My situation is a bit different, being that I'm strictly a converter and core buyer, but I do put out an updated weekly price sheet. My local competitors won't do this, and I think I know why. They only have maybe 8-10 grades that they lump everything into, while I have about 50 different grades and sub-grades. I can't stress the fact enough to my sellers and potential sellers that while yes, pricing is important, GRADING is the key to getting paid fairly on converters.
I don't really worry about my competitors knowing my prices, because they won't compete with me on grading. Getting some sellers to realize the importance of proper grading is sometimes a challenge. $50 for an Import Pre-cat sounds great when the other guy is paying $30, so they never even realize that "Import Pre" was actually a $90 Small Import, and that they have been had!
My local scrap yard has their prices posted on a big board for everyone to see as soon as they get there, but I have never known them to put out a paper price list. As BL mentioned, with the market fluctuations, I can understand why they might not want to do so. Sellers ALWAYS notice when the price of anything drops the slightest bit, and some sellers can be less understanding and more difficult than others. These types of guys with a two-week-old price list in hand could be a potential headache when prices drop.
Bookmarks