Continued from Part 1…
Thanks for joining us on our journey through the Eyes of the Scrapper Series. Below is Part 2, which explores the best ways to maximize your profits and ensure you aren’t missing any important weights, prices, or money from your trip to the scrap yard.
Changing some of the ways you do your scrap business is important. They are not hard changes or difficult to make; they are very easy, and if you make them, I guarantee you will start to put more money in your pocket and keep the yard owner from having a “night on the town” at your expense. How does that sound? I do! Here’s what you gotta do:
Weigh Your Material Before You Go
Always weigh your material before delivering it to the yard, ALWAYS! Why? When the yard weighs your material and totals out the ticket, how do you know if the weight they write on the ticket is the same as what you delivered? You don’t! How could you if you did not weigh it in the first place before delivering it to the yard? Failure to weigh your material before giving it to the yard is like writing on your forehead in big red letters: “I Have No Clue.” If you fail to weigh your material before a trip to the yard, you deserve to be taken advantage of!
Write Down Your Tare Weights
Let the yard know before they cheat on the weights that you know what you have and how much it weighs. How? Simple: if your material is in buckets, make sure you write the weight of the bucket in big red letters on the outside of the bucket. Something like “Bucket weighs 1.5 lbs,” and make sure the person working the scales sees it. If you are using a box, the same applies. If using tubs or bins to carry your material, the same applies. In other words, leave nothing open to chance.
Label Your Containers & Scrap
Whether using buckets, boxes, tubs, bins or any other type of container, take a piece of cardboard and write on it in big red letters a) what’s in that container, b) how much the material weighs, c) what the container weighs. Make the cardboard so it takes up most of the open space on top of your material in that container. That way, it’s impossible for them not to see it. Something like, “#1 Copper, material weight 25 lbs, container weight 1lb”.
When that container is set on the scale before the scale operator has an opportunity to record the weight of your material, point out the cardboard, tell them the purpose of the cardboard, and make sure you tell them that. “If you disagree with my material classification, material weight, or container weight, then let me know so I can pull that material and take it elsewhere.” I guarantee you will get their attention. Guess what, you just took a washcloth and removed the big red words “I Have No Clue” from your forehead! Guaranteed!
Can Your Scrap Metal Weigh More?
If you’re unsure how much the tare is or what your metal weights are, always demand to see the weights as the attendant weighs the items. Most yards will try to turn the scales so you can not see the weight, but it is your right to view the item weights as they weigh them. If you can’t see the weight on the scale, tell them to turn the scale so you can see it. Do not be timid and afraid to ask them to turn the scales so you can see them! Some yards rely on that fear to manipulate the weights. If they refuse, pull your scrap and take it elsewhere.
Call Ahead for Pricing
ALWAYS call ahead to the yard you are going to and do a price check before you go there. Ensure you get the name of the person who quoted you the prices. You never have to go to any yard to sell scrap until you know what they are paying for the scrap you are selling that day! Let’s face it: How do you know if the price they write on your ticket is fair, and what is the going rate for that material on that day if you don’t do a price check before you go there? YOU DON’T. How could you if you don’t check?
Suggested Reading: Finding The Best Scrap Yard
Check Your Ticket Before You Leave
When the attendant hands your ticket, before you leave the area of the scale, take the time to look the ticket over. Ensure the weights match up and the price on your ticket matches the price you were quoted for that material. Don’t walk away before you do this! If there is a problem, immediately point it out to the person operating the scale and tell them who quoted you the price earlier. Speak loud and clear so not only does the attendant hear you, but the next few people in line also hear what you have to say.
Let me tell you; nothing rattles an attendant more than you making a fuss at the scales because they played with your weights or tried to pay you less than the going rate for that material on that day. Everyone behind you in line hears it. All of a sudden, everyone in line will be on guard and looking for any foul play on the attendant’s part. His day just got complicated!
Suggested Reading: 8 Tips To Avoid Scrap Yard Receipt Mistakes
Don’t be intimidated; let them do what they want. It’s your scrap, not theirs! Not until they pay for it and no one says you HAVE to sell it to them. And don’t let the attendant try to hurry you through. You don’t want to delay the process unnecessarily, but you don’t like the attendant to push your items through before you and they agree to the weight and classification. You have rights; demand they respect those rights.
Bottom line, take control of the process, do not let the yard control the process. If the yard is honest and upfront, they will not object; if they are looking to screw you they will yell like a hit dog!
It’s time to buck up! Realize that you share in the blame for how things are and how you are getting robbed repeatedly each time you take a trip to the yard. Accept responsibility, and don’t let it continue! If you take the time to make the 6 changes I recommend above, it will stop! You will no longer be a victim; you will become a winner and profit from those changes. None of the changes, nothing I have recommended above, take any time to start doing; you have to start doing them.
The choice is yours. You decide. What’s it going to be? It’s a “no-brainer.”
