How to Sell Scrap From Home: A Step-by-Step Guide

Leftover pipes, old radiators, a broken air conditioner… How to sell the scrap in your home at the right price without carrying it anywhere.

Scrap that piles up on the balcony or in the basement after a renovation usually ends up in the bin or with the first buyer, below its value. With a few simple steps you can get the right price and hand the material over without carrying it anywhere.

1. Identify what you have

The most common scrap from homes is plumbing and air conditioning pipe (copper), taps and valves (brass), old radiators (iron or aluminium), window frames (aluminium), electrical cable, and broken air conditioners and fridges. Each has a different value, so do not think of them as one pile of "scrap".

2. Sort by type if you can

Keeping copper, brass and iron in separate corners is the step that helps most. If you cannot, that is fine — we do the sorting. But removing fittings from copper pipes and plastic handles from taps raises the price.

3. Take a photo and send it

A general photo of the material and the approximate amount (how many sacks, how many pieces, roughly how many kilos) on WhatsApp is enough. As scrap prices change with the exchanges, we give the day's price based on this.

4. Plan the pickup day

Once we agree on the price, we set a day and time that suits you. In apartments we bring the material down from the flat or basement ourselves; we can agree the loading time with your building manager so neighbours are not disturbed.

5. Weighing and payment

The material is weighed in front of you, the total is worked out by grade and payment is made on collection. Do not hand over scrap without seeing the scale and knowing the price; an open scale and an open account are best for both sides.

What to watch out for

Do not try to burn cables to strip them; it is illegal and lowers the value of the copper. Do not open the refrigerant line of an air conditioner or fridge yourself. Keep broken batteries upright and unbroken.