Estimate how much a scrap dealer may pay for one material or a mixed load. Enter each weight and quoted rate, then account for contamination, payable recovery, line deductions, dealer fees, yard charges, transport costs, and optional withholding.
Last Updated: July 21, 2026
Scrap Dealer Payout Calculator
Build a transparent payout estimate from your scale weights and dealer terms.
Loaded Minus Tare Weight Helper
Net scrap weight equals loaded scale weight minus tare weight.
Scrap Materials
Use one row for each metal and grade. If the dealer quote is already per gross pound or kilogram of the exact grade, leave payable or recovery at 100%.
Estimated Scrap Payout
Add at least one complete material row to estimate the payout.
| Material | Gross weight | Contamination removed | Payable weight | Quoted rate | Gross material value | Line deduction | After line deduction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add material values to create an item breakdown. | |||||||
| Quote scenario | Gross material value | Dealer percentage deduction | Fixed deductions | Withholding | Estimated payout | Payout per gross unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calculate a payout to compare quote scenarios. | ||||||
The lower and higher scenarios change every entered material rate by 10%. Weight, contamination, recovery, and fixed fees stay unchanged. They are comparisons, not price forecasts.
What Is a Scrap Dealer Payout Calculator?
A scrap dealer payout calculator estimates the cash value of a scrap load from the terms you enter. It works for a single material or a mixed load containing copper, aluminum, brass, steel, stainless steel, lead, insulated wire, precious-metal scrap, or another quoted grade.
The tool starts with gross scale weight. It removes any contamination or moisture percentage, applies an optional payable or recovery factor, converts the remaining weight into the dealer's quote unit, and multiplies that quantity by the quoted rate. It then subtracts the fees and withholding you enter.
The result is an estimate, not an appraisal or live yard bid. Scrap grades, commodity markets, local demand, load size, preparation, testing, payment timing, and dealer policy all affect the amount offered. Use a written quote and scale ticket for the real transaction.
How to Use This Calculator
- Select one currency for every money input. The currency menu changes formatting only.
- Choose the weight unit you want for combined results.
- If you have vehicle-scale readings, enter loaded and tare weights, then send the net amount to the first item.
- Add one row for each scrap material and grade. Do not mix grades with different prices in one row.
- Enter the gross material weight and its unit.
- Enter the dealer's quoted rate and select the rate's unit. Weight and rate units do not need to match.
- Enter contamination or moisture that the dealer will remove from scale weight.
- Use payable or recovery only when the quote is based on recovered metal content. Leave it at 100% when the quote applies to the gross weight of that exact grade.
- Add any fixed deduction charged to that line item.
- Add dealer percentage, yard, handling, transport, and optional withholding only when they are separate from the quoted material rates.
- Select Calculate Dealer Payout and review both the item breakdown and quote scenarios.
Avoid counting the same deduction twice. For example, if a yard quotes insulated wire at $1.20 per gross pound, that bid may already reflect expected copper recovery. Entering another 40% recovery factor would understate the estimate unless the dealer confirms that the rate applies to recovered copper rather than gross wire.
Scrap Dealer Payout Formula
Payable weight = net clean weight × payable or recovery rate
Gross line value = payable weight in quote units × quoted price per unit
Gross material value = sum of all gross line values
Pre-withholding payout = gross material value − dealer percentage deduction − line deductions − yard fees − transport cost
Estimated payout = max(0, pre-withholding payout − optional withholding)
The calculator converts each weight to kilograms internally, then converts it into the selected quote and result units. This permits a load weight in kilograms with a price per pound, or a weight in pounds with a price per short ton.
Worked Scrap Payout Example
Assume a load contains 120 lb of copper quoted at $3.20 per lb. The dealer expects 2% contamination and a 95% payable factor, with a $5 line deduction. Clean weight is 117.60 lb. Payable weight is 111.72 lb, producing a gross copper value of $357.50 before the line deduction.
The same load contains 80 lb of aluminum quoted at $0.85 per lb. With 5% contamination, a 100% payable factor, and a $2 line deduction, payable weight is 76 lb and gross aluminum value is $64.60.
