Most people have no way of checking what their load weighs, which means the whole transaction runs on trust. That is uncomfortable if you have never dealt with a yard before, and it is a reasonable thing to want to understand.
Certified scales
Scales used for trade in Australia have to be approved and verified for that purpose. They get checked and they carry marking showing they are legal for trade.
That is not a courtesy, it is a legal requirement for anyone buying or selling by weight. If a scale has no trade marking on it, that is a question worth asking.
What a docket should show
- The weight of each metal, separately, not one combined figure.
- The rate paid for each.
- The total.
- The date.
- The business name and ABN.
Watch it happen
The simplest protection costs nothing: be there when it is weighed. A yard that does not want you watching the scale is telling you something.
We weigh in front of you and pay on the spot. That is standard practice at any yard worth dealing with, and it is the main reason to be wary of anywhere that wants to weigh it later and ring you with a number.
Tare weight
If your metal is weighed in a bin, a cage or on a vehicle, the weight of that container has to be subtracted. That is the tare, and it should be obvious how it was worked out.
On a vehicle weigh, that means weighing loaded and weighing empty. If someone is estimating the tare rather than measuring it, ask why.
Questions worth asking anywhere
- Are your scales certified for trade?
- Can I watch it being weighed?
- Will the docket break down each metal separately?
- What rate am I getting for each, before you weigh it?
- Does the price you quoted on the phone still stand?
The last one matters most. A quote on the phone that becomes a lower number once the metal is off your trailer is the oldest tactic there is, and the answer is to put it back on the trailer.
Why a good yard wants you to ask
Repeat trade is the whole business. A yard that short-weighs someone gets one load and never sees them again, and in a city this size word moves fast.
Ask the questions. Anyone who objects to them has told you what you needed to know.