To scrap or not to Scrap....

This is a question that I ponder every time I make a pick up of ewaste.  So often my first instinct is to just rip everything apart for the copper and aluminum and gold plated stuff.  More often then not however, the stuff I pick up is worth so much more on ebay even if its broken and for parts only!!  Big things, little things, things that climb on rocks.....  I grabbed a treadmill last month that worked for the most part, there was a rubber sheath that peeled off one of the rollers and made it so that the belt would not spin.  Everything else was in working order but to buy a new roller would not be cost effective because the treadmill itself was only worth about $200.  I did however take the belt off and sold it for an easy and quick $70, then I looked on line and found a parts dealer that had a list of all the parts, their names, and costs.  I posted them all on ebay and made well over $200!!  That's WAY better than scrap price. 

This is not just for the big items either, I have found that laptops are worth just a few dollars in scrap but even broken ones will fetch about $20 each online!  So, to scrap or not to scrap.....  the best answer to that is to look it up first, it make take a little time but it will be well worth it.