Blog

16 Jul 2018

How to Make Money By Selling Your Brass Scrap?

by Dave

Do you want to do your bit for the environment and make money at the same time? Recycling and reusing items are becoming part of our daily lives at the moment, which is great for the environment, and great for our hip-pocket. If you’re left with some old pieces of brass around your home or workplace, you may be wondering how you’re going to reuse them. Luckily, you don’t have to – with the right buyer, you can make money by selling your brass scrap!

 

What can be sold?

Any brass scrap! Brass is one of the most popular things to scrap, whether you’re a first-time scrapper or a business with plenty of experience. Most products can be recycled when they reach the end of their lives. Household items include taps, locks, letterboxes, ornaments, and pipes. Businesses often sell brass rods, cuts and borings as well. If you think it’s worth anything – even if you just want to get rid of it – it’s worth getting in touch with your local merchant to see if they’re interested.

Put it into its own container

If you’re collecting multiple metals at once, it’s often better to sort them into separate containers as you go. Depending on the scrap company, you may only get paid for the least valuable metal in the container. For example, if you’re selling aluminium and brass at the same time, you may only get paid at the aluminium rate, which is far lower than brass. Even if that doesn’t happen, you may be told to separate the metals and come back again later. This way, you can save yourself time and money as you go.

Clean any brass scrap you’re selling

Again, depending on the dealer, you might be charged less for unclean scrap. This doesn’t mean getting out soap and water – it actually involves removing any attachments from the metal that you’re cashing in. This could include screws, plaster, and paint, as some dealers grade – and price – their scrap according to how much of the weight is pure metal. Brass is one of the more expensive metals you can scrap, so you want to make sure you’re getting the most bang for your buck.

Know your metals

For a first-time scrapper, it can be confusing telling different metals apart, and knowing which ones are worth money. Using a magnet is a great way to test your pieces. Ferrous metals, which stick to a magnet, are made of something common such as steel or iron. They aren’t worth much, but some places will still buy them. If the metal isn’t picked up by the magnet, then it is a non-ferrous metal. That could be copper, stainless steel, bronze, aluminium, or brass scrap. You’ll be offered far more by your scrap merchant.

The hardest part of scrapping is knowing which metal is which. Once you’ve built up a collection of brass scrap, bring it into your local buyer and you’ll be able to sell it then and there. It’s important to keep in mind that Australia no longer allows businesses to offer cash for scrap, but you’ll be able to sell your metal for a cheque or EFT.