Gathering Scrap Metal at Yard Sales | Big Daddy Scrap

If you enjoy making a profit with scrap metal, then you will likely want to find a lot of ways to get extra metal, increase your load, and help you build up on profits. One way to do this is with frequent visits to yard sales. Typically on weekends, yard sales provide a lot of inexpensive ways to gather scrap metal, and you may find instances where you get scrap metal for free.

Check out this guide to help you navigate the world of yard sales and increase your profits when you go and visit them.

Know What To Look For

Do not go into a yard sale without specific knowledge about what metals you are looking for. You may try to take a guess and end up with scrap pieces that are worth pennies rather than dollars. While prices will often change and fluctuate, some of the more valuable metals will include copper, electric wire, and busbar.

Use a visual guide to know how to spot certain metals and the most common products you will find these metals in. The more experience you have, the quicker you scan yard sales and find items you are looking for. The quicker you scan, the more time you can save and move onto the next sale.

Always Negotiate

To get the most profit for items you purchase, always negotiate with people who run yard sales. In most cases, people want to just rid of items, and you can build up on your profit along the way. While you could negotiate for single items like an appliance, you also have the opportunity to add in items to save money.

For example, you may want to purchase an old air conditioner that you will scrap. You could toss in some electrical wires for the same price and have even more to scrap. The more you learn to barter and negotiate, the more money you will potentially earn when you go to a scrap metal yard.

Shop for Off-Season Items

Yard sales will typically take place in the spring, summer, and fall. These sales present ideal times to shop for off-season items. For example, you may find bins of old Christmas lights. It doesn't matter if the lights work or come tangled. Those lights will often make you money at a scrap metal yard, and you can usually find great discounts when you shop off-season.

Look for the off-season items and some great bargains when you shop for them. Along with lights, look for metal artificial trees or hanging decor that you could bring a scrap metal yard.

Use Gaylord Boxes To Hold Items

As you go from sale to sale, you may find a lot of little items that you add to your collection. Easily keep your scrap metal organized with a cardboard gaylord box. The box is the width and length of a typical pallet and can hold a lot of scrap metal items. Easily toss in small pieces of metal and have everything ready to go once you visit the scrap metal location.

The gaylord boxes can fit right into the back of a truck or van for easy organization.

Look For the Free Tables

Some yard sales may feature a free table right from the start of the sale. Others may offer leftover items for free at the end of a sale. Look for yard sale end times to know the best times to visit and try to get items for free.

Often, bulky metal items will be left for free so yard sale hosts do not need to move them all back in again. The free tables can provide a big boost to your profits.

Take all of your yard sale scrap metal to us at Big Daddy Scrap. We offer fair prices and accept a wide range of different metals.