Used TV's and computers?

What do you guys do with old computers, and TV's.  I have heard stories of folks scraping the gold in the connecting pins from hard drives and such.  Any truth to this or complete BS?

I just recycle them if they don't work.  For computers and such the local facility will take them for free.  TVs they want to charge you $10.  So I take those apart and put them bit by bit in the normal trash as room permits.

I do cut the power cords off and toss them in my scrap cord pile.  They add up quick after awhile.

I do cut the power cords off and toss them in my scrap cord pile.  They add up quick after awhile.

Ok, I've seen this mentioned elsewhere too.  Noob question probably, but... What do you do with the power cords?

http://www.scrapmetaljunkie.com/251/how-to-scrap-apart-a-computer-2

There's a guide to scrapping computers. I just got a few myself, hoping to get some kind of money out of them. And power cords can be sold to a scrap yard as Insulated #2.

Up here in the Seattle area, Goodwill takes all tv's for no charge.  They do limit you to five at a time max, but that's usually not an issue.  I've taken them as many as eight, and they mention the five at a time max but go ahead and take them for you "this time".  I think they have a deal with the state and they get paid a fixed amount to take each one so people aren't dumping them out on the sides of the road!

Wow .i just drive down a alley and toss em into the first can i see. Lol

Thanks for that link Fayettenam Man.  I'm going to have to spend some time reading that board also I see.

Right to the dumpster

I keyed in "gold fingers" on ebay and found quite a few auctions for just that.  Computer parts that were selling for some decent change i.e. 50-500 dollars depending on the weight that you have.

Anybody know a place that fixes laptops?
I got a pretty new one the other day but dont have a power cord so i dont know if it works or not.

Anybody know a place that fixes laptops?
I got a pretty new one the other day but dont have a power cord so i dont know if it works or not.

Depending on the model, you can get a power cord relatively cheaply.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p5197.m570.l1313&_nkw=laptop+power+cords&_sacat=See-All-Categories

Before I took it to a shop to get it fixed I'd order the power cord and see if it works or not.  Repair costs on laptops can get pretty pricey, so make sure you need it before you do it.

I scrap them out. I am currently unemployed,and so that is how I currently make my income to live on. I box up 35-42 lbs of computer boards,and make $100-$200 on Ebay. The power cords I strip for the copper. 

For tvs, Best Buy will take most tvs (up to 32", I believe). You pay them $10 to take the tv and they give you a $10 coupon for their store.

For tvs, Best Buy will take most tvs (up to 32", I believe). You pay them $10 to take the tv and they give you a $10 coupon for their store.

WTF. You can get about $7 worth of material from old/broke TVs, but wether its worth the time is the question. Still I wouldnt pay anyone to take a TV, curb alert that ****! /highfive #50

There's a lot of valuable metals inside tv's and computers. Mini fridges, microwaves and window A/C all have quite a bit of metals too.