When Scrapping is Smarter than Reselling Whole Items

The following article is a guest post written by Tiana Bodine.

Resale businesses are a popular choice among people who enjoy the thrill of treasure-hunting.  They’re a great way to convert pre-owned items into cash, and many people make a living by frequenting storage auctions and selling the items they find.  Nevertheless, not every item you find can be sold as-is for a profit.  You might find broken electronics, worn out appliances, shabby furniture or items that simply have a low demand. 

Fortunately, it’s possible to turn some of those items into cash by scrapping them.  Before you throw away an item that seems useless, it’s worth taking a look to see if there is any way to get money by breaking the item down. 

What Items Can Be Scrapped? 

For the most part, the goal of scrapping is to find and recycle metal.  Metals are worth cash because it’s easier and cheaper to recycle metal into new products than it is to melt new metal out of ore.  Precious metals like silver and gold are worth a lot of money, but other metals like copper, brass and aluminum are worth a lot as well. 

In addition to bare metals, such as those found in silverware or old jewelry, you can also find scrap metal in surprising locations.  Computers, for example, have small amounts of metals like silver, platinum or palladium.  Any electronic device will have copper wiring that can be scrapped for a profit. 

How to Make the Best Money from Scrap

There are multiple different places where scrap metal can be sold for a profit.  Depending on the quantities you’re selling, you may be able to get a better deal from certain sources than others.  For example, pawn shops tend to offer the lowest prices for metals, but you may be able to negotiate higher prices if you’re a trusted regular of the shop.  Some places specialize in buying back gold or silver, and these may offer a better price than regular pawn shops. 

Your best bet is usually to acquire a large quantity of metal before attempting to resell it.  You will get more money per unit for metal sold in bulk.  If you have a smaller quantity of metal to sell, you’re better off selling it to private individuals who buy scrap metal to resell.  For example, selling small amounts of gold to private buyers over eBay is the best way to quickly make a profit without holding onto the gold for a long period. 

The next time you obtain items through a storage unit auction that you cannot resell as-is, consider breaking it down into scrap.  You may be able to make some money from items that you would otherwise throw away.

The best metal in computers is gold. I also take apart phones and get a decent amount of gold out of them. You would be suprised how fast it can add up.