How to evaluate a surplus cable offer
An offer is a set of assumptions wearing a number. Read the assumptions before the figure, because the figure is worth only as much as the terms behind it.
- Written terms only
- Unit and footage basis
- Red flags cost money
Two offers on the same lot can be far apart and both be honest, because they are priced on different assumptions about what is being bought. One treats the cable as inventory with documented footage. The other treats it as recovery material by the pound, because the buyer could not verify anything. Comparing the two numbers without comparing the assumptions is how sellers conclude that one buyer is cheating them.
The discipline is to ask every buyer for the same document, in the same structure, and then read them side by side. A legitimate offer is specific about what is being bought, how it is measured, what condition is assumed, who pays for what, when payment happens and what is excluded. An offer that omits those things is not an offer yet. It is an expression of interest, and it should be treated as one.
The method, step by step
Insist on the unit and the basis
Per pound, per foot, per reel or per lot, and which of those applies to which material. A per-pound figure on reusable cable is a metal price, not a cable price, and it will ignore footage, construction and condition entirely. A per-foot figure needs a construction and a size to mean anything. A lot price needs a list of what is in the lot. If the basis is vague, the number is not comparable with anything.
Check what the footage is based on
Tag length, measured length, or a scale ticket converted by weight. Each is a different claim and they should be written down as such. Ask who carries the variance if the count differs at the destination, and get the answer in the terms rather than in a phone call. An offer that assumes full tag footage on every reel is priced for that risk and will be adjusted downward after inspection, which is fair but should be known in advance.
Read the condition assumptions
New surplus, used serviceable, or recovery material, and what happens if the inspection disagrees. A serious buyer states the condition they are pricing and what a reel has to be for that price to hold. Watch for terms that price new surplus and reserve the right to re-rate on arrival without a documented reason. Adjustments are normal; adjustments with no evidence are not.
Pin down freight, labour and removal scope
Who pays freight, who loads, whether pallets and banding are included, whether the buyer cuts and rigs or expects the material ready to travel, and what happens to the lagging, dunnage and offcuts. FOB origin and FOB destination are different offers even at the same unit price. On a plant clean-out, the removal scope is often worth more than the cable, because labour and rigging are the expensive part.
Fix payment terms and the exclusions in writing
Payment on collection, on delivery, or on terms, and what document triggers it: a scale ticket, a signed receipt or a count. Then the exclusions, listed rather than implied. Terminations, lugs, junction boxes, tray, conduit and steel are normally outside a cable offer, and so is anything contaminated or unidentified. An offer without an exclusions list will be narrowed verbally later, which is the same as being lowered.
Treat these red flags as answers
A per-pound figure only, on material that is plainly reusable. No written terms, or terms that arrive after the material has moved. A demand for exclusivity before anyone has inspected. Pressure to load before documentation exists. A refusal to state a footage basis or produce a scale ticket. Any one of these may still lead to a transaction, but it is no longer a comparison, and the seller has given up the ability to choose.
Before the next call
Ask for two or three written offers on identical terms and the market becomes visible. The differences will be in the assumptions rather than the arithmetic, and that is the useful information: one buyer sees inventory, another sees metal, and a third has not looked closely enough to have an opinion.
None of this obliges anyone to accept a particular offer. A written offer is a document to be read, compared and, where it does not fit, declined.
Questions on this
Should I accept a per-pound offer on reusable cable?
Only if you have decided the cable is scrap. A per-pound price is built on metal content and cannot reflect footage, construction or the fact that somebody could install the cable next month. On a reel of tagged feeder it will be far below the material’s use value. On a genuine pile of damaged cut-offs it may be exactly right.
Is it normal for an offer to change after inspection?
Yes, and the terms should say how. Inspection finds things photographs cannot: water in a jacket, a splice, a short length, a crushed conductor. A documented adjustment with a reason is ordinary business. An unexplained reduction after the material has been loaded and hauled is a different thing, and it is why the condition assumptions and the variance clause belong in the written terms.
How long should an offer stay open?
Long enough for the seller to get internal approval, which in a plant or a utility is rarely a same-day matter. A written offer with no validity period is not much use to a facilities manager who needs a signature from finance. Ask for a stated window, and expect the buyer to ask for a decision date in return.
Put the guide to work
Send the lot details and a buyer will tell you which parts of this guide matter for your material.
Or email saleselectricalbuyers@gmail.com
- No fee and no obligation to sell.
- Written lot terms before anything moves.
- Pickup scheduled around your access rules.