Other · Tier D

iPods & MP3 Players

A dead iPod is not dead inventory — the modding scene buys broken Classics and Minis for flash-storage rebuilds, so the shell and board are the product.

Au 0.01–0.03 g/lbBase Li-poly cell in every unit

eBay typical$20–100per lb

Refiner pays$0.3per lb

Metal in it$2.61per lb at 4 Aug 2026 spot

Confidencelowof the yield figures

How to spot it

iPod Classic (click wheel, spinning drive), Mini, Nano, Shuffle, Touch; Zune, Sansa, Creative Zen, MiniDisc players and portable CD players ride the same wave. Engraved backs hurt price; rare colours help. MiniDisc decks and players have their own collector market.

Metal content

Metal	Quantity	Notes
Gold	0.01–0.03 g/lb	Dense small boards and flex — estimated
Base metal	Li-poly cell in every unit	Swollen cells are common — pull and isolate first

At 4 Aug 2026 spot prices that works out to $2.61 per lb of contained metal — Gold 0.02 g = $2.61. A refiner paying $0.3 per lb returns about 11% of that, which is normal: refining costs money and the buyer takes a margin.

Safe removal

Working temperature: No heat — glued seams open with gentle prying

If scrapping anyway: pry tools not screwdrivers (glued seams), battery out first and taped, drive to the drive bucket (1.8″ drives resell!), board to high-grade small-device scrap.

Hazards

🔥 Lithium battery fire

A standard ABC extinguisher will NOT stop a runaway lithium cell. Don't count on one.

Before you scrap it

Working Classics $60–200, Minis $30–100 (modded ones resell $100+), Touch models $25–80, MiniDisc gear $50–300. Broken-but-complete units $15–60. Batteries, click wheels and housings all sell as parts.

The common trap

Swollen lithium cells behind glued metal shells — pry from the seam away from the cell, never puncture. And never scrap a 5th/6th/7th-gen Classic: even water-damaged boards and housings sell individually to modders.

Questions

How much gold is in ipods & mp3 players?

Gold: 0.01–0.03 g/lb. At current spot that is about $2.61 of contained metal per pound.

How do you identify ipods & mp3 players?

A dead iPod is not dead inventory — the modding scene buys broken Classics and Minis for flash-storage rebuilds, so the shell and board are the product.

How do you remove ipods & mp3 players safely?

If scrapping anyway: pry tools not screwdrivers (glued seams), battery out first and taped, drive to the drive bucket (1.8″ drives resell!), board to high-grade small-device scrap.

Is ipods & mp3 players worth more working than as scrap?

Related in Other

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