Scrapyard pricing

[Unclefista]

Why is it some charge so much more than others ?

I have 2 scrapyards close to me which I use, one is cheap but doesn't have many 75s in, the other charges hefty prices for tat, but he has 6 75s in.

I went to the expensive one for some foglights and he wanted £40, I managed to beat him down to £30 and put the switch back (I have a spare).
After that I went to the cheap one, I got some bits and a full wooden dash, with clock/vents etc. "Just call it a tenner mate"

I also got a perfect unworn blue leather gearknob and gaiter to replace my slightly worn one, yay

[Johnny the Fox]

Basically dependant on the type of yard and also if the owner knows the value of the parts sold if bought on the bay etc.

[Unclefista]

Whenever I've asked for prices when I've been at the more expensive yard, they've been within a few quid of Ebay prices. He drives a jag.
The other one had a high turn over, charges much less and he drives a Citroen van..

Thinking about it, I think I'll check the car park out of any new yard I try

[Johnny the Fox]

At the end of the day they are out to make money, and don’t forget any small items can mysteriously end up in your pockets

[WillyHeckaslike]

Once there were plenty but now there are few scrappies here. In fact, only two small yards remain where you can walk in and browse for what you want and one of them is increasingly reluctant to allow this - down to pure chance on the day. More often than not the one that restricts access is not safe to enter, it is far too small for the number of cars which are densely packed and precariously stacked on top of each other. As a consequence that yard routinely turns customers away because a car is not accessible and it advises them to call back in a week or two.
Both yards are littered with dog muck.
Neither is cheap on a regular basis, sometimes a good price is asked and other times not so. For instance, for 1 contour with tyre one of them once asked for £60!

[rover54]

Law of the jungle or if you like the market. The less rare the part the cheaper it should be with the maximum price is set by what people are prepared to pay.

Take headlights. MK1 standard are readly available so relatively they are cheap. Then you have projector MK1 headlights (including xenons), less of them and they are desirable, hence the scrappy knows he can get more for them. Then comes MK2 standard, rare compared with MK1's so the price reflects this, and then finally MK2 xenons, scrappies book there next Caribbean holiday with them. One seller on ebay wanted £295 + £20 delivery for one headlight. That's £630 for the pair. He knows that somebody will pay that price, it is just a matter of time and he is prepared to wait. Whereas another scrappy will not tie up money in parts on the shelf so go for a quick turnover to inprove their cashflow.

[Dashiel]

You need to find a place where they are actually breaking cars as you walk in.
Not somewhere with a portacabin and a fat bloke sitting down reading the paper.
The busy places generally will be too busy to try ripping you off.

[billybhoy]

local scrappy wanted £70 for two second hand drive shafts for a clio
i got them for £70 on ebay BRAND NEW. (POSTAGE £4 ) so are the scrappys just getting greedy ?