Because Live Market shows the maximum resale value a buyer might get after refining — not what they can pay you. Buyers take on risk, costs, and need profit to stay in business. Your offer reflects those margins.

It depends on where the buyer sits in the recycling chain. Each level — from scrap yards to smelters — has different margins based on their role, volume, and costs.

The closer a buyer is to the refiner level, the higher the price — but the more qualifications and volume they’ll require. Here’s a fair margin to expect at each level:

Scrap Yard 

30–50% less than market value

No minimums and convenient local drop-off (but low payouts)

Cat Buyer

10–25% less than market value

Best for 10–300+ cats, they’ll pick-up or you can ship

De-canner

5–8% less than market value

Closer to full value, requires high volume & licensing

Smelter

100% of market value (+/- fees)

Highest payout via assay, but takes months & upfront costs

Buyers pay more when the seller knows the value of what they are selling and the deal is high volume and low risk. You can increase your payout by:

• Selling in larger batches

• Looking up prices yourself

• Delivering or covering shipping

• Working with knowledgeable, higher-level buyers

• Avoiding extra services or special requests

Always compare your offer to the Live Market price using the Cat DB app. While no buyer pays 100%, big gaps can signal room to negotiate — or time to look for a new buyer. If buyers aren’t offering within a reasonable range of the Live Market price, a few things could be happening:

• Your buyer may not be high up the chain. Middlemen take a bigger cut to cover their own margins.

• There may be limited competition in your area. Fewer buyers = lower offers. You might need to ship or travel farther to get top dollar.

• They may not know the true value. Not all buyers are cat experts — especially general scrap yards. If they can’t find the code they may offer less to play it safe.

• The market might be volatile. Some buyers lower offers to protect themselves during price swings.

• You may have priced the wrong converter. It’s surprisingly easy to misread a code or mistake one cat for another. You may not be pricing the same cat as your buyer.

What to do:

If you and your buyer can’t agree on a price, contact us through the Cat DB app with a few clear photos of the cat. We’ll confirm the correct ID can connect you with a high-level buyer that offers strong and consistent pricing.

Several key factors determine how much a buyer can (or will) pay:

• Overhead: Buyers with large teams or buildings need more margin to cover costs

• Knowledge: Buyers that don’t specialize in cats pad offers to protect themselves from overpaying

• Expenses: Fuel, shipping, and labor costs come out of their margin

• Volume: Bigger loads help buyers make their monthly sales quotas = better payout

• Load Value: A few high-value converters might get a better deal than many low-value ones

• Chain Positioning: If they are reselling far from the top of the chain they will offer a lower price

• Market Volatility: If metal prices are unstable, buyers may lower offers to protect against sudden drops

• Always check Live Market pricing first.

• Whenever possible, find the converter code.

• Unsure of the price or code? Get free photo-grading from Cat DB.

• Sell to the highest-level buyer you’re qualified for. (We can help with that too)

1. Look up your converters in the Cat DB app to get Live Market pricing

2. Add to cart to view total value based on real-time metal prices

3. Use that number to set expectations and negotiate

4. Contact a vetted buyer through the app or find one online when you’re ready to sell

5. Repeat this process every time — price your converters yourself to keep your margin consistent

Live Market pricing reflects the estimated assay value of your converters after refining fees — it’s not just raw metal value. Here’s how it’s calculated:

• Palladium (Pd): 93% recovery

• Platinum (Pt): 93% recovery

• Rhodium (Rh): 90% recovery

• Processing Fee: $1 per pound

This means the app assumes you’re being paid on an assay (refined metal content), but subtracts:

• Typical refiner processing fees 

• A standard flat $1/lb fee

So the Live Market number you see in Cat DB is already adjusted to reflect a realistic best-case payout — what a top-tier buyer would get paid if they were to hedge at today’s metal market prices.