Another Non-Ferrous Scrap Run

Another rather disappointing non-ferrous scrap run.
Expert scrappers will be happy to tell you that iron/steel is your bread and butter and non-ferrous metal is your gravy but it's hard to get through my head.
Should I be hoarding the non-ferrous metals until I have at-least 100 pounds of copper and 500 pounds of aluminum? Am I doing this all wrong? Am I a lazy scrapper?
It brings up a lot of questions but it also creates new opportunities. Why are we scrapping washing machines for $15.00 when we can pull the sock out of a drain hose and sell it for $200.00?
You learn a lot by taking the wrong roads and thinking the wrong things and it's discouraging but ultimately you'll find a plan that works perfect for you.

[@maritimescrapper]

Aesome video buds!!!!

[@steveherr450]

looks like we get similar prices, i am in southern wi. . if you got the room and don't need the money right away , yes, i like to hold my copper for higher price times or when i need it and take in bigger batches. I took in over 1400 pounds of copper this summer in batches of 100-125 pounds at a time.
i don't think there is a wrong way because each one of us operates differently. we each have different tools to our disposal, some people might be local to the yards and they can go there everyday, others might be operating in town out of a 1 car garage and others might be out in the country with big sheds to play the holding game according to market prices. some don't open them up and take them in full because they don't have the tools to crack them open, quite a few others will use a grinder to open them up like you and others will take a few seconds and open them up with a plasma cutter. we each have our own way/style to scrapping.
that is 1 bad habit i got with when I get appliances. i rip them apart to fast instead of seeing if they are fixable easily. You are right about the sock issue or like my last dryer i ripped the control panel off the front and cut all the wire out first and then when i opened it up it turned to be filled/plugged with sawdust(he was a carpenter) and over $12 in change. no wonder it didn't work. she told me it had no heat and made strange noises when running when i picked it up. I should remember to open them first before cutting/ripping it apart. quite often it is just a heating element or a blown inside fuse that are easy to change or like you said that dam sock in a washer.
yes, you are right stainless steel adds up fast but took a big tumble in prices. when I was a full time scrapper i got involved in buying medical and restaurant equipment that didn't work pretty cheap and quite a bit of that was s.s., just needed to be separated out.
I quit scrapping for about 7 years and I am just getting back into it again. i hope I can get a few of my old contacts back or get new ones in similar fields. i had 2 plumbers, 3 heating and a.c guys, a couple of bars, a campground, machine shop and a few other business that i kept cleaned up.
Welcome to the scrapping family.

[@Kreacher1974]

I just opened up 5 motors from ac's and ice makers and all were aluminum. Those wires are #2 at my yard.