E-Scrap, Salvage and Recycling

Hi - I've just created a new resource especially for newbies (newb, newby, newbys, noob). I'll be updating it frequently and I'd love to hear from you if you have questions, comments or - anything at all. Check out the New Guide to Starting Up In the Home-Based Scrap Metal, Scrap Electronics, E-Scrap, Salvage and Recycling.

www.RecyclingSecrets.com for Free Home Based Salvage and Recycling Information Including: Metals, Deconstruction and Used Building Materials, Gold and Precious Metals and E-Waste. Check out: How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business

Older Computer CPUs Worth Much More than Gold Content

Found an interesting article about the value of older CPUs. Here's an excerpt:

"For those individuals ready to set off on a treasure hunt for rare and valuable microprocessors here’s a quick list,” said Gallagher. “C4004, C4040, 8080, C8080, MC8080, G8008, X8008, C8085 and C8086, all these go for at least $100 and some of them will go for over $1,000. Generally speaking anything from Intel with a date code from the 1970s is worth more than its gold value. Gold value for most ceramic computer chips is around $2 to $4."

Entire article is here: http://archive.arabnews.com/?page=11§ion=0&article=75682&d=5&m=1&y=20066

Dated 2006 so gold value a bit off. Hope this is useful.

www.RecyclingSecrets.com for Free Home Based Salvage and Recycling Information Including: Metals, Deconstruction and Used Building Materials, Gold and Precious Metals and E-Waste. Check out: How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business

Old Computer Chips, CPU and Computer Values - Alternative to Scrapping E-Waste

I advocate selling scrap metals and e-scrap as the last option after reuse and collector alternatives are checked out. If you are into e-scrap, computer recycling, these may be of interest to you.

Here's a wanted list of various old chips/cpus with some descriptions
CPU World Wanted Chips

A resource for computer chip collectors:
Resources for Chip Collectors

There's a list of old computer collector values at
Values of Old and Collectible Computers

Good Luck! And Happy Hunting.

Mike

www.RecyclingSecrets.com for Free Home Based Salvage and Recycling Information Including: Metals, Deconstruction and Used Building Materials, Gold and Precious Metals and E-Waste. Check out: How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business

Beware the Scrap Metal Bubble is Leaking and Will Burst

Actually we're in a bubble inside of a bubble - more on that it a minute.

The dotcom bubble and collapse was a given. I could see early on that most of the dotcom startups were making money off of other dotcom startups. There was little money coming in from the outside. It was inevitable that it would collapse and it did.

The housing boom bust was also foreseeable. Prices kept going up and along with them the percentage of people who could afford the higher prices kept going down. It only lasted as long as it did because oversight of the mortgage industry was hindered by the Bush administration so that people could easily borrow too much. The bust will be over when people can once again have a job in America and purchase a home that they can afford. We are not there yet.

Scrap metal prices have boomed in recent years mainly because of the demand in China and India. This demand is based on them being able to use these raw materials and manufacture things to sell to us in the U.S. especially through big box stores like Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc. As we get poorer and buy less of this stuff, the demand for our scrap will surely go down. The irony is that these big box stores don't pay enough to folks to be able to buy homes (so housing bust goes on) nor do they pay enough so that they can buy all the goodies from China that are made with our scrap.

The big bubble is the 20th century and in the early 21st century we've seen it begin to burst. Poverty is up, jobs are down, good jobs are really really down. Any efforts to create jobs through rebuilding our infrastructure or just create jobs in general is thwarted in congress. Our congress still believes that reducing the taxes on the rich, the "job creators" will allow them to create jobs, make more money and it will trickle down to us. Trickle down from the "job creators" has never worked, never will. You can only believe in this if you don't believe in history.

So, there you have it. I predict that the high priced scrap metal bubble is beginning to leak and will soon burst. What to do? Well, one is to get rid of your scrap sooner than later. Another is to, as much as possible, deal in things that can be reused. The artificially high scrap prices has meant that a lot of good useful stuff has been crushed, shredded and melted rather than reused. As a society we can't afford to dispose of useful things much longer.

Love to hear your thoughts on this.

Mike

www.RecyclingSecrets.com for Free Home Based Salvage and Recycling Information Including: Metals, Deconstruction and Used Building Materials, Gold and Precious Metals and E-Waste. Check out: How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business

Is How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business right for you?

Every once in awhile. I get a request for a refund only hours (sometimes minutes) after someone has purchased the ebook. Usually the story goes something like - This is just your story and not... (fill in the blank). Well, this is true. How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business is my story. I wonder, "how could it be anything else?" All I know, all that has gotten me from reading that little surplus and salvage book in the early 1980s and saying "I can do that" to now is my story.

Many purchasers of the ebook have been inspired and are learning the business and are having varying degrees of success - some are doing very very well in a short period of time.

I try to be very clear on the sales page that the ebook is not a blue print, not a step-by-step plan to recycling and salvage riches or anything like that. Rather it is the story of my successes and failures over 30 years in the business. I don't profess to be a gigantic success. In fact, I'm still mostly a one person operation, but I have over the years made a lot of money, learned a lot and have ended up quite well.

My hope in writing the ebook was that you could learn from my failures, avoid them and capitalize on my successes getting up to speed much faster than I did.

I certainly don't make a ton of money off of the ebook. In fact my real payment is in the satisfaction I get when someone emails me and tells me about their successes. I also learn from folks who have really gone for it and succeeded in new areas.

So, to reiterate what is on the sales page:

If you are looking for:

• A blueprint that you can follow step by step with little or no creative action on your part.
  
• A business that takes little to no effort - a business made for lazy people.
  
• A business that will make you rich overnight.
  

Then this is not for you. All I can do is wish you good luck in finding something that fits. But, if you:

• Are not afraid of hard work.
  
• Can see my story as just that "my story" not a blueprint, not a step-by-step plan (unfortunately internet and get-rich schemes have convinced many that these something-for-almost-nothing schemes are real - come on!), but an opportunity to be inspired by my successes and learn from my mistakes.
  
• Are not afraid to ask me questions.
  
• And you are ready to get real and put all the get-rich-quick pie-in-the-sky make-a-million-with-no-work-and-an-investment-of=little-money behind you.
  

Then stick with me and read on... I also want to be very clear. The ebook is just the beginning. If you have questions I am always here to answer them as best I can. If I don't have the answer, I'll do my best to find one for you and I'll also ask your question to the growing number of previous purchasers of the ebook. To repeat... the ebook is not an end to itself, it is a beginning. The blog, website and emails to me will be useful to you as long as you need them to be. I hope to hear from you soon. Good luck in your endeavors, Mike

www.RecyclingSecrets.com for Free Home Based Salvage and Recycling Information Including: Metals, Deconstruction and Used Building Materials, Gold and Precious Metals and E-Waste. Check out: How to Make Money in the Home Based Salvage and Recycling Business