How to Prep a Load Buyers Can Bid On

A buyer who has never set foot in your yard can only price what they can see. If you want to sell scrap to new buyers, the load has to speak for itself. That means clear grades, real weights, clear photos and terms a buyer can put a number on. This guide walks through how to prepare scrap metal for sale so a buyer can make a real offer, not a guess.

Jeffrey Zwirsky, who founded SMASH, summed it up in a Q&A with Recycling Product News: "This is real money, and the offer is only as good as the material details behind it."

Sort and grade first

Every offer starts with the grade. A buyer cannot price a pallet if they do not know what is on it. Sort before you stack.

• Clean and dirty apart. Clean material has nothing attached. Dirty material still has steel, plastic, rubber or dirt on it. Buyers price them differently, so keep them on separate pallets.
• Insulated wire by type. Do not throw harness wire in with heavier cable. Keep each type together so the buyer knows what they are getting.
• Rims clean or not. Rims with tires or wheel weights still on are a different grade from clean rims. Strip them or sort them, but do not mix them.
• Cats kept separate. Converters go in their own boxes, away from everything else. If you can tell original equipment units from aftermarket ones, keep those apart too.
• Cores on their own. Alternators, starters and other cores should not end up mixed into a non-ferrous pallet.

If you are not sure how to grade something, say so in the listing. An honest "mixed, see photos" is better than a grade that does not hold up when the buyer checks it.

Palletize and weigh

Stack each grade on a solid pallet or in a sturdy box. Band it or wrap it so it holds together on a truck. One grade per pallet makes life easier for everyone.

Then weigh it and write down three numbers:

• Gross: the full weight, material plus pallet, box or bag.
• Tare: the weight of the empty pallet, box or bag.
• Net: gross minus tare. This is the weight of the metal itself, and it is the number a buyer prices.

Keep the scale ticket. The buyer will weigh the material again when it arrives. If the numbers do not line up, a ticket from your scale gives both sides something solid to look at instead of an argument.

Photos that help a buyer

Photos do the work a site visit used to do. Take them in good light and do not use filters.

• The whole pallet. Shoot it from more than one side so the buyer can judge the size and the mix.
• Close ups. Show the wire ends and insulation, the face and back of the rims, and anything attached that affects the grade.
• The label. Get the package label in the shot so each photo ties back to the right package and weight.
• Markings on cats. Shoot the stamps and numbers on the shell so they are sharp and readable. A blurry marking is close to no marking at all.

Do not shoot only the best side. If there is dirty material on the pallet, show it. The buyer will see it at check in anyway, and showing it up front builds trust.

Label every package

Every pallet or box needs its own ID on a label that is attached firmly and easy to read. That ID should match the weight, the grade and the photos for that package.

This matters most when the buyer checks the load in. They can go package by package. If one pallet is off, it gets sorted out on its own, not by fighting over the whole truck. On SMASH, every pallet or box gets its own package ID and a printable label.

For converters, labels are only part of it. Good records for each unit help when a buyer or anyone else asks where they came from. Our guide on what to record for every converter covers that in detail.

Write terms a buyer can price

The same pallet can draw very different offers depending on the terms. Spell them out so every buyer is pricing the same deal.

• Minimum. The lowest price you will take. If no offer reaches it, you do not have to sell.
• Sale window. How long the sale is open for offers.
• Pickup or delivery. Will the buyer pick up at your yard, or will you deliver? If it is a pickup, list your loading hours and whether you have a forklift or dock.
• Payment terms. When you expect to be paid and how.
• Inspection and rejection. How long the buyer has to check the material in, what happens if it does not match the listing, and who pays to deal with rejected material.
• Currency. CAD, USD or both.

On SMASH, you set the minimum, the sale window, pickup or delivery and payment terms. Buyers bid on those terms or send counter terms. You can create the sale with SMASH AI or from the Sales tab.

The paperwork

Once you accept an offer, three documents carry the deal.

• Invoice: what was sold, the weights, the price and the payment terms.
• Packing list: every package ID on the load, with its grade and weights.
• Bill of lading: the shipping document that goes with the truck. It shows who is shipping, who is receiving and what is on board.

Keep your scale tickets with these. If the load is crossing the border, there may be more to think about. See selling Canadian scrap to US buyers.

On SMASH, once you accept an offer, SMASH sends confirmations and generates the invoice, packing list and bill of lading. SMASH can help arrange freight if you need it. Freight booked through SMASH is quoted and billed separately.

Mistakes that cost offers

• Mixing grades on one pallet.
• Guessing weights, or listing gross with no tare.
• Dark, blurry or cropped photos.
• Hiding dirty material in the middle of a pallet. It gets found at check in, and it costs you trust.
• Vague terms like "make an offer" with no pickup, payment or inspection details.
• Labels that are missing, fall off or do not match the packing list.
• Changing what is on the load after the sale.

Any one of these makes a buyer price in more risk, or pass on the load altogether.

Putting a prepped load in front of buyers

A well prepped load is easier to sell to anyone, including the buyers you already have. If you want more buyers looking at it, see how SMASH works for auto recyclers. You list with photos, weights, grades and terms, approved buyers make offers, and you pick one or none. For how to do that without upsetting your current buyers, read more buyers, same relationships.