When it comes time to sell your scrap metals, sometimes it can seem like there’s a huge disconnect between current market prices for metals and the figure that ends up on the check you get back from the scrap company.

Why is there a such a difference between the two figures? Let’s take a few minutes and look at how to get the best possible price for your scrap metal:

Clean it

Metal that still has industrial chemicals, insulation or other material on it is paid at a lower rate because of the effort involved in preparing it for recycling. By stripping wires, washing chemicals or otherwise ensuring your scrap is as clean as possible, you’ll get a better price.

Sort it

If all your scrap is mixed together, a scrap metal company will often price it based on the cheapest metal in the lot, even if it’s not the majority of the metal you’re selling. By sorting it ahead of time, you can get the best prices on each metal type. Don’t forget the different grades of metal, such as #1, #2 and #3 copper!

Store it

Transportation costs for a scrap metal company are the same whether they’re moving 500 pounds of scrap or 35,000 pounds. If you have room for storage on your site, you’ll get more money by reducing your per-pound transportation rate.

Deliver it

If you have the capability or lack the space to store on your business site, delivering the scrap yourself ensured you’ll get a better price. By not having to pay a scrap metal company for transportation and labor costs, you’ll get a better price in the long run.

By at least appearing to know what you’re doing when selling your metal, a scrap metal company gets the message that you’re a professional and that you don’t want to waste your time in endless negotiations, giving you more time to do what you do best in your company.

If you’re ready to get the best possible price for the scrap metal that is taking up your business’ operational space, please contact us!