F.A.Qs
- Why are your prices so cheap?
- Aren't cheap things likely to break?
- How can I donate a computer?
- What happens to donated computers?
- Where does the money go?
- Can I get free stuff?
- Have you any CD-ROM or hard drives for sale?
- Can you let me know if you get anything like this in?
- Can you keep this for me?
- I'm not at the University. Can you ship this to me?
Got another question?
You can email us at comprec.york@googlemail.com
Why are your prices so cheap?
Our goods are mostly ex-university computers that would otherwise be thrown into a skip. We intercept the computers before they get that far, repair them where necessary, and re-sell them for a small token amount in order to cover our costs and raise a little money for charity. Why so cheap? Well, why not? We'd rather shift stuff quickly and make room for more stuff to come in!
Aren't cheap things likely to break?
No! We only sell equipment that in our engineering opinion will work reliably. Although we give no guarantees, having recycled over a thousand items, only one item sold as working has ever broken soon after we sold it. (And we replaced that one for free as a goodwill gesture!)
How can I donate a computer?
We welcome all unwanted computer equipment from campus (and off campus), but dont generally accept PCs slower than 1400Mhz unless they have large amounts of RAM, CD writers or Hard disks larger than 10GB. Faulty equipment can often be made use of, but please do warn us in advance as there is some equipment (such as laser printers without cartridges) that we can do absolutely nothing with. We also have no use for inkjet printers without ink as often a new printer can be purchased for less than the cost of the ink. As well as conventional PCs, we have also taken Apple, Sun, SGI, Acorn, Commodore, Atari computers and workstations, as well as laptops (both working and non-working), printers and other peripherals. People from outside campus who wish to donate equipment are welcome to contact us, but we often cannot take donations due to space constraints and transport issues. If you live outside the York area, we suggest you do a web search or consult Yellow Pages for computer recyclers in your area.
Although each case is individual, the following guide explains the normal procedure:
- Please contact us with details of the equipment you would like to donate. Model numbers can typically be found on the front of PCs, such as "Viglen Contender P90". If you know, or know how to find out the processor type and speed, amount of RAM etc, they will also be welcome. Please let us know an ideal collection date and an absolute latest collection date. We will then contact you to negotiate a mutually satisfactory collection date. You can deliver equipment to our offices, but this must be arranged in advance to ensure that we have sufficient space.
- Before we arrive, please make sure that you know where all the parts of the computer are. Particularly useful are any software licences or packages that came with the computer(s) when new, as are manuals.
- When we collect the equipment, we will need to write down the serial numbers of each piece of equipment (not including mice and suchlike). We will write these on a standard disclaimer form which, when signed, transfers legal ownership and liability to us, and leave you with a copy for your records. If you have not formatted the hard disk and wish us to do that for you, we recommend that we do it in your presence. This will take more time, so must be arranged in advance.
What happens to donated computers?
One of the primary aims of the Computer Recycling Project is to donate computers to charities and similar voluntary organisations. To find out more about this visit our Charitable donations page. We also sell and loan computers at low prices to students, staff and departments of the university. Computers which aren't repairable are stripped for parts, which are then used to repair other computers. Useful items which can't be sold are given away free. Faulty or useless items and stripped computers are disposed of in an environmentally friendly way, this is through the WEEE scheme the University runs. Nearly 200kg of faulty computers and parts was recently delivered to a metal recyclers for recovery of base elements.
Where does the money go?
All money received from computer sales and loans is paid into our bank account, held with the Students' Union. People who do work, either regular or casual, for the Computer Recycling Project are sometimes paid an hourly wage (although many volunteer). After other expenses have been met, any surplus (i.e. most of our income!) is donated to charity though the YUSU RAG scheme.
Can I get free stuff?
Yes! There's always plenty of free stuff to be had. We normally some have older computers (486 and early Pentium) and older monitors (both working and with small fixable faults like poor focus) that can be taken for free.
Have you any CD-ROM or hard drives for sale?
A whole draw full of them, CD-ROM drives are generally fairly basic and hard drives are mostly around 20 Gb. We do occasioinally get larger hard disks and CD-RW or DVD drives.
Can you let me know if you get something like this in?
Maybe. We keep a waiting list for charities, and we also keep a list of people who want unusual equipment so that if we get any in, we will have a easy way to get rid of it! Conversely, if you want ordinary PC stuff, we usually won't keep your name on file as we rarely have problems getting rid of normal PC stuff. If you're after something more unusual though, please email us and we can keep your name on file. In any case, we'll be able to give you an indication of how likely we are to be able to fulfil your request.
Can you keep this for me?
No, sorry. We're often asked to reserve something for someone, but many times that person never turns up, and we end up turning away people who genuinely want to buy it. So we have a strict policy of not reserving equipment for anyone. If you want it, please make the effort to come and get it. If you can't transport it straight away, we suggest you leave it in your office or at a porters' lodge. In general, the situation is that we're doing you a favour by sourcing the equipment, so please try to return that favour and remove the equipment promptly :)
I'm not at the University. Can you ship to me?
It depends. People outside the University are welcome to purchase equipment from us. However, as the project is run by students with full-time studies to attend to, we only ship items if it is convenient for us to do so. We can normally send out small items that we can shove in a jiffy bag or small box, but we do not post PCs, monitors or printers. (Hint: In the past, people have got around this problem by calling on friends and relatives who live in this area of the country to pick up stuff for them. This generally works quite well.)
Got another question?
You can email us at comprec.york@googlemail.com