Like Solomon, converter Sellers need a way to figure out “Which Buyer values my converters the most?”

One thing to point out, in the case of Solomon, one thing that made his decision easier was that he was an objective third party in the situation.

In contrast, a converter Seller is directly affected by the decision that is made. And it has been my experience that when it is your own money on the line, it is much harder to look at the situation completely objectively.

This is a good point, and in fact, there is a psychological name for what you just described.

It is called: Solomon’s Paradox and it states that:

We can reason more wisely about other people’s problems than our own problems.

Exactly! MOST converter Sellers fall victim to Solomon’s Paradox when trying to choose a Buyer for their scrap Catalytic Converters.

It can be challenging, but the answer is for Sellers to change their mindset when looking at their current problems with selling converters.

If you are a converter Seller, try this:

Pretend that your best friend came to you and said: “Can you help me? I’m Frustrated! I don’t know much about converters, so how do I choose the best buyer when they ALL claim to have the “Best Deal”?

Think about how you would advise your friend, especially given it is not your money at stake. – Now, here is the simple yet challenging part, take the advice you would give to your friend.

Let’s do a quick role-play to get a full understanding of this. Let’s apply this concept to a real-life converter Seller situation.

Good Idea. I will play “King Solomon”, and you play a subject that is having a problem selling his converters.

(In the role of King Solomon): “Tell me friend why are you distressed?”

(In the role of the subject/converter Seller): “Wise King, please help me choose the best buyer for my converters.”

“Why are you having such difficulty choosing a buyer?”

“Because each buyer claims to be able to pay me the most – but I have no way of knowing since I have extraordinarily little knowledge about converters. Please King Solomon – help me make a good decision.”

“Tell me, my friend, can you easily gain the knowledge you need to evaluate the claims of each buyer?”

“No, Wise King. This knowledge is not easy to come by. There are many different types of converters and each one has a different value. It would take me years to learn them and I have not the time because I must run the rest of my business.”

“Understood. Can you sell to one buyer this month and another buyer the next month and compare them against each other?”

“No. I have tried that, but it does not work. Each time I sell, I am selling different converters. I cannot compare ‘apples to apples’ because I would be testing buyers under different market conditions (PGM prices), with different types of converters that have different values.”

“I understand. You paint a bleak picture. It seems that you have exhausted your options in trying to determine who would be the best buyer to purchase your converters.”

“Yes, now you understand why I agonize every time I sell my converters! I never know if I am leaving money on the table, I never know if I am being paid fairly. I need to maximize my converter revenue to make my company stronger, pay my workers better, and be a stronger competitor.”

“I understand, my friend, but let me be honest with you, you have NOT exhausted your options.”

“What do you mean?”

“My friend, you are coming at this problem from the wrong direction. You are focusing on the wrong thing. The answer to your problem is simple.”

“It is? What is the answer?”

“My friend, you are focusing on trying to find the best buyer. What you should be focusing on is helping the best buyer FIND YOU!”

“I do not understand. Can you show me?”

“Yes, I can. All potential buyers appear before me now!”

(The buyers magically appear before Solomon)

(addressing each Buyer): Each of you, tell me why should I advise my friend to sell his converters to you?

“Do you see my problem, wise King! I do not know the value of my converters so how do I decide among all these buyers when each buyer claims to pay the highest prices?”

“I understand your problem, my friend. The fault is that you are trying to evaluate the buyers based on their ‘words’. What I am suggesting is that you let their ‘actions’ reveal to you who wants your converters the most. Do you understand me?”

“I do not. Please help me figure out the answer.”

“Watch! Buyers, write down how much you are willing to pay my friend for his LOT of Scrap Catalytic Converters.”

“I protest! I don’t buy converters like this! The Seller must give me his converters. I will then take them home with me, determine their value, and then send him a check for what I determine they are worth. The Seller can trust my judgment because I am an expert and I am honest.”

Buyer #7, why must my friend, the Seller, trust your judgment? My friend, (the Seller) must compete for salvaged cars – they are not just given to him. Your resistance tells me you do not like fair competition. If you do not want to participate and make an offer, then you are free to leave. Be Gone! (Buyer #7 vanishes!)

“Does everyone else wish to continue and participate? Good - You remaining buyers have shown yourself honorable buyers, willing to compete fairly. Please write down your best price for my friend’s LOT of converters and give it to me.”

“You see, my friend, (handing his subject the papers with each Buyer’s offer), the solution is simple. You are creating excess stress in your life by making this process more complicated than it needs to be. To get the best price for your converters, your goal should be to find out which buyer, of ALL the buyers, wants to pay you the most.

“Do this every time you sell, and you will get the best price for your converters with the least amount of effort. Now, my friend, go through the offers and pick the one you like best”

“Wow, look at this, I have 6 offers for my LOT of Scrap Catalytic Converters. Thank you!”

“You are welcome. Please recognize that your difficulty in making a decision is the result of being emotionally involved in the outcome, whereas, I am not.

Tell me, my friend, if our roles were reversed and they were my converters and I came to you for advice – would you have advised me exactly as I advised you?”

“Yes King, I would.”

“Then, my friend, you are wise. The answer was within you the whole time. I only helped you find it.”

“You are truly a Wise King!”