Learn / Fixed Price vs Auction vs Wanted Board
ScrapTrade supports three different ways to trade, and they're not interchangeable. Picking the right one for a given lot of material makes a real difference to how fast it sells and what it sells for.
You set a price, a buyer accepts it, the deal is done. No waiting, no back-and-forth.
Best for: Common grades you already know the going rate for, and when moving the material fast matters more than testing the ceiling.
You list the material, verified buyers bid, and the price is discovered in real time as bids come in.
Best for: Unusual lots, mixed or uncertain grades, or any time you suspect genuine competitive interest could push the price above a single quote.
A buyer posts exactly what they need, and every verified seller with matching stock can respond immediately.
Best for: Buyers who know their exact spec and don't want to wait for the right listing to appear, and sellers who want first crack at active demand.
This isn't guesswork, it's been studied directly. Research on eBay's marketplace found that auction-format listings made up about 95% of sales in 2003 but had fallen to under 15% by 2013, as fixed pricing took over for goods whose value buyers and sellers already understood well.
The same research points to exactly when auctions still make sense: when a good's value is uncertain, subjective, or moves with timing and demand. That describes commodity scrap far more than it describes a used paperback, prices shift with grade mix, market conditions, and who's actively buying that week. It's a real reason to lean on a live auction for material where you genuinely don't know what it's worth today.
There's little to discover, the market rate is already known. Convenience beats competition here.
When value is genuinely uncertain, letting multiple buyers bid tends to surface a more accurate price than one seller guessing at a number.
A live auction takes time to run its course. If speed matters more than testing the ceiling, price it and move it.
Post the request and let sellers come to you, rather than waiting for a matching listing to show up.
Checking it regularly means you can respond to real buyer requests before they're filled by someone else.
No, they solve different problems. Fixed price optimises for speed and certainty, live auction optimises for price discovery when value is genuinely uncertain, and the Wanted Board optimises for buyers who know exactly what they want. The right choice depends on the material and the situation, not a universal ranking.
It depends heavily on what's being sold. Research on eBay found that auction listings made up about 95% of the platform's sales in 2003 but had fallen to under 15% by 2013, as sellers and buyers increasingly favoured the certainty of a fixed price once an item's value became well established. The same research found auctions still make more sense when a good's value is uncertain, subjective, or dependent on timing and demand, which describes commodity scrap far better than it describes a used book or a phone case.
Because its value genuinely moves, sometimes daily, with commodity markets, grade mix, and buyer demand in a way a mass-produced retail item's value doesn't. That's closer to the conditions research shows favour an auction format, not further from it.
Yes. If a fixed listing isn't moving at the price you set, relisting as a live auction, or checking the Wanted Board for a matching buyer request, are both reasonable next steps rather than just waiting.
When you have a specific, well-defined need and don't want to wait for a matching listing to appear organically. Posting the request puts it in front of every verified seller with matching stock at once, rather than relying on them happening to list at the right time.
List for free and choose fixed price, auction, or check the Wanted Board.
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