Went around one of my auto shop routes buying today. Hasn't been much activity for the past couple of months and business has been way off. First place I went today, he'd been having a good buildup of business and had a catalytic converter he wanted to sell. He said it was off a Ford pickup 6 cylinder so I looked it over. No Ford markings; no aftermarket markings; one tube ("Cigar") and about 12-15" long. Conclusion - Small Domestic. I've had a few like it before. As for pricing - I knew what I'd gotten for them but that had been about a year ago. Metal prices in general and precious metal prices have gone up since then, but there has been a sharp down turn in the stock market (metal prices tend to follow the stock market) and in base metals. I decided I'd offer the same as in the past and hope for the best (I usually call the cat buyer at the scrap yard as I'm negotiating). Added factor in pricing is that this shop is 50 miles from the scrap yard. I pay half of what I expect to get. Most recent similar cats went for $40 at the yard. I offered him $20. He said he'd think about it and we'd talk it over when I came back next week. Then he'll have a bunch more batteries and brake rotors, too.
Got home and finished the "paperwork" (computerwork?). On a whim, I called that cat buyer and described the cat. He said he suspected it would be classified as Small Domestic and he'd pay --- $25.
He should have taken me up on the $20. The price just went down - considerably.
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