Local scrap yard is going crazy. just a short rant

[rmatchell]

I have been dealing with a local scrap yard and having decent luck finding deals. Today I went in to lead to alloy with the merit metal babbitt I picked up last week and the prices doubled. I was paying 35cents a pound for unsorted ww and 45 cents for dead soft which I was a great deel. Today they want 70 cents for the ww and they wouldn't let me sort any and 70 for the dead soft. I went ahead a bought some of the dead soft I figured that was still a good price but the ww's were a bit much. guess ill just have to see when my usual guy is working again.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

people like you, who will pay thru the nose, are the reason these yards try to charge the outrageous prices they do.

[pastor]

Get it while you can the local scrap yard here wont sell to the public anymore, and when they did it was 1.00 per pound

[btroj]

people like you, who will pay thru the nose, are the reason these yards try to charge the outrageous prices they do.

So where exactly are we supposed to go? If the local yards all charge outrageous prices are we supposed to just stop casting?

Tell us O knowledgable one, what are we supposed to do?

[S&W-629]

I have 3 yards around me and 2 of them will not sell any to me and the one that will sell over a $1.00 a #

[Roundnoser]

So where exactly are we supposed to go? If the local yards all charge outrageous prices are we supposed to just stop casting?

Tell us O knowledgable one, what are we supposed to do?

You could buy it here from other members. I think 1 dollar per pound shipped is about the going rate.

[btroj]

Why would I pay a buck a pound for lead when I can get it for 70 cents a pound locally?

Someone stated that it was people willing to pay the going rate at scrapyards that made them so greedy with pricing. That price was 70 cents a pound.

I have plenty of lead, I have a good, cheap source. I was just asking the person who blames others for the high prices for his secret to keeping prices down.

[BoolitSchuuter]

Oldest rule of Capitalism; Charge what the market will bear.
Second oldest rule; All goods worth price charged.
:bigsmyl2:

[crmike]

So, if the traded market for dead soft lead is $0.99/lb (by definition, the point at which there are willing sellers and willing buyers), $0.70/lb is 30% below market, and by definition, a good deal.

[Beagle333]

I was payin' 65 cents a lb for soft at my scrapyard, but they went out of business, hung a new sign and reopened in 2 days with a new name and a new policy.... No Sales To The Public.

[xd4584]

I don't know how hard up you are for lead but I would have walked out right after they told me that the price doubled. I remember recently reading that the price of lead went down. Now they are trying to make that up with ppl like us

[HARRYMPOPE]

I am sure Rich sells his items for less than he paid.

George

[quasi]

most scrapyards around here will not sell to the public anymore, it is part of their Insurance requirements.

[btroj]

I don't know how hard up you are for lead but I would have walked out right after they told me that the price doubled. I remember recently reading that the price of lead went down. Now they are trying to make that up with ppl like us

That was my point. What is a guy supposed to do if he is hard up for lead and that is the only reliable source in his area

Telling a guy he is to blame for the high prices is silly. We all need to pay what we must to continue our hobby. Are we supposed to stop shooting and become martyrs in order to bring the price down at the scrapyard? Is it less silly to pay a but a pound for lead from this site than to pay 70 cents a pound at a scrap yard?

Lead isn't something we can get from Walmart. We have pretty limited sources for this stuff. If a guy wants to shoot and his best source is 70 cents a pound then why beat him up over paying it.

Nothing bugs me more than people who tell us what we wouldn't do but don't provide us with viable alternatives.

[cal50]

There is a scrap yard close to me and they have been there for a lot of years. I know guys that often buy lead from them but if you call or walk in ( they do not know you ) they will not sell to you. A while back I was passing by and dropping off scrap aluminum cans when my daughter was into recycling and asked if they had any scrap lead for sale. I was awaiting the standard answer but to my surprise they asked me "how much you want". I left with 100 lbs of soft lead. It was priced pretty well and they had a selection of scrap to choose from.
Its weird but after that I have made several buys there until they went nuts with the prices.
The last time I recently called they would sell me WW for .50 cents a pound which is not bad today but it could change tomorrow or be gone the next time I walk in.

I hate playing games with people or feel like they want me to kiss their *** to buy something at a fair price. I have purchased through the mail and when I can find lead at a decent cost.
Its like fishing, sometimes you get lucks and sometimes not.

[evan price]

My scrap yard has raised their price to me from $.50 per pound this April to now it is $.65 per pound in November and they were hemming and hawing about if they would sell any at all. I am glad I cleaned them out last week before the election because I bet lead starts climbing again now that Big O has gotten to stay 4 more years...

