The way I see it is just like in stocks on the stock market. When a stock price falls, you don't lose money unless you sell. As an economics teacher of mine from my high school once said, when stock prices drop, it's like they are going on sale. Now go buy more, and the market will go back up faster. I experimented with this when the market would drop in small amounts. I started finding more scrap laying around in the garbage piles and stuff. When prices rose, less of it. Now that prices are so low, I am indeed finding tons more scrap left out. (pun intended.) With my high-value items, I stockpile them. Low value items, sell. The price is determined by how much material there is compared to demand. If people stockpile copper, the copper price will eventually jump up. This is why steel is the lowest scrap value. Steel is in everything, and everyone turns it in. There is so much steel, there's not much value. Gold on the other hand is rarer and not generally sold as simple scrap. Therefore, the price is much higher. That is how I keep my part-time business going. I wait for prices to hike, then I sell my higher-value items. When prices fall, I break out my dozens of 5-gallon buckets and stockpile.
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