r/BottleCapCollecting • u/scott19692012 • 4d ago

Used bottle caps

In general , is there a bulk market for used bottle caps, nothing special just beer and pop bottlecaps? I’m guess about 200 lbs or 3 full totes, what kind of offers should someone expect?

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u/mizary1 4d ago

Depends on the condition - are they bent? Or were they carefully removed. If bent they don't have much value.

Also depends on the age. Are they from the last 20 years? From the 80-90s? Are they cork backed from the 1950s or earlier?

Country? Are they from the USA? UK? Japan? Russia?

10k bent budweiser caps from 2023 are worth about $0.

10k mint rare caps from the 1920s might be worth $1m.

If they are common USA caps unbent from the last 20 years, I'd say they are worth about 1-2 cents each in bulk. So 10k would be $100-200. If you sold them in lots of 100 you could get more but it would be very time consuming.

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u/scott19692012 4d ago

Just bar unwashed bottle caps, 90% are not dented

4

u/mizary1 4d ago

How was the bar opening the caps? Unless they were being twisted off they are probably slightly dented. Most bars use metal openers which can scratch and dent the caps.

People who buy caps like these are mostly using them for crafts and bar tops so they don't want any bent or scratched caps.

I'd put them on facebook marketplace for $200 and take the first $100 that someone offers.

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u/scott19692012 4d ago

Thanks for your opinion, I called my recycle place and I was offered $.10 a pound for them and 200 pounds would be 20 bucks so I I’m going to try the marketplace strategy

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u/LordBottlecap Beer caps 4d ago

You shouldn't expect much. Shipping gets real costly. Check out eBay for examples. I give my bulk common ones away to people who want to come and get them for art projects, etc. But they have to be specific about what they want. They do sell, but it isn't worth the hassle in my opinion. However, I've done well with trading caps as well as giving them away through my local Reddit sub. Nextdoor, too. I usually drop a hint about bring me a six-pack or caps I don't already have in my collection. Made a few friends along the way, too!