A bit of advice for the newer people here

My brother and I made a run today to scrap yard. He called up to check pricing before we left. Got quoted: sealed units-.16, mtrs-.20,insul wire-1.10,dirty alum-.55. Got a name we spoke with, wrote down prices and off we went. Get to scale put sealed units on and ask the guy how much today? Says .12# it's light iron....Then I ask about mtrs he says .15#:confused: At that point I tell him what I got quoted a half hr ago and who quoted the price. He asked again who I spoke to, told him again and asked to speak with this person. Scale guy called office and person my brother spoke with came to scale. Explained what was going on and showed him the quoted prices and his name on the paper. He honored the prices I was quoted no questions asked and told the scale guy to pull up pricing before giving a quote to a customer. Lesson is ALWAYS call to get current prices and ALWAYS get a name.

Brasscatcher,

I have found that to be absolutely the case, too, at the yard I go to in Rockville, Maryland. Scale prices or "prices in the computer" are always lower than the prices quoted over the phone. With the yard I go to, the per pound price is never on the ticket only the weight and total. A year ago, even after I showed the prices that "Johnny" quoted me over the phone, the guy at the scale still gave me the computer price. I figured out as I was driving out of the yard, turned around, parked the car, walked through the yard and called him out. It was only a $15 difference, but hey every bit counts. The manager apologized to me, but I it didn't ring true. Now I check the ticket more carefully before I leave. I wonder how much I've lost because of my lack of vigilence.

KW

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Originally Posted by BRASSCATCHER

My brother and I made a run today to scrap yard. He called up to check pricing before we left. Got quoted: sealed units-.16, mtrs-.20,insul wire-1.10,dirty alum-.55. Got a name we spoke with, wrote down prices and off we went. Get to scale put sealed units on and ask the guy how much today? Says .12# it's light iron....Then I ask about mtrs he says .15#:confused: At that point I tell him what I got quoted a half hr ago and who quoted the price. He asked again who I spoke to, told him again and asked to speak with this person. Scale guy called office and person my brother spoke with came to scale. Explained what was going on and showed him the quoted prices and his name on the paper. He honored the prices I was quoted no questions asked and told the scale guy to pull up pricing before giving a quote to a customer. Lesson is ALWAYS call to get current prices and ALWAYS get a name.

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You put that scale man on the spot - your business ethics could use some polishing.

You could have avoided this and said that you had previously spoken to such and such and these are the prices he quoted over the phone. Instead you choose the role similar to being the Village idiot. Don't feel bad I've been there many times myself.

When asking for a quote over the phone you might also ask if that price will hold for the day. I agree always ask for a name to whom your speaking with then make a note on it. Next time you call ask for that person by name.

I deal with one yard in Winnipeg where the father and son both have an interest in the business, from personal experience I have always found the father more generous while the son is on the proving ground showing dad that he is able to make the company profit. Yes profits at my expense.

I avoid dealing with the kid and always ask for the father who will always give me a fair price. The last time I was there the father was not in and the kid tried telling me that my copper wire had 25 percent moisture in it because it had rained on the way into the yard. Needless to say Adam lost out on $8,000.00 worth of clean copper wire, which would have netted the company a substantial profit.

By having Adam trying to reduce my load by 25% also told me that the company is possibly in financial trouble.

I would have liked to have been the fly on the wall when his father was having words with him over the loss of that sale.

I would not deal with yards like that. I wonder how many people get ripped off every day.

Am I glad I don't have any issues at my yard like you guys have.

A name always helps.

Gus- my business ethics are just fine thank you. Its the yards that needs the polishing. If people are calling ahead to get pricing don't you think that someone should tell the scale guy to be giving proper pricing at the scale? I only use this yard when I dump my scrap and use another for my non-ferrous. The only reason we went is because time was an issue with other things going on yesterday. The other place I go to I always call ahead, price is what I get quoted when I get there. When my brother called yesterday at 0900 we were there at 0930, so why wouldn't price hold for a half hour? The only Village Idiots, your words not mine, I see are the ones that let these yards get away with this garbage.
What's the matter Gus a little sour there are no hockey teams from Canada left In the playoffs?:)

Kitty- they should also be putting a tare weight on the ticket if you are putting things in their containers when it gets weighed.

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What's the matter Gus a little sour there are no hockey teams from Canada left In the playoffs?

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You just had to bring that up. I was only now getting over it. Oh my..... the tears are back.

Keep in mind that all yards are different in many ways. Some are much more high tech then others and pricing can be changed per individual that calls in so that it is automatic. If they are low tech don't count on that guy running down to the scale after every call to relay what he just told someone on the phone. If you called give the scale guy a heads up that this is what you are expecting before you even pull the goods out. Communication goes a long way instead of second guessing each other.

Point taken KZ, but they are all computerized so if they are all on same system that the office is on then there shouldn't be a discrepancy.

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Originally Posted by Otto

You just had to bring that up. I was only now getting over it. Oh my..... the tears are back.

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Sorry Otto, I take it then you are pulling for the Caps tonight....LET'S GO RANGERS!!!!!!! Man I love this game!!!

I don't deal with a yard that doesn't post the prices they are paying either on their web site or at the pay window. 1 yard I called to find out how much they were paying for low grade boards. They would not give a price over the phone, said they had to see them first. I'm thinking that I would get there and the price would be very low then I would have to bring them back home and find someone else to sell to, a lot of extra work.

I'm telling you guys, my wife Always gets good prices when she takes in my stuff. I never take it in anymore, lol

A word to the wise...If you are getting your wife/girlfriend to call make sure you give them ALL the specifics. I get a dozen calls a day from women wanting to know the price for wire/aluminum/copper but not knowing what exactly they have. How am I supposed to grade your insulated copper wire over the phone and give you a fair price if your wife/girlfriend doesn't know if it is Christmas lights or Thhn wire? Or if your aluminum is cast or extruded?

Yeah thats always good to know. I strip everything so she doesn't have to worry. But so far it's worked out in my favor.

one must always be aware of the current scrap prices before selling them to scrap yard. There are many sources to keep yourself updated with the pricing. You can subscribe for text or email notifications on many sites out there on Internet.

This still rings true just the other day i was quoted .40/# on ali extrude but checking my ticket before i even left the pay window it said .37 i had to point it out had a lot of aluminum that trip and wasn't backing down from the questions. nice try cathy maybe next time:-/