A pile of metal that looks identical at first glance can be worth ten times more depending on its composition. Knowing what you sell, and weighing it yourself, changes the price of the transaction.
What is worth a lot, what is worth little
- Copper is by far the most expensive. Stripped cables, casings, old pipework: it should never end up mixed with the rest.
- Aluminium follows: tin cans, window frames, wheel rims. Light, so weigh it carefully.
- Steel and cast iron are worth far less per kilo but come in large quantities: furniture, plates, radiators.
Weigh before calling
A market scale, a bathroom scale, or even a comparison with a known load is enough. The point is not to haggle over cents, but to avoid a two-fold difference going unnoticed. State the approximate weight in your listing: serious buyers call the sellers who know what they have, first.
Preparing the load
A clean, separated load sells for more than a compacted mixed pile. Strip the cables, remove plastic and wood from the ironwork, empty the containers: one hour of sorting can double the value of a load.
To find a buyer, browse the buy and sell section or publish your load directly: collectors are looking for reliable volumes too, and they come back to regular sellers.