I am very disappointed with prices today

I just bought (5) $19.98 trash cans at ... Lowes... darn later in the day I learned that I should have bought at Wal-Mart... same price but they hold 10 gallons more... oh well.. These Lowes cans fit in my SUV nicely.. so when prices go up I can load 'em in easily and cash in. Commodities prices are not going up anytime soon (Cu, Ferrous, etc) - and I am not some news-ie, or a world economic no-it-all, but I think China hit what we hit in 2008... China govt allowing trading for any citizen at all with lax'ed margin stock trading rules and regs to just boost the economy... sounds like 'hey look the otherway while Fannie May and Freddie Mac employees roll out of the parking lot with lamborginis lined with Benjamin cloth interior'!! 2008 all over again, but in 2015 in the Orient.

I am new at scrapping, but these cans have paid for themselves three times over, if not more. I think it's a good investment, just wish I figured out where Wal-Mart stored their cans before I bought at Lowes. I'll just be in the garage listening to Jimmy Buffet albums (I like all of his stuff) and scrap and store my metal like Warren Buffet. I know China will recover faster than the US. For cryin' out loud, the US is China's main client. I know. I scrap made in China fans of all types, radios, blinds, bread makers, you name it. Add it to the pile and humm along. ... 'He's the man who gave up his own name' ...

- Lage Nom Ai -

"Nordstrom was a simple man
Who had some non-conformist plan
To save his ass .. " ..

" Now we're back where we belong
Without a clue and still without
A master plan .. "



Good luck all!!

Originally Posted by mikeinreco

I see you telling people how to sell their metals.........My question to you is what self-respecting scrapper would go to Lowe's and pay $20 for a trash can?.......Trash cans and totes are everywhere just ask your local yard they usually have them piled up and have no use for them

I see a lot of 5 gallon buckets at scrap yards that people leave behind. They're there for whoever wants them but I never get any because I don't know what's been in them.

Someone may have been hauling busted up crt's in them or worse.

I know that sounds silly to some of you but that's just me and on of my many OCD's.

The markets have dropped again. Today's September comex is at 2.27 which means all pricing on copper is now down an additional 0.06 from the first post of this thread.I agree that you should never stockpile, always buy and sell on current market. I tell all of my customers to do that and it have been working for them. The guys that ignored my advice are now sitting on items worth 70% less than what they paid for them.

Everything is taking a beating, copper, aluminum, nickel and gold. Even steel. Not good at all.

First off, scrap your metals as you like - I do not intend on telling anyone how to do their business. I am just telling common sense scrapping, that applies in whatever commodity trading you might find yourself in. Don't sell 1 lb of #2 copper for $1.60 / lb today when it will be worth $2.00 / lb in 5 months (maybe). If you want to, go ahead, I will not stop you, but you are selling yourself short if you don't stock that Cu for when prices are favorable. You have to play the market, and not let the market play you.

Second, my yard doesn't give anything away for free, lol. Trust me, the only thing laying out for free is dust and dirt, or tons of mud if it rained. There is nothing at all laying around to take, so yes, I did buy trash cans. My trash cans already paid for themselves, and my wife and I went on vacation this summer for free all paid for through trash. In my town, if you want a bucket, you buy it or find it. I find old plastic plant pots (the ones you get when you buy a potted plant at Lowe's or Home Depot or any landscaping type supplier, are really handy for holding. I just need waterproof holding, and those will not do the job.