Getting Started with My Copper Hunt
So I needed spring copper for this DIY garden project and figured it’d be easy. Went straight to the usual online marketplaces and typed in “spring cooper” – rookie move, misspelled copper! Ended up seeing gardening gloves and whiskey barrels for ten minutes before realizing my typo. Felt like an idiot but corrected it.
The Wild Goose Chase Phase
Found tons of suppliers popping up immediately. Messaged the first five with fancy websites saying “need 50ft copper springs ASAP”. Three replied same day with insane prices – one quoted double what I’d paid last year! The other two ghosted me completely. Meanwhile, clicked some sponsored ads just for laughs and got bombarded with shady sites wanting bank transfers upfront. Noped right outta there.
Tried local hardware shops next. Called four places:
- First store straight up said “we don’t stock that”
- Second kept transferring me between departments for 20 minutes
- Third quoted higher than online
- Fourth acted like I was speaking alien when I said “spring temper”
Figuring Out the Goldilocks Zone
Stumbled upon industry forums after midnight Googling. Saw veterans talking about red flags like “no minimum order” or “too cheap”. Realized those early quotes were likely middlemen jacking up prices. Dug deeper into supplier profiles – started checking how long they’d been in business. Found one family-run metal yard with 1985 in their URL (yeah that old). Sent them specs with actual measurements this time instead of saying “kinda bendy wire”.
Their sales guy Carl actually CALLED me back:
- Explained exact alloy grades (still don’t understand but nodded along)
- Told me to order 10% extra for prototyping
- Gave bulk pricing since I mentioned future projects
Sealing the Deal Without Going Broke
Compared Carl’s quote to three other verified suppliers. His was 15% cheaper but shipping cost was murder. Played hardball – asked if they’d throw in free shipping if I paid upfront. Carl actually went to his boss and made it happen! Final cost ended up 30% lower than my first quotes. Learned to always ask about:
- Payment term discounts
- Overstock deals
- Local pickup options
Got the coils last Tuesday – properly oiled and tagged with material certs. Didn’t expect actual paperwork with my cheap wire order! Project’s halfway done now. Still got Carl’s direct line saved as “Copper Guy – DON’T DELETE” in my contacts.