[rmatchell]

Just to clear this up it wasn't the price that got on my nerves it was that fact that they changed it for no other reason than to make more money. Now I understand its a business but I have been dealing with them for a lil while and for it to all the sudden double the price and say well you can buy the ww for 70cents a pound. I would gladly pay a dollar if I knew I was only getting the lead but I really don't like the idea of paying for zinc and steel. Around here we are still 50% lead and 50% trash.

[shadygrady]

well if you get zinc save it up i will trade your zinc for my lead

[9.3X62AL]

Scrappers live in castles made from other people's waste streams, and think it's Camelot. They have computers just like us, and can access Kitco just like we do. Lead is a strategic metal--fact of life. The prices aren't cheap, but Rotometals provides guaranteed assay with no added shipping if you buy enough in one shot. I'm tired of having to scrounge around fruitlessly for mystery metal, myself. Roto supports the site, and I'll support Roto--'cause I need some unalloyed lead to dilute all the type metal I have laying around here.

[DRNurse1]

Why would I pay a buck a pound for lead when I can get it for 70 cents a pound locally?

Someone stated that it was people willing to pay the going rate at scrapyards that made them so greedy with pricing. That price was 70 cents a pound.

I have plenty of lead, I have a good, cheap source. I was just asking the person who blames others for the high prices for his secret to keeping prices down.

Supply and Demand will self adjust the price. Read the original book if you want the rational. Otherwise if I have it and you want it, you pay what I ask; If Everyone has it and you want it you can shop for the lowest bidder.

Just my $0.02

[Kraschenbirn]

At least some of you guys have access to a scrapyard that will buy/sell to the public at any price. Last week, I dropped by the yard I've dealt with for the past couple of years and found that they've converted themselves to 'auto recyclers'. No sales of scrap (of any kind) to the public and they no longer purchase 'small quantities' (less than 1-ton lots) of metals from individuals. Now, they only purchase complete vehicles and sell only 'used/salvage' auto parts on a 'pull-your-own' basis. Owner told me that between OSHA, EPA, and state regulations it was just too much hassle to mess with small lot stuff.

Bill

[youngda9]

Just to clear this up it wasn't the price that got on my nerves it was that fact that they changed it for no other reason than to make more money.Seems you were getting too good of a deal and when they adjusted their prices to the going market rate you got upset about it. :violin:

[00buck]

Why have the scrapyards stop selling lead to the public?

Are they selling it to China? :( Where is it going if the public cant buy it?

[rmatchell]

I'll keep that in mind shadygrady right now I have about 90 pounds but its already spoken for, ill start a new bucket for you though.

[PS Paul]

Used to buy Macanudo cigars in a tin for $20.00 from a little store here in Seattle. The owner was friendly, but his Arabic wife was a real hag. She complained to him about the pricing (becasue she felt it was too cheap) and if I would buy them and lots of them, they could and should raise the price. Next time I walked in, they were marked at $27.00! I know their price did not increase because I know the distributor and they did not increase wholesale cost. So, I told the hag what I thought of her increase in a very polite way and have never set foot in that place again. Just sayin'..... Sounds kinda like your dea: if you will pay, maybe you'll pay more because you NEED them.

[cactus clay]

if you're willing to spend a little time melting, skimming and pouring ingots you might talk to any plumbers you know. people pay me to cut it out of their house 8-}. i've been saving for a couple yrs but have 85#'s in ingot and probably another 50 laying in my shop waiting to be melted and i'm just a one man shop. houses from the 50's and back have old "drum" traps on the tubs and showers and you'll get 10-15 #'s out of each one and the pipe that's attached. have done the pencil test on the ingots and it test 1 pencil harder than pure lead (5B)

[evan price]

Why have the scrapyards stop selling lead to the public?

Are they selling it to China? :( Where is it going if the public cant buy it?

The yards I deal with all send it to China in connex containers. That's where most of the scrap goes. They send all their insulated copper wire and E-scrap to China and they strip all the insulation off by hand, even the tiny wires, to salvage the copper. When you have a basically slave labor economy that stuff is economical.

[cbrick]

Rotometals provides guaranteed assay with no added shipping if you buy enough in one shot.

I'm tired of having to scrounge around fruitlessly for mystery metal, myself. Roto supports the site, and I'll support Roto-- 'cause I need some unalloyed lead to dilute all the type metal I have laying around here.

That is wise advice and well worth repeating . . .

Roto supports the site, and I'll support Roto.

Rick