Does anybody have any idea what these 3rd party collections agencies pay for your debt from these big banking companies? And what is a reasonable amount percentage wise they will settle the amount. I would like some insight on how these companies think.

Pennies on the dollar. I believe the rule of thumb is to try and settle for 70%.

This Squidoo lens offers some interesting facts about how HUGE this industry is and how they operate, How To Answer a Credit Card Debt Lawsuit ~ Everything YOU Should Know About Third Party Debt Collectors (http://www.squidoo.com/suedforcreditcarddebt)

Yes, what they pay will depend on the age of the loan and different ratings they use on the paper and its @ value.

But from pennies to 25 or 30 percent.

The older the debt the cheaper the settlement may be.
I would start at 50 percent and see what happens

Thank you all, and thank you MLR08 for the great link, very helpful. :)