Feeling ripped

I am new to scrapping and today I was quite surprised at how my trip to the recycling place went down. I clearly had stainless steel and other steel separated. The guys at the place told me that because there was a little rust stain where I had removed screws the stainless was going to be considered just regular steel. I got 9 cents a pound for my metal and left with 25 dollars. They had me put everything inside a huge bin and then just weighed it all at once. I don't know how much weight I had but I do know that some of the metal was stainless and should have been sold as stainless. Right? Is this normal practice in the scrapping world?

Some yards are like that, some are not. They may not separate their metal as much as another yard does. You can check other yards until you find one that you feel comfortable with. I remember when I started out that I went to one yard, they had one price listed in the newspaper and it was a little lower than the one up the road but it was close and I just wanted to unload my load. I got on the scales, the person at the yard told me a price that was 1/2 that was listed in the paper so I drove straight off the scale and went to the other yard, and I have been going there for the last 15 years with no issues.

If you feel your not getting what you deserve from one company, go to another. You will eventually find one that is good and you can make a good working relationship for. The yard that I go to now knows me by name and will give me higher prices compared to the general public. I have also learned what they take, how they like it and how to make the most profits from them. They wont generally give out this kind of information to the casual "scrapper".

Lastly, read up on this forum and inform yourself. Knowledge is your greatest weapon when going to the scrap yard. The more you know, the easier it will be to know when your getting ripped of and to help you make the correct decisions. There is a vast amount of information here, there is great people that hang out here, so use the search feature to find what you want to know, and if you still have questions after that then by all means ask.

Originally Posted by ArgonWelding

stainless steel that is non magnetic has a high nickel content. That is what they want. Last I saw, nickel was going for $12/lb. Really puts copper to shame. I keep all of my nickel welding rod under lock and key.

Wowza. Stainless by me that isn't magnetic goes for only 55 cents a pound - 10 cents less than aluminum prices.

Stainless 400 series is a magnetic stainless that has many properties like its counter part 304, but 304 is non magnetic and contains a small amount of nickel which is where the value comes from.

400 series pr 17-4 is worth 3-4 cents more per lb than regular iron/steel.

I had a similar experience the second time I made a trip to the yard. I felt ripped off. Looking back at it now I should have known more and been better prepared. Knowledge and experience are critical. That is why this forum is such a great place. I have since found a new yard that pays more and treats me better. I learn something new every time I go about what they will pay and for what.

A couple of people on the forum have 2 or more yards that they use depending on what their hauling in on that day/load, certain yards pay better for just certain things.

Originally Posted by Mechanic688

A couple of people on the forum have 2 or more yards that they use depending on what their hauling in on that day/load, certain yards pay better for just certain things.

Here in the DFW area we have quite a few yards. I have gone to the extent where I have a whiteboard in my workshop where I write down what each of my 3 favorite yards pays on the load I am taking in. It will usually be a mixed load (aluminum, brass, lead, aluminum breakage, etc), one corner of my truck I place the stuff I am taking to yard #1, another corner yard #2, etc. The one I take most of my shredables to pays 40 cents a pound less on copper/aluminum radiators than yard #2, and yard #3 pays the best on brass, etc. I usually have enough of a load to warrant the extra distance. For one hundred pounds of copper/aluminum radiators, I got an extra 40 bucks for 15 extra miles of distance. Just a part of being organized.

Originally Posted by wayne1956

Here in the DFW area we have quite a few yards. I have gone to the extent where I have a whiteboard in my workshop where I write down what each of my 3 favorite yards pays on the load I am taking in. It will usually be a mixed load (aluminum, brass, lead, aluminum breakage, etc), one corner of my truck I place the stuff I am taking to yard #1, another corner yard #2, etc. The one I take most of my shredables to pays 40 cents a pound less on copper/aluminum radiators than yard #2, and yard #3 pays the best on brass, etc. I usually have enough of a load to warrant the extra distance. For one hundred pounds of copper/aluminum radiators, I got an extra 40 bucks for 15 extra miles of distance. Just a part of being organized.

what do you do if they try to take the other stuff? Do you tell them what the other yard is paying? And to match it?

i also go to a few different yards. one for ferrous metals, one for heavy iron...and i even found one that pays 27 cents a pound for batteries (unheard of up here in Washington).

Everyone here has given you good advice. Learn as much as you can here and elsewhere. Know exactly what you have before you leave home. Eventually you will get to the point that you can pretty much know whats in the back of your truck before you head to the yard. For now, write down what you have and give yourself a rough estimate of the weight so you won't have any surprises.

As for the stainless, most around here will treat anything that is magnetic as steel. I don't bother with it. If the magnet sticks, I put it in the light steel pile. If it doesn't, go over and make sure it's clean. If you still have a problem, find a new yard.

Did I miss something??? I didn't see anywhere in the original post where he said his SS was magnetic. He said they cited rust around the screw holes.

I didn't see anywhere in the original post where he said his SS was magnetic. He said they cited rust around the screw holes.

That is the giveaway right there, unless I'm missing something; Good stainless does not rust. Cheap magnetic stainless will eventually rust.

When I read the original post I figured that the rust was stains from the fasteners. I could be wrong.

If the rust was from the fasteners you should have not been docked. I always have a magnet with me and when they state something like that pull out magnet and show them it dose not stick. Funny when they then take there own magnet check it and say its ok now!

Originally Posted by Brobich

...Is this normal practice in the scrapping world?

This is a normal practice in the world. Don't encourage it by falling for it.

My normal yard pays more for magnetic stainless than for normal steel, and much more for non-magnetic.

seems like I remember reading somewhere (irrationalist maybe?) that stainless WILL eventually rust ? Wrong? If so, maybe it was real,REAL old !? And, it is amazing how different the yards are. Maybe if one day we start an association we could make 'em universalize their prices !!???