Going price for type sold by weight
What’s a reasonable price for sorted type sold by weight (per pound)? I have someone offering me type but their quoted price sounds quite high. IIRC, the last time I bought some it was under $5/pound.
A couple of benchmarks-
M&H sells quads/spaces for $12/pound and sorts for $25/pound, I assume that’s new metal.
Skyline pays $1.50/pound for scrap (from their website).
Commodity lead is around $1.50-1.60 right now.
If someone has sorted and fonted the type, you could expect to pay more than $5.00/ pound. In fact, if the font is a desirable one, much higher prices would be expected.
You are comparing the prices of scrap metal or in the case of the quads, new cast, but minimum of labor involved.
As in most instances, the price will be set at what the market might bear. If the type is worn and beat up, it will be worth less than if it a in good condition or very rare.
When I started collecting type back in the 1960s, I was advised to never pay more than $0.35/ pound for used type, but even then, I quickly found that I couldn’t get what I wanted when that was the going price.
John Henry
Cedar Creek Press
I sell very good to nearly new type by weight/.
24pt and under $8/lb
30pt and higher $6/lb