The things you are considering selling at a garage sale may actually be worth more money if you sell them for their scrap metal. This is especially true if the items no longer work properly. You can avoid waste and potentially get paid more for your metal if you take off any additional nonmetal materials (such as the bulbs of a Christmas light string) before taking them in as scrap.
Some appliances (especially those with electronic components built in) might have metals inside them that are more valuable than their outer materials would suggest. Avoid being swindled by a scrap yard by disassembling appliances first to reveal internal materials. Don’t forget about the copper in your appliance’s power cord! This material is valuable and should be sold separate from the appliance itself to get the biggest bang for your buck.
Never take items from private property or from behind fences or gates; this constitutes trespassing and theft, and you can be prosecuted for it. Only take items that are clearly not on someone else’s land. Be careful not to upset any creatures that may have turned the roadside junk into a home. Snakes, bees, spiders, or rodents could be inside the item, so inspect it before picking it up and putting it inside your vehicle.
Many auto parts contain multiple metal types, so take them apart if you can. This will help you separate metals of different values when taking them to the scrap yard. Don’t neglect bolts, nuts, screws, and other fasteners. These may not seem like much individually, but they can really add up and boost the weight of your metal if you are disassembling a large or complicated part.
You don’t need to clean your materials before selling them to a scrap yard, but you should clear out any pipe blockages or thick buildup; these add to the weight of the metal, and many yards will pay you less by weight if there is extra material on the sale.
At estate sales or other events where “everything must go,” ask the owner whether there happen to be old pipes or other scraps of metal lying around that they intend to get rid of. If so, they’ll probably let you have it for free.
As with any commodity, metal’s value fluctuates in the day-to-day market. Some metals are consistently highly valued (such as copper, owing to its lossless recycling process), but can still experience variable valuation. [3] X Research source Geographical location can even factor into the going price per pound of a given type of metal. As such, when researching metal values, be sure to get information specific to your location. There are websites, updated daily, devoted specifically to scrap metal sales information. [4] X Research source
Steel: iron-chromium alloy that is commonly found in kitchen utensils, vehicle frames, hubcaps, beer kegs, etc. Brass: zinc-copper alloy found in decorative items, musical instruments, locks, and some plumbing materials. Copper: reddish metal (one of the most valuable scrap metals) found in household plumbing fixtures and wiring. Aluminum: lightweight metal of dull silver color found in beverage cans, some cabling, and modern vehicle bodies and parts. Iron: heavy, polished, magnetic metal found in pipes, construction beams, and many automobile parts.
Print out the market reports you find online or save the web page(s) on your mobile phone so you can reference it when you go to a scrap yard to sell your materials. If you can find multiple online sources with similar metal prices, you can be that much more certain that the prices you see are realistic.
If you call a yard to ask about prices, they will likely ask you how much material you have. Be sure to have a general idea of this before making your calls. When selecting a scrap metal yard to sell your materials to, consider its distance from your home. You might find that an additional 30 minutes of driving for an extra $0. 01 per pound isn’t worth it, especially considering the extra gas you’ll burn hauling around heavy scrap metal!
Establish a relationship with one scrap metal yard if you plan to sell scrap often. If you are recognized by the owner or manager as someone who offers repeat business, you will probably be offered better prices for your scrap. You can search for scrap yards online or in your local phonebook. Save your sales receipts and add up how much metal you bring in weekly, monthly, or annually to your chosen scrap yard. This information can be used to negotiate better rates if you have been going to the same yard for a while. Talk to the yard owner about higher prices; ultimately, your payout will depend upon his decision. If you can continue to offer a steady flow of scrap and you’ve built a relationship with the business, your chances of being paid more will increase.
Don’t wait so long that you have more metal than you can carry at once. The idea is to sell as much as possible in one transaction – so unless you can trade in all your metal together, you won’t benefit by waiting. This is another way to build a strong relationship with a scrap yard; the more materials you bring it at once, the more likely the yard will be to see you as a valuable customer and someone they are willing to pay top dollar.
If you can’t completely separate each metal type, at least separate more valuable metals from less valuable ones. This way, your pricey copper won’t get lumped in with your relatively low-priced aluminum, for example. Use buckets or barrels for individual types of metal to keep them separate and easily identifiable. Strip as much excess, non-metal materials as possible off of your scrap. If the yard operators can see that your metal doesn’t have lots of extra weight attached to it, they will pay you more (and they will appreciate that they don’t have to strip it down themselves).
In markets where scrap prices fluctuate wildly from month to month, seasonality may not play much of a role; you should assess your local market patterns to get an idea of whether cashing in during winter is likely to be more lucrative.
Flatbed trucks are ideal for hauling scrap metal (so long as you have a way to tie it down during transportation). With these, you don’t have to worry about damaging the floor or wall of the truck bed during loading and unloading (which is often done by crane). [10] X Research source If you will be hauling large scrap metal loads, take the weight of your cargo into consideration when choosing a vehicle. If you will be hauling multiple appliances at once, for example, you’ll need a truck that can handle the added weight during transit.
These vehicle scales are usually manned by a yard worker who will record your vehicle’s weight and then give you a visual signal that you are cleared to continue on into the facility. The scrap yard may have additional scales inside the facility with which individual materials can be weighed. This is necessary if you have multiple types of metals that sell at widely different rates (such as copper and aluminum).
If you haul your scrap in an open trailer or truck bed, the scrap yard will likely use a magnetic crane to separate ferrous material (that which contains iron and is magnetic) from other metals. If you have your material on a pallet, the scrap yard will unload it with a forklift. If the yard has to sort through your scrap by hand as they remove it (in cases when materials are not already separated), they might not pay you as much as you would receive otherwise. Consider lining the walls and tailgate of your pickup bed with thick blankets or padded mats to prevent potential damage from falling metal as the scrap is lifted out. Separating your materials before arriving at the yard will help to prevent falling materials from damaging your vehicle, as could happen if the magnetic crane were to pick up a jumbled pile of iron and aluminum – the aluminum could fall out when it is lifted because it is not magnetic.
Federal and local laws have mandated these record-keeping systems due to increasing issues with metal theft. You are legally responsible for anything you sell, so make sure it comes from a legitimate source! This is a good reason to keep receipts or signed, written statements from material donors whenever you receive scrap metal from a business or individual who is the legal owner of the material. It is illegal to take materials from someone else’s property (like an abandoned building or lot) without their permission, so don’t take this lightly!
Regardless of how you are paid for your scrap, keep all your receipts from your sales transactions. In addition to being useful for tax purposes, you can use these records to show your local yard that you are a loyal client during your negotiations for good scrap rates.
