14 Jul
1997
14 Jul
'97
11:37 a.m.
On Mon, 14 Jul 1997, Tim Shoppa wrote:
Dealing with the surplus-selling folk is, indeed, an
art. I usually
go out of my way to make life easy for them and hope they'll give
me a break in return. Remember, these guys have to make a living
at what they do! Never expect anything for free - you gotta make
it worth their while!
Visiting a "computer recycling center" on a scrounging run is something
that I have been considering for quite a while. Other than the obvious
problem of seeing literally tons of "good stuff" that there is no way that
you can possibly rescue, what experiences have other collectors had with
these places?
I have seen newspaper articles about at least two such places here in
Chicago, one of which claimed to process 200 tons of computers per month.
A local TV show interviewed the operator of one computer recycling center
who stated something along the lines of "It's all obsolete, we grind 'em
for metal". Meanwhile, SPARCs were flying off of a truck in the background.
Admittedly, most of the equipment at these places seemed to be standard
PC-clone junk, but there have got to be some real gems out there, given
the quantity of equipment that these places "process".
So, what experiences have others had with computer scrapyards? How
willing are the operators to let collectors in to look around? How much
over "scrap" prices do you usually have to pay? And, most of all, should
someone who can't even throw away an empty Apple II hulk dare to set foot
inside one of these places?
--
Scott Ware s-ware(a)nwu.edu