If you're a licensed scrap merchant considering trading through an online auction for the first time, it helps to know exactly what happens at each stage before you list your first load.
Who the merchant auction is for
This is a different product from general trade selling — every buyer taking part holds a valid scrap dealer's site licence, verified before they're able to bid. It's built specifically for merchant-to-merchant trading, not for individual tradespeople selling offcuts from a single job.
Step 1: List your material
Set out what you're selling — material type, estimated weight, location, and your reserve price. You decide the minimum you're willing to accept before anything goes live.
Step 2: Set your auction window
Choose how long the auction runs, typically anywhere from a few hours up to a full day. A shorter window creates urgency among buyers; a longer one gives more buyers the chance to see and bid on it.
Step 3: Buyers compete
Verified merchants bid against each other for your material. Because every buyer has already been through licence verification before they can take part, every bid you see is coming from a genuine, credentialed merchant, not an unverified account.
Step 4: Funds are secured before collection
Once a buyer wins, their payment is held in escrow — meaning the money is secured before any material changes hands, not promised on trust. This protects sellers from a buyer winning an auction and then failing to follow through.
Step 5: Weighed, confirmed, and paid
The winning buyer collects the material, it's weighed and confirmed against the listing, and payment is released to you, typically the same day.
What it costs to use
Listing is free. If your reserve is hit and the sale goes through, a small 1% seller fee applies on the final transaction amount — there's no cost at all if the auction doesn't result in a sale.
Why the reserve price matters
Setting a sensible reserve is the main lever you control. Set it too high, and you risk no bids clearing it at all; set it appropriately, and you protect yourself from a low-ball result while still letting genuine competition push the price up from there.
List your first load and see how competitive bidding works for you. Sell via auction on ScrapBays →