How to Make Money With Scrap Electronics & TVs

by Mary Strain, Demand Media
Computer and TV monitors can contain toxic elements.

Computer and TV monitors can contain toxic elements.

Jupiterimages/ Images

There are several ways to make money with scrap electronics and TVs. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 29.4 million computers, 22.7 million TVs and 129 million mobile devices were discarded in 2009. The agency notes that most of those were not even collected for recycling, meaning that there is opportunity for those wishing to make money with scrap electronics.

Step 1

Sell electronics for scrap. There is a market for the plastics, glass and metals in most electronics. Some people may deal with a difficult economy by opening recycling businesses. They collect electronic scrap and sell it to clients who will reuse the materials for industry. You can also do this in an individual way by selling your old, broken iPod or cell phone to an online business that will refurbish and resell it. Or, if you have the technical expertise, you can collect other people's broken cell phones and repair and resell them yourself.

Step 2

Haul it away. If you have a truck or van and a few helpers, you can charge others to dispose of their broken TVs and electronics. Note that if you take this route, you must familiarize yourself with the laws regulating the proper disposal of electronics, especially TV and computer monitors. They contain many toxic elements and must be disposed of responsibly to avoid polluting the environment.

Step 3

Transform it. Use electronic components to make something completely new that you can sell. Some enterprising artists have taken elements of discarded electronic devices and created works of art that sold for hundreds of dollars. If you're not that artistic, create a craft item. A computer tower, for example, could be gutted and used as a funky mailbox, with the drive bay serving as the mail slot.


  • There are websites stating you can make a lot of money by stripping gold and other metals out of old computers. Keep in mind that there are only small amounts of gold inside computers, and that it takes a good deal of time and effort to get it.

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