Buying Mixed Brass: What is a Fair Price?

[RichardInFlorida]

I was talking to the owner of a local range recently about reloading. He normally gathers the "leave behind" brass and sells it to a commercial outfit whenever he has a few 55 gallon drums. He let me take some home, and refused to take money for it.

Since I expect component prices to continue to rise, I'd like to offer him a fair deal to bring home a few large buckets of the stuff. That which I can't use, I figure I can trade.

Based on the random sample I took away with me, it looks like most of the cases are brass, but there is a number of steel and aluminum cases mixed in. Some of the brass is split, bent, etc., but a lot is in good condition.

So, what is a fair offer?

The obvious value to me is in the usable cases. The range owner is probably only getting scrap prices on it, since it is not sorted, cleaned, etc. Brass is being bought at the local scrap yard for $1.55/lb (as of Monday). Since the range pick ups are a mix, would $1/lb be fair? Too little? Too much?

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Richard

 

[scrat]

Well my only question is what are your plans on doing with it. i know that a lot of reloaders would pay good money to get there hands on once fired used brass. i know i would. I would much like to see it get sold to a reloader than to be sent to the scrap yard. i bet a whole bunch of us would take some. just have to post what you have and let the offers come in. Post this in the classified section and watch how fast it takes off. you have any 30-30, or 410 shotgun im running low again.

 

[evan price]

Consider that in many markets scrap brass is between $1.10 and 1.85 per pound.

Bear in mind that the steel and aluminum cases have to be sorted out to get that price.

If $1 a pound if fair to you, then by all means do it.

I would show up with some 5-gallon buckets and give the guy $20 per bucket full. No need to weigh or anything fancy.

 

[orionengnr]

Remember that while it's worth $1.55 per pound as scrap, it's worth $3-$5 per hundred (or more) as cases.

If you low-ball him for $1 per pound, don't be surprised if you came back in a month and find that someone else has swooped in and offered him $3 per pound.

Start out by offering him a reasonable price--don't try to steal it. You can always sell whatever you don't wish to keep.

 

[Luggernut]

If you low-ball him for $1 per pound, don't be surprised if you came back in a month and find that someone else has swooped in and offered him $3 per pound.

Start out by offering him a reasonable price--don't try to steal it. You can always sell whatever you don't wish to keep.

Well said.

 

[par0thead151]

go to local scrap yards and ask what they would pay for it. then come in with an offer just above the scrap birds offers. if the guy takes offense to that bid, he can choke on the brass.
there are plenty of ranges(at least by me) who have brass to sell.

 

[RichardInFlorida]

As I originally posted, I am seeking input on what a fair price is...not how to get a bargain basement price.

Orionenger and Luggernut, if $1/lb is a 'low ball' offer, please let me know what a reasonable offer might be. That is the information I am looking for.

Keep in mind that:

1. I am offering to buy an unknown product. I could wind up with a lot of once-fired Lake City .223 brass...or a bunch of steel cased Wolf 9mm. Additionally, the brass cases that are there are a mix of usable, split, and crushed.

2. Scrap brass may go for $1.55/lb in my area, but aluminum is only fetching $0.55/lb and steel less than $0.20/lb. That means the unusable stuff isn't worth much. So, as straight metal, the mixed cases are worth less than $1.55 in my market. (And, that doesn't include the transportation costs.)

3. To use any of the brass I have to hand sort, inspect, and clean the brass. That means that I have to factor in my opportunity cost into my offer.

I can buy once-fired, polished .40 S&W brass at $35/1000. That works out to about $3.50/lb of usable brass that I have not put any labor into sorting, inspecting, or cleaning. So, my cost must be significantly less that $3.50/lb to count for the opportunity costs associated with brass sorting/cleaning...otherwise, it just doesn't make sense.

 

[evan price]

You can't buy unsorted, uncleaned mixed range brass for the same price that sorted reloadable brass sells for. That's silly.

Standard unprocessed but sorted by caliber pistol cases (9mm, .40, etc) go for 2 or 3 cents each. Revolver and 45 acp goes for a little more.

Unless we're talking belted magnums or something exotic, most standard rifle cases are worth ten cents each at most.

Based upon what I haul out on club cleaning days, fully 50% by volume of rifle cases will be steel case junk at $200/ton sheet metal price. About another 25% will be nonreloadable Berdan primed or junk brass or those darn polymer cased things.

Pistol, about 25% by weight is going to be nonreloadable to include aluminum and rimfires and junk brass and Wolf steelcase.

Takes quite a bit of time to hand sort and subdivide a 5-gallon bucket of brass.

Any brass recycler is going to only want to pay brass price for the brass.

Figure that honestly probably HALF of what's there is probably not reloadable. Most of that will be steel or aluminum (which the aluminum Blazer stuff needs to go out with the steel or thrown out because they have a brass primer- and the aluminum people don't want them for aluminum price and it's not worth depriming them!) worth $200/ton in ton weights.

 

[ReloaderFred]

I've been paying the local Rod & Gun Club, which I'm a member of, a nickel a pound over the going scrap price for clean yellow brass, which is currently $1.95 a pound. Most of the steel and aluminum (but not all) has been removed from it before I buy it, but it's all mixed together, including some loaded rounds and lots and lots of .22 cases. I then spend a couple of days sorting it all out by caliber and for what can't be reloaded. Some of it I tumble before selling, but most I don't. I've been selling some to fellow THR members. I charge by the pound, because it's simpler to weigh it than count it. I don't sort it by headstamp, as that would take another couple of days when dealing with a couple hundred pounds of brass, and I'm just not willing to put that amount of time into it for the little I get out of it.

I've been charging around $3.50 a pound for the brass I sell, but that's going to have to go up, as the return is negligible for the amount of time and effort involved. Some calibers aren't in great demand. I currently have about Five, 5 gallon buckets of .40 S&W brass, and a couple 5 gallon buckets of .223 brass. I've sold all my .30-06 and .308 brass to a really good THR member in the last couple of weeks.

The reason I'm telling you this is so you can get an idea of what it takes to obtain and sell brass. It's not fun and it's dirty. It's also a crap shoot on what you're going to get when you buy it. Here on the coast, if the brass gets wet in the aluminum brass collection boxes at the range, within a week it's ruined beyond use from the chemical reaction of the aluminum/brass/water. I've paid over scrap price for that brass and it's basically worthless, other than for scrap, because those in charge won't relocate the brass collection box on the rifle range and won't allow me to do it...

Hope this helps.

Fred

 

[RichardInFlorida]

Fred and Evan - Thank you both very much for your input. It is very valuable and answered a lot of questions I had.