Today I brought an equal amount of scrap metal to both TT&E and Raleigh Scrap Metal as a challenge. I wanted to see who would pay me more money!

One of the things I do for extra money is pick up metal being throwing away. I store it at home until I have a bunch, and then I bring it to metal recycling. I don’t make much money. However, I figure it’s better for it to be recycled than thrown away. I have heard that in Raleigh, TT&E pays the most money for metal.

I am going to point out a couple of things: I have to drive by Raleigh Scrap to get to TT&E. I’ve gone to TT&E a couple of times. The main gate guy acts like he doesn’t speak English very well. This is annoying; everyone else in the place appears to speak English just fine. It’s just the gate guy who pretends he doesn’t know English. This makes TT&E very confusing for me. While waiting in line, I asked a guy if I was in the correct line (because of the gate guy), and he confirmed then I was in the correct line. Then when I got to the metal people, one of them tried to tell me I should have gone elsewhere. I have the manager’s cell number as the first time I went to the place, they were even worse. Raleigh Scrap is much easier. I really wanted Raleigh Scrap to win this challenge.

I tried to bring an equivalent amount of metal to both TT&E and Raleigh Scrap Metal:

Each company got half of the above. This study occurred on August 14, 2020, in the morning. I got to Raleigh Scrap at 9:43 a.m., and TT&E at 9:55 a.m.

My first stop was Raleigh Scrap Metal Recycling.

They were really easy to get through. The guys who worked there were cutting up and telling stories to each other, so the atmosphere was convivial.

I earned $5.00. They used an ATM machine and rounded down (they rounded to the nearest dollar), so my $5.46 was rounded down to $5.00:

My next stop was TT&E.

TT&E was really confusing. The gate guy does not help at all. He told me to wait behind the white truck.
What he means is you have to go in and make an intimidating U-Turn and wait at the stop sign you just went through.

They did pay better, though: $6.92.

TT&E does not do rounding like Raleigh Scrap Metal. You just bring your slip to a cashier. They pay you what is on the slip.So it was $5.46 at Raleigh Scrap Metal (rounded down to $5.00) vs $6.95 at TT&E. This is a big difference.
TT&E paid more for drop cable and steel, while Raleigh Scrap paid more for the fans.

I am not sure if the weight was the same as I did not weigh it. If TT&E buys your metal, it may be better to go there. They are sometimes picky, however, and don’t always take everything. Raleigh Scrap Metal is not as picky. They will buy almost anything, so if TT&E turns you away, I should go to Raleigh Scrap on the way home.

I am now going to use my $12 in earnings to buy some stock shares on Robinhood!