BUYING GUIDE
Buying cut to size
If a listed piece is bigger than your job needs, you can ask for it cut. Request cutting from the listing page with the dimensions you want; a coordinator prices the work and writes up a cutting instruction; you approve that final instruction before anything is cut. The approval step exists because cutting is irreversible — once released, the cut goes ahead and the order can no longer be cancelled.
Start from the piece, not from a catalogue
Cut-to-size on a surplus marketplace works in reverse of a service centre: instead of ordering a size from infinite stock, you find a real piece whose dimensions contain your part, then have your size cut out of it. The fit search on the browse page does the containment check for you — enter thickness, width and length and it returns only pieces your cut genuinely comes out of, tightest yield first.
Thickness is the one dimension cutting cannot change. A 12 mm part needs 12 mm plate — thicker stock is not a fit, and no cutting request can fix that.
Requesting the cut
From the listing page, choose Request Cutting and state what you need: the finished dimensions, how many pieces, and anything that matters about the cut — tolerance, which edge to keep clean, whether the offcut remainder interests you. A coordinator reviews it against the actual piece and comes back with a price for material plus cutting.
Cutting charges are quoted per job, not from a rate card on the page — a straight saw cut through 6 mm angle and a bevelled profile cut through 40 mm plate are different work. The quote lands in your enquiry thread and converts to a normal order when you accept.
The approval step — read it like a drawing
Before any cutting happens, you receive the final cutting instