What Every Newbie Should Know about Checking Scrap Metal Prices
If you are new to selling scrap metal, you are probably also new to checking scrap metal prices. There are various ways you can check current scrap prices, including going to local scrap buyers that have the prices posted and checking online groups and websites. The problem is, these prices and lists will not help you if you don't understand what it is you are specifically looking for or viewing. Here are some key points that every new scrap metal seller should know about checking scrap metal prices:
Know Your Metals
You can go into the price checking process with just the term scrap metal in mind, but that is only going to give you a surface level price for basic or general scrap metal. You should know, especially being new to selling scrap metal, that scrap metal can refer to several different types of metal and not just metal in general. What you need to know before you check the prices is what metals you are actually dealing with. For example, copper is not bundled into most scrap metal prices and is listed separately. Other metals that are listed separately are aluminum, titanium, gold and silver.
Clean Prices
One of the key points you will notice are prices that are listed as clean prices. What this means is that if you have clean copper, for example, your price will be more than it would be for copper that is still not cleaned and removed from items like air conditioning systems. You can, of course, turn in your scrap metal in whatever way you have it. Just keep in mind that some companies may offer much less for metals they have to clean before processing and some may not take unclean metal at all.
Knowing Your Metal Grades
In addition to knowing your metal types and what clean and non-clean prices mean, you will also need to know what metal grades are and what they refer to. There are two technical grades and one type that is usually listed as other or miscellaneous. Grade 1 metal grades are also known as pure metals. They have no alloy types mixed in with the metals. They also meet a certain measurement amount for height, width, and depth. This measurement differs depending on the state, company, and metal. Grade 2 metals are those that have alloys mixed in with the base metal. They must not be corroded in any way. Metals that do not meet either of these grade descriptions are considered as other or miscellaneous and may or may not be accepted for sale to various scrap metal buyers.
By keeping these key points in mind, you can ensure that you are getting the current scrap metal prices related to what you are selling. You can also be sure you are not receiving much less than you should be for the quality of scrap metal you have.
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