Your warehouse cages have worn out and you want new ones, but buying fresh hurts the budget—is trade-in with the old cages more cost-effective? It depends on the residual value of the old cages and the strength of the exchange discount. Not every old cage is worth money, and not every trade-in actually saves you money.
First, see how residual value of old cages is calculated. Manufacturers mainly look at three dimensions when recycling them: structural condition, material weight, and degree of surface rust. A cage that is structurally sound but only cosmetically old has a residual value of about 15–25% of a new cage's price; one with deformation that can be repaired has a residual value of 5–10%; one with severe rust and structural damage can basically only be recycled as scrap iron, at roughly two or three yuan per kilogram.
How do you negotiate the exchange discount? Generally, the old-cage trade-in allowance plus the new-cage bulk-purchase discount stack together to form the final price. For example, if each old cage is allowed 80 yuan and buying ten or more new cages gives an extra 30 yuan off each, the combined effective discount is 110 yuan per cage. If the new cage price itself has already been negotiated to rock bottom, the old-cage allowance becomes the main source of savings.
When is trade-in worth it? When you have many old cages in decent structural condition and you happen to need a bulk purchase of new cages anyway, exchange is the most cost-effective. If you only have three or five old cages and they are already mostly rusted through, it is better to sell them as scrap and buy new cages separately—you can still get a better bulk price on the new ones.
Caveats: negotiate the new-cage price first, then negotiate the old-cage allowance; do not mix the two together, or the manufacturer will fob you off with "we've already given you a discount." Nanjing Tongnuo Warehouse Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. supports old-cage exchange: we quote the new-cage price first, then separately assess the residual value of your old cages, so the two accounts are calculated clearly before the deal is closed.