Total gross material value is $422.10. A 2% dealer deduction equals $8.44. The two line deductions total $7, while yard and transport costs total $23. With no withholding, the estimated dealer payout is $383.66, or about $1.92 per gross pound across the 200 lb load. Select Load Sample to reproduce the calculation.
Gross Weight, Tare Weight, and Net Scrap Weight
Gross or loaded scale weight includes the vehicle, trailer, bin, pallet, container, and scrap. Tare is the weight of the empty vehicle or container. Net scrap weight is loaded weight minus tare. A correct tare matters because every extra pound assigned to the container changes the payable load.
The helper places calculated net weight in the first item. If the load contains several grades, divide that net weight using separate scale readings or the dealer's documented sorting results. Do not copy the full truck weight into every material row.
For commercial transactions in the United States, requirements for weighing devices depend on state and local law. NIST states that commercial scales must comply with the laws where they are used, and its 2026 Handbook 44 provides technical requirements intended to support accurate, repeatable, and transparent transactions. Keep both inbound and outbound scale tickets when a vehicle is weighed twice.
Contamination Versus Payable Recovery
| Input | What it represents | When to use it | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contamination deduction | Moisture, dirt, plastic, rubber, iron attachments, insulation, trash, or other weight the buyer excludes. | Use the percentage stated by the dealer or supported by sorting and inspection. | Guessing a deduction before the buyer defines the accepted grade. |
| Payable or recovery factor | The share of clean weight valued as the quoted recoverable material. | Use for recovery-based quotes, such as some insulated wire, mixed assemblies, or assay settlements. | Applying recovery again when the quoted price already applies to gross grade weight. |
| Line deduction | A fixed charge tied to one material row. | Use for assay, sorting, cutting, container, or minimum-line fees stated separately. | Repeating the same charge in overall yard fees. |
| Dealer percentage deduction | A separate percentage removed from total gross material value. | Use only when it is additional to entered item rates. | Subtracting a dealer margin twice from a net yard bid. |
Industry scrap specifications define numerous grades with their own limits and negotiated deviations. A single universal contamination percentage does not apply to every material. Confirm the exact grade, acceptable attachments, moisture rule, recovery method, and rejection terms before relying on a payout estimate.
Why a Dealer Quote Differs From a Commodity Price
A commodity or exchange price usually refers to a standardized product and delivery condition. Scrap is a physical secondary material that must be identified, sorted, handled, transported, processed, tested, and resold. A headline copper, aluminum, or steel price is therefore not the same as a local scrap-yard bid.
- Grade: clean, sorted material often has a different bid from mixed or attached material.
- Recovery: insulated wire, motors, radiators, and assemblies contain non-payable parts.
- Quantity: large, consistent loads may receive different terms from small walk-in quantities.
- Preparation: cutting, stripping, draining, removing attachments, or baling changes processing needs.
- Location: freight, local competition, mill demand, and export access affect bids.
- Timing: quotes may expire quickly when underlying markets move.
- Settlement: cash, check, transfer, delayed assay, and minimum-payment policies differ.
This calculator does not insert market rates because a generic price could be stale or apply to the wrong grade, location, quantity, or unit. Enter a current bid from the dealer who will receive the material.
How to Compare Scrap Dealer Offers
Compare the final payable amount, not only the highest displayed price. One dealer may quote more per pound but apply a larger contamination deduction, lower recovery percentage, higher pickup cost, or separate processing fee.
| Check | Question to ask | Why it changes payout |
|---|---|---|
| Material grade | What exact grade will appear on the ticket? | A different grade can have a different rate or rejection standard. |
| Price basis | Is the rate per gross, clean, or recovered unit? | The same numeric price produces different values under each basis. |
| Unit | Is the quote per lb, kg, short ton, metric tonne, or troy ounce? | A short ton is 2,000 lb, while a metric tonne is 1,000 kg. |
| Scale process | How are gross, tare, and net weights recorded? | Net weight is the physical base for many settlements. |
| Deductions | Which percentage and fixed deductions apply? | Fees can offset a better headline rate. |
| Quote validity | When does the price expire or become subject to assay? | The final settlement may use a later price or test result. |
| Payment | When and how will payment be issued? | Local rules and dealer policies may restrict cash or delay settlement. |
Steps for a More Reliable Payout Estimate
- Sort materials by metal and grade before weighing.
