Eventually the people I support ask me to upgrade some component or other, or help buy a new system, etc. So then I take the old hardware as payment for all the previous support. Some people are happy to have it gone and happy to have made a contribution. Those people get better help in the future. Some people ask what the old hardware is worth and refuse to let me take it. Their phone calls don't get returned. The hardware goes into upgrades for all the other people I help, and that makes less work for me.
For the most part, this works well. I do avoid the calls from people with nasty computers. You know the ones. Peanut butter and Dorito cheese all over the keyboard. Nasty sticky soda residue down the side of the case. Why do they think I want to touch their filth and rejected food from the past 5 years while I'm doing them a favor? If I ain't bidding on Britney's used chewing gum - I sure don't want THEIR leavins'.
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Eventually the people I support ask me to upgrade some component or other, or help buy a new system, etc. So then I take the old hardware as payment for all the previous support. Some people are happy to have it gone and happy to have made a contribution. Those people get better help in the future. Some people ask what the old hardware is worth and refuse to let me take it. Their phone calls don't get returned. The hardware goes into upgrades for all the other people I help, and that makes less work for me. For the most part, this works well. I do avoid the calls from people with nasty computers. You know the ones. Peanut butter and Dorito cheese all over the keyboard. Nasty sticky soda residue down the side of the case. Why do they think I want to touch their filth and rejected food from the past 5 years while I'm doing them a favor? If I ain't bidding on Britney's used chewing gum - I sure don't want THEIR leavins'.