Given the market, why are the newest scrappers even bothering?

I am in no way knocking this profession. I just want to gauge why, given the market and current prices, why are the newest scrappers even beginning to scrap?



Eight years ago when I started scrapping I made a full weeks wages on a Sunday. Now, it seems to take two weeks to make the same amount of money. If I were just starting out now, no way would I pick this job to make a living.

My honest question, as a scrapper and scrap yard employee who hears the laments day in and day out is ...why? How are you making money by starting out now? Or, I should ask, how are you making enough?

When I first started scrapping metal, Copper was $4 a Kg. Anything more than $4 was great. That $4 line took years to cross and it had never been seen before, ever.
So when it hit $5 a Kg, wow! 5 Bucks a KG! I gotta get some Kgs as I only need 4 of them to get $20. You can buy a lot (or a little, depends on what yah buying.... ;-} for $20
I was scrapping fridges for Ali and Copper, Microwaves for Copper - there was no Ali in transformers back then, or Invertors. CRT TV.s were not being scrapped.
I wish I knew about the Copper in the fridge compressors though. That would have made a big difference. But I was getting Copper and Brass lined old fridge/freezers too.

So, $5 was great, then $6 was greater, $7 was fantastic $8 was twice what I started on, and $9... Yes NINE DOLLARS! Was like a dream but it was real....

And then the Chinese Olympic games started and BOOM, The metal market crashed.

Walking in with $900 of Copper and wondering why people were walking out looking like someone had just shot their favorite pet....

And then finding I was only getting $400 and I should be happy as it could be worse and Christmas is not going to be what I thought it was going to be....

So, fast forward 10 odd years and Im getting $6+ a Kg and that won't buy a gallon of gas, but its better than the $5+ a Kg I was getting last year December.
2Kgs of Copper will get me a Chinese meal.

So, to answer the OP's question. They never had it better, they never knew $8 a Kg Copper, they have just found out that someone will give then real paper money for some metal that someone else just threw out.

That the 'markets hard' but that means theres less other people out there.

That 'Steels not worth it', but if you get enough Heavy Metal you will get paid good for it and sheet metals not worth anything, but they will take it so you don't have to pay to get rid of it and they give you some gas dollars to help you on your next circuit around the metal spots that they have figured out for themselves.

And they know that any other metal out there is worth more than $1 a Kg...

My answer?
Watch this video

Originally Posted by eesakiwi

When I first started scrapping metal, Copper was $4 a Kg. Anything more than $4 was great. That $4 line took years to cross and it had never been seen before, ever.
So when it hit $5 a Kg, wow! 5 Bucks a KG! I gotta get some Kgs as I only need 4 of them to get $20. You can buy a lot (or a little, depends on what yah buying.... ;-} for $20
I was scrapping fridges for Ali and Copper, Microwaves for Copper - there was no Ali in transformers back then, or Invertors. CRT TV.s were not being scrapped.
I wish I knew about the Copper in the fridge compressors though. That would have made a big difference. But I was getting Copper and Brass lined old fridge/freezers too.

So, $5 was great, then $6 was greater, $7 was fantastic $8 was twice what I started on, and $9... Yes NINE DOLLARS! Was like a dream but it was real....

And then the Chinese Olympic games started and BOOM, The metal market crashed.

Walking in with $900 of Copper and wondering why people were walking out looking like someone had just shot their favorite pet....

And then finding I was only getting $400 and I should be happy as it could be worse and Christmas is not going to be what I thought it was going to be....

So, fast forward 10 odd years and Im getting $6+ a Kg and that won't buy a gallon of gas, but its better than the $5+ a Kg I was getting last year December.
2Kgs of Copper will get me a Chinese meal.

So, to answer the OP's question. They never had it better, they never knew $8 a Kg Copper, they have just found out that someone will give then real paper money for some metal that someone else just threw out.

That the 'markets hard' but that means theres less other people out there.

That 'Steels not worth it', but if you get enough Heavy Metal you will get paid good for it and sheet metals not worth anything, but they will take it so you don't have to pay to get rid of it and they give you some gas dollars to help you on your next circuit around the metal spots that they have figured out for themselves.

And they know that any other metal out there is worth more than $1 a Kg...

My answer?
Watch this video

Thanks eesakiwi. I like the video.


@ NA
I think it's because they have been watching to many old youtube videos when the prices were still good.

eesakiwi, thank you for a great description of possible thought process. I hadn't thought about the ''not knowing how good it used to be.''

I know something is better than nothing and being lucky enough to have a job as well as scrapping, I guess I'm wondering if it's enough. Is what the newbies make now helpful enough in todays market? I couldn't survive now like I did when I started out on scrapping alone.

Are the newest having to learn how to fix and flip to make some of the money? Something they either never did or thought about before? Do they like to do this and are they having fun doing it?

I guess todays market has impacted us all in that sense, we have to learn new ''job skills'' so to speak. And, its cheaper than going to college for the education as its a hands on learning/self taught profession.

I've worked with one of the posters in this thread. The answer for some is "More than Scrap Value" items. I've been receiving material from more people than before the market crashed, so I tend to draw the conclusion that many people are looking to more than scrap as an avenue to offset losses. When RAM was $18-20 per pound, it wasn't worth the effort to a lot to sort. Today, with $12 per pound RAM, selling sticks for more than scrap can make a pretty large difference.

If you're just calling everything shred, and going straight to the yard, it won't pan out with these prices- especially if they fall farther.

Originally Posted by IamPhil

the scrap is secondary. Engine is the money maker

More than scrap value is always a winning combination. Out here, a Cat 3208 or a Cummins 5.9 would be an easy sell.

There is a vehicle scrapper in the area that uses old buses to haul scrap in. He pulls the stuff he wants (Mostly engine/trans), loads the rolling chassis with shred, and tows them to the yard. At the yard, he sometimes pulls the tires and sells them to farmers for their beet trucks.