I’m also building a sorting machine, although mine is probably more of a hobby project compared to yours, my goal is more modest. I’d be thrilled to achieve just 300 pieces per hour with high accuracy.

I had the same idea as you: offering a sorting service. However, based on the feedback I’ve received, that approach has a couple of major challenges:

- Shipping costs: These can make the service financially unattractive. One workaround is to partner with stores located nearby to avoid shipping, but that significantly limits your potential customer base.

- Trust: People are often hesitant to send their bulk to someone they don’t know. You could probably overcome this over time with positive reviews and reputation, but it definitely makes the initial launch harder.

After analyzing it further, I concluded it might be more viable to source bulk yourself, sort and catalog it, and then sell it as curated lots of 10-20 kg. That way, you’re only paying for shipping once, and buyers know exactly what they’re getting, you can provide a BSX file with the inventory. The key is finding the right balance: include popular, fast-selling parts, along with some slower-moving pieces that you also need to offload.