Making sure you are paid for what you bring in...

I had this happen to me in Spring of 2010, and thought I would pass it along so others can be aware.

I had a lot of commercial mailboxes, 30 some boxes and each box had between 15 and 35 mailboxes.

Anyways they were mostly aluminum, with rivets and steel rods, springs, etc holding them and the doors together. So to get top dollar I spent a week tearing them all apart.

Separated the steel which I think maybe amounted to 50 lbs, into a box. Then I separated the heavier aluminum bars/doors into a few other boxes, and then the remainder of the trailer load was all alum sheet. I mean this was a 7x14 dump trailer with 6 foot sides and I had it 80% full of sheet, so how this got past the operator, I don't know...so anyways I take it all in. The guys start sifting through what I had sorted. They get that all done, weigh it, then have me drive onto the scale for the trailer load. I dump the alum sheet and go in to get paid.

Came in around $600 bucks which I thought was low/disappointing, and I left. Got to looking at the receipt, and they had the scale weight as steel.

I go back in and he said "I just assumed it was steel. It nearly always is if it comes across the scale".

So another $450 or something came my way.

Just a heads up to keep an eye on what's happening. I assumed they knew what I brought in and they assumed otherwise.



Speaking of keeping an eye on guys. At another yard they tried to stiff me on a few pounds of copper. (It wasn't on the ticket). Not much, but you really have to keep your eye on some of these yards.

I had something similar happen to me a few weeks ago. I took in about $160 in non-ferrous metal and a washer, dryer, and water heater as mixed metal. I brought the non ferrous stuff to the smaller scale, etc, and got a reciept for it. Then I went across the larger scale for the mixed metal. I unloaded it, went back across the scale, and went inside to get the money. I got $160 and left. Later, I was looking at the reciept and I saw that I didn't get paid for the mixed metal. I have to talk to the guy the next time I go there.

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Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

Wow I thought all Scrap Dealers was Honest lolololol

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You'd be suprised

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Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

Wow I thought all Scrap Dealers was Honest lolololol

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Thanks for the laugh.

haha. I didn't bring up the topic so much for dishonesty, (though it does happen). More so to keep an eye on these yards. Regarding the alum sheet, the least the yard guys could have done is radioed up to the office "hey, this guy coming across the scale has sheet alum".

I'd not had a problem until then, so I figured they knew what they were doing.


On the copper stiff, he was some idiot that clearly did the least amount of work possible to keep a paycheck.

My scrap yard is pretty good... One of the owners is the fellow who runs the counter...... He always tells me to look over the receipt and tell me if anything is missing.... I am turning 37 this year and in about 20 years of scraping, I have only had to go back once to get something fixed... He's a good guy

Back when I was cleaning up tornado damage in my yard, we had a lot of metal gathered that blew up into our yard plus the items of metal that we had getting torn apart. I was taking in load after load for a few weekends straight. At the time, I was only taking loads around 200 pounds a trip. Didn't have the time to cut it up to get more per load. Stopped in 1 time with a smaller than normal load and got twice the money I had been getting on the 200 pound loads. I started looking at it and it said we had 460 pounds. I went in and told him there was no way that I had that much. He pretty much said " Having problems with the scales today, have a good one" So he sorta helped me out I guess.

Called the scrap yard before I went in. Operator said $3.70/Lb for 50lbs + of #1 copper
took in 86lbs, got paid @ 3.60.
Lost 9 Dollars, didn't say anything because it was my first time there.
Thinking i will next time if the same mistake happens.
I don't know if it was a honest mistake or not.

scrap yards are gonna try and get every single penny profit they can and they will cheat ya to do so

my yard is pretty good and honest, especially if you get to know the guys pretty good. I always make sure to spend a few extra minutes in the parking lot before i leave, and havnt caught anything yet. sometimes they will even tell you how to get top dollar out of your metal. one steel metal in bangor maine by the way.

Sounds like he quoted #1 but paid for #2. Do you know if your load was #1 or #2? I have had it happen that the price dropped between me calling and getting there. Lost $20 a ton on #1 Iron that way one time. Had a little over a ton and a half - so lost $30. Decided it wasn't worth it to haul it back home. Good thing I didn't cause it dropped more in a couple days.

My yard is honest, but I had allot of HVAC and good steel and I had one crappy piece of I beam, not their fault by anymeans all mine. But make sure you get the top dollar. At my yard we use these blue containers and they get picked up by forklifts so they said to me when i disputed the ticket that they understood I busted my ass for that stuff and they will give me as many containers as I want just tell them So make sure you get paid right because you work hard, they can work too.

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Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

You know I am sure some on here will Disagree with me. What I do I have a Place here that Has a Cat Semi Scales they weigh the truckers I go there at least once a month and get my truck and Trailer Weighed then I take that Weight Ticket and compare it with the Weight Ticket that the scrap yard gives me. I mean my reason for doing it is that the Place that Weighs Semis has no reason to Lie About my Weight I Pay them $2 I figure its a great Investment that pays off FOR ME.

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I went to do that a week ago, but the cashier said it cost $9.50 for the first weighing and $2 for the next. I didn't want to spend that on a small load so I passed.

The yard also doesn't have any of the scale displays in an area that the customer can see....

You drive up on the scale and get a 'green light' from the traffic light. then you unload, go back on the scale and get a second green light and then go inside to the pay window to sign, get a receipt and your cash.

They do the smaller loads the same way- they put the material - or a cart full of material- on the scale, and then they bring you a receipt with your totals and you take the receipt to the pay window.

Does that sound shady to anyone??

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Originally Posted by Rusty Nuts

I went to do that a week ago, but the cashier said it cost $9.50 for the first weighing and $2 for the next. I didn't want to spend that on a small load so I passed.

The yard also doesn't have any of the scale displays in an area that the customer can see....

You drive up on the scale and get a 'green light' from the traffic light. then you unload, go back on the scale and get a second green light and then go inside to the pay window to sign, get a receipt and your cash.

They do the smaller loads the same way- they put the material - or a cart full of material- on the scale, and then they bring you a receipt with your totals and you take the receipt to the pay window.

Does that sound shady to anyone??

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Not necessarily. The yard I go to now works that way. The one I used to go to had a display you could see when you run on the scales as well as the inside display in customer's view. Weigh In and Out were printed on the receipt. I trust both. I quit going to the first one for another reason. Two others I've used had weights out of sight. One of those would put Bernie Madoff to shame.

If I don't bring it my stuff comopletly sorted to get the most money the guys at my scrapyard do it for me cause I got their every day nd I got to know them

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Originally Posted by Kris Kringle

I should start a Thread HOW TO RIP OFF THE SCRAP YARD AT THEIR OWN GAME

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lol i know a guy who puts steel shavings on top of his copper with the theory by the time he gets to the yard they will vibrate to the middle..because they look at the top to see what it is and dump it...so in the middle he gets paid for them...he always brags about getting one over on the yard..then his next visit he always gets docked for the last load lol..its going to be very hard to get over on a scrap yard especially if you visit them often...now he has to unload and get everything checked before he gets paid..takes upto an hour or 2 longer for him in the yard...his dishonesty cost him few hours and i doubt he gets top dollar anymore..saw another guy drop a counter weight off a crane in the #1 heavymelt pile once also haha..he no longer is allowed at the yard and has to go almost an extra 100 miles round trip to sell to a diff yard lol