Most scrap vendor decisions are made on one number: the rate. The rate matters, but it is the easiest thing for a buyer to promise and the hardest thing for a plant to verify after the fact. These eight questions take ten minutes in a first meeting and tell you far more than a rate sheet will.
1. Who are you, on paper?
Ask for the company's GST registration, PAN and registered address, and check that the GSTIN is active on the GST portal. Your purchase invoice will carry that number. If the buyer is reluctant to invoice in their own name, that is your answer.
2. Where will the weighment happen, and can we witness it?
The weight decides the money. A good buyer is happy to weigh at your bridge, at a third-party bridge, or with your representative present at theirs. A buyer who wants you to take their slip on trust is asking for something you should not give.
3. Will you price each category separately?
Ask for a rate per category, in writing, before the material moves. A single blended rate for a 'mixed' lot is almost always priced to the cheapest material in it.
4. What will we receive for every lifting?
At minimum: a load sheet signed on site showing category-wise weight, vehicle and date; a GST-compliant purchase invoice; and payment advice that references that specific lifting. These three documents are what your accounts and your auditors will look for.
5. When exactly will we be paid?
Get the payment term written into the rate confirmation — a number of days from lifting, not 'soon'. Then you have a receivable you can track and follow up.
6. For regulated streams, whose authorisation covers this material?
Hazardous waste, e-waste and used oil can only go to handlers authorised for them. Ask for the authorisation details of the recycler or re-refiner the material will reach, and confirm that you will receive the recycling certificate. The obligation does not end when the truck leaves your gate.
7. What happens to material you cannot use?
Every lot contains something low-value. Ask where it goes. A buyer with an answer — co-processing, a downstream recycler, a documented disposal route — is one whose trail will hold up if anyone asks.
8. Who do we call when something is wrong?
A named contact, a phone number that is answered, and a timeline for resolving a weight or rate dispute. Problems are normal; how they are handled is the difference between vendors.
A buyer should welcome these questions
None of these is unusual, and a serious buyer will have the answers ready. We publish ours in our purchasing policy and walk through them on every first site visit — ask us and we will send the documents before we quote.