: Companies buying boards for robotics, power controllers, and factory automation. 3. Secondary Market & Hobbyists
Individuals and businesses often sell used, broken, or end-of-life circuit boards to recover the value of the precious metals they contain, such as .
The market for circuit boards is primarily divided between seeking precious metals and specialized industries purchasing new boards for manufacturing. 1. Scrap and E-Waste Buyers
: Used in diagnostic equipment like MRI machines, heart monitors, and pacemakers.
: These companies focus exclusively on electronic waste. They often pay by the pound based on the "grade" of the board (e.g., high-grade motherboards vs. low-grade power boards).
: Platforms and groups (often found on Facebook ) allow individual buyers to bid on bulk lots of computer, cell phone, and telecom boards.
: High-reliability boards are purchased for flight controls, satellite communication, and radar systems.