First 👉🏻 Do you qualify?
Assaying is for businesses selling ~400+ converters on a regular schedule with the ability to wait 3-6 months to get paid. If you can’t meet these load minimums or prefer instant payouts, assaying isn’t for you.
✅ Qualified?
Read on to see how to max out your cat profit.
Are you looking for more information about the buyer in your area?
What Is Assaying, and How Does It Work?
Assaying gets you the highest payout because you sell directly to top buyers, avoiding middlemen. It can earn you 4-15% more than Cat DB’s live market prices and 10-40% more than selling to smaller local buyers.
How it works:
- Collect ~400+ converters per month.
- Ship the load to an assay processing company.
- Hedge the metal content accurately with your buyer by using Cat DB’s Assay Results Report.
- Get paid via wire or check in 3-6 months.
But… Here’s the Catch
While assaying offers the best payouts, it’s not without risks & challenges.
You’ll wait months to be paid
Payments can take 3-6 months. If you need funds sooner, expect early withdrawal fees of 4-8%.
You have to meet the minimums
Assay companies typically require ~400+ converters per load on a regular (typically monthly) basis, in order to qualify to sell to them.
There can be additional fees
Both shipping and de-canning fees often fall on sellers, and the assay company will take a small cut of your metal payout at different “rates” per metal.
Most of the risk is in your hedge
Accurate metal content predictions are crucial—over-hedging or under-hedging can result in huge losses.
- Over-Hedging: If your load falls short of your prediction on any metal, the assay company will charge you the market rate for the difference, which can be costly.
- Under-Hedging: Underestimating your load leaves you reliant on the assay company’s honesty to pay for any overage. Some buyers exploit sellers without metal content knowledge by keeping the extra funds, and if you are paid, it may be at a lower current market rate.
Solution: Use Cat DB’s Assay Results Report for accurate hedge estimation.
Bonus Tip: If You Buy Cats, Watch Out for These…
When you assay, all your money is in the actual metal content, avoid these fraud seller cons to keep your payout high.
- Counterfeit converters: Fake units can look almost exactly like originals.
- Heat shield swapping: High-value coded heat shields installed onto low-value converters.
- Biscuit swapping: Converters are cut open and the catalyst biscuits are removed, replaced with low-value material, and covered with a heat shield.
- Acid washing: This process removes most of the precious metals while leaving the honeycomb intact. The ability to hide signs of washing has only gotten better with time.
- High-mileage converters: The longer a converter is in service, the less precious metal there will be due to wear over time.
Stay vigilant and verify every cat with Cat DB app to avoid these common industry swindles.
Cat DB’s Assay Results Report Maximizes Your Payout
The Assay Results Report is your key to success & risk reduction in the assaying process.
- Accurate Metal Estimates: Know exactly how much platinum, palladium, and rhodium your batch contains.
- Customizable Hedging: Tell us your hedge prices & metal rates for a fully customized report.
It’s Free: Available 1x monthly to Cat DB members with 100+ converters in their cart, making precise predictions accessible for anyone.
Ready to Boost Your Profits?
Assaying is a powerful tool for sellers with large converter loads. Now with Cat DB’s Assay Results Report, you can confidently secure maximum payouts and minimize risks.
Take control of your cat income today—start leveraging assaying the smart way with Cat DB!
Maximize every cat
- Use Cat DB app to find the correct cat code, avoiding low “generic” prices.
- Always verify buyer prices yourself using the app.
- Contact us for free photo-grading before accepting a low price.
- Watch the market and sell when PGM values are high.
- Watch out for buyers that offer high initial prices to get your business and then lower them over time.
Sell in bulk
- Collect more catalytic converters and sell all at once, you will have more negotiating power with smaller local buyers. However, large national scale buyers often buy at a set high amount regardless of volume.
- If not, work with larger-scale buyers that offer higher (at the door) pricing tiers.
Consider Assaying
For the absolute highest pricing:
- Try assaying, but note this requires ~400+ catalytic converters and has other drawbacks. More on assaying →
- Use our “Assay Results Report” to get paid right on every assay.
Convenience vs Price
Lower price tiers do offer benefits like:
- Pick-up services
- Instant payments
- Stable prices
- No minimums
Hedging:
Buyers hedge at different market points to lower their risk. This means they lock-in metal prices for a set period, which can lead to prices that don’t always match current market values.
Test results:
Buyers rely on metals test results from different sources. Factors like the mileage of the vehicle and the testing method can cause significant price differences. This variability leads to different valuations even for the same catalytic converter.
Profit margin based on load size:
Each buyer has different profit margins based on the volume of catalytic converters that they buy overall. Middlemen tend to pay 10-40% less than top-level refineries because they need to process & resell the converters.
Refineries prefer to buy from larger sellers (400+ converters) and offer higher prices based on volume. However, some bulk buyers will purchase smaller loads at competitive rates if shipped or brought directly to them.
We have pre-established agreements with buyers in certain states to limit the ability to switch prices back and forth. These agreements may change in the future, but for now, you can contact us anytime via call or text if you are in a restricted State and want to change your price view.