- Remove water, dirt, packaging, and non-metal attachments when safe and permitted.
- Do not burn insulation, open sealed tanks, cut unknown cylinders, or dismantle hazardous equipment without proper training and authorization.
- Record weight, unit, grade, date, quote expiration, and every deduction in writing.
- Check whether the price applies to gross weight, clean weight, or recovered content.
- Keep photos, scale tickets, assay reports, invoices, and payment records.
- Run each dealer's complete terms as a separate calculation.
Special materials need extra care. Electronic scrap, batteries, refrigerant-containing equipment, catalytic converters, sealed containers, and material that may be hazardous or radioactive can require specialized handling, documentation, or licensed facilities. Follow local rules and the receiving facility's acceptance policy.
Taxes, Withholding, and Recordkeeping
The optional withholding field performs only the percentage you enter. It does not decide whether tax, withholding, reporting, identity verification, or payment restrictions apply. Rules vary by country, state, material, seller type, transaction value, and business use.
Keep the gross value, deductions, net payment, acquisition records, and business expenses separate. Ask a qualified local tax professional or authority about reporting and deductible costs. Do not copy a tax rate from another location or year into a real settlement.
Limits of This Estimate
The calculator assumes that every entered rate applies to the entered grade and quote unit. It does not identify metal, verify ownership, test composition, inspect contamination, calculate live market prices, convert currencies, model tiered rates, apply minimum weights, or interpret contracts.
It also treats the dealer percentage as a deduction from total gross material value, then subtracts fixed costs, then applies optional withholding to a positive remaining amount. If a dealer uses a different order or fee base, calculate from the dealer's written settlement method.
Methodology and Sources
Mass conversions follow the NIST Guide to the SI conversion factors. Commercial-scale context follows NIST Handbook 44, 2026 edition and the NIST weighing and scales FAQs. Grade, contamination, and negotiated-specification context follows the Scrap Specifications Circular. The general regulatory definition of scrap metal follows the U.S. EPA hazardous-waste recycling FAQs. These sources support measurement and terminology. They do not provide the dealer rates entered in this calculator or endorse a transaction.
Related Scrap and Metal Calculators
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a scrap dealer payout calculated?
Convert each gross weight to the quote unit, subtract contamination, apply any payable or recovery factor, multiply by the quoted rate, add the line values, and subtract the dealer percentage, line fees, yard fees, transport cost, and entered withholding.
Does this calculator use live scrap metal prices?
No. You enter each dealer rate because scrap prices depend on material, grade, preparation, quantity, location, market timing, and the buyer's terms.
What is a contamination deduction?
A contamination deduction removes weight attributed to moisture, dirt, insulation, plastic, rubber, attachments, or other material that the buyer does not pay for under the agreed grade.
What does payable or recovery percentage mean?
It is the share of clean material weight valued under a recovery-based quote, such as recoverable metal inside some wire, motors, radiators, mixed assemblies, or assay-settled material.
Should recovery stay at 100% for a price per gross pound?
Yes, when the dealer confirms that the quoted price applies to each gross pound of that exact grade and already reflects expected recovery; applying another recovery factor would count the reduction twice.
What is the difference between gross, tare, and net weight?
Gross or loaded weight includes the vehicle or container and scrap, tare is the empty vehicle or container weight, and net scrap weight equals gross loaded weight minus tare.
Does the estimate include dealer fees and transport?
Yes, when you enter them. The calculator accepts a dealer percentage, fixed line deductions, yard or handling fees, transport cost, and optional withholding.
Can I use the calculator for copper, aluminum, steel, wire, or electronic scrap?
Yes, if you have the correct weight, grade, quote basis, recovery terms, and dealer rate; specialized or hazardous materials may require testing, licensed handling, or a different settlement method.
Does the calculated payout guarantee what a scrap yard will pay?
No. The estimate depends on your entries, while the final payout depends on the yard's scale, inspection, grade, assay, accepted weight, current quote, fees, legal requirements, and payment terms.