Best way to sort/sell 223/556 brass based on what reloader wants?

[SmileDocHill]

I think there are a lot of tight ***** like me that don't reload but just cannot leave my brass behind when I go to the range or a shooting event. For the guys like me I think this thread is needed.

My dilemma is...how much does the potential buyer care about the various types of brass a particular lot might contain?

To the seller like me, it would be nice to know if the return on time spent sorting is worth it. I kind of like sitting in the garage and sorting through it during times I can't find anything else productive to do but if there is no real return on time spent I'm not that into it.

Things I think might matter but don't really know: Please comment on any you have input on.

1) Should I sort it based on manufacturer headstamp or is that not really important to a reloader?
2) Should I at least sort it based on the little NATO circle cross thingy so 5.56 is somewhat separated from .223?
3) Sort out the annealed brass from non-annealed?
4) Does the manufacturer headstamp question vary based on the actual manufacturer? Meaning, better brands should be sold as a separate lot because they are inherently worth more per piece? I see in my batch Wolf brass, Lake City, PMC, Federal..... If you care to tackle this question it would be even better to group similar brands.

Basically, what is important and what isn't in regard to a lot of brass? I'd hate to spend an hour sorting headstamps just find out it really doesn't add any value to the end buyer.

 

[Gluemanz28]

Sorting head stamps does add value. I'm not sure what the current value is because I haven't been watching it lately.

I know that on some of the 300 BO forums they talk about certain brass to avoid when converting brass to 300 BO. I can remember which are gtg and which are no go tho.

Some guys clean the brass to get a better price for it. I have all the equipment to clean it so I'm usually not going to pay much of an up charge for clean brass. I will probably clean it again anyway.

 

[gregkl]

I don't have the time that you apparently have so for me, I'd sell it unsorted. If you have time and enjoy doing that, then sort it. But I don't think you would get anywhere close to your hourly rate.

I would sort brass from other metals, but not head stamps. There are buyers out there that won't sort it for their own use so if you jack up the price you may lose a segment of potential buyers.

 

[red_zr24x4]

I've never sorted my brass.
de-prime / size / run it all through to remove the primer crimp / trim / and load.
They all go through a .223 die, so .223 / 5.56 mixed does not matter to me. Clean brass doesn't matter because I'll clean it myself when done trimming.
I'd pay less if its mixed with pistol, or mixed caliber (.223 / .308 / 7.62 x 39 etc )

 

[Hop]

because I'm just like you.

 

[Sniper 79]

.223 doesn't bring any money on private sale. They are worth the same as scrap. I been getting 1.05 per pound.

 

[OHOIAN]

If the buyer wants the brass sorted and/or cleaned, he may want to do it himself. As stated 223 brass doesn’t bring a high price because so much of it is available. The things most don’t like doing is trimming brass and swaging crimped primer pockets. Since you do not reload you can’t do either of those things. To a reloader it is sinful to scrap loadable brass. Your best bet is to put 500 in a box and offer it for $30 plus shipping. JMHO

 

[bocefus78]

Mixed 223 brass will bring about 50$ per 1000 of you want it to move quickly.
Sorted will only add about $20 or so.

Price it any higher than that, and it won't move very fast.

Imho, it's not worth the time. Let the reloader save a little $ by sorting himself and save yourself some time.

 

[SmileDocHill]

Good input. Interesting.

 

[INGarand]

Seems to me if you enjoy sorting the brass, by all means sort it. There is a market for all types. I thinks sorted by manufacture and year head stamps sell higher and better to shooters interested in better groups. Some reloaders don't like military crimped brass, some don't mind the extra word but won't pay more for it. Plinkers mostly will take anything. IMHO

 

[pdg45acp]

I sort 1x and 2x fired
I sell the 2x and keep the 1x to reload.

 

[sloughfoot]

Headstamp is meaningless for consistent brass. It is a OCD thing. The only brass I have ever found that is totally consistent from piece to piece is R-P. Every other brand varies widely from piece to piece by capacity.

 

[bstewrat3]

It is an OCD thing, but I won't buy or load a batch of brass unless the headstamps are matching to the point of LC and others who use a year being the same year. When I used to sell brass regularly, I would separate them by headstamp and the ones I didn't have enough of would go in a mixed lot. The mixed lots always sold for considerably less. 8 years ago I was getting $75-$80 dollars for a 1k lot of Winchester 45acp and the mixed lots were lucky to bring $40. I won't be worth your time unless you place no value on your time though. I was lucky and had a coworker who considered sorting to be therapeutic and would sort them for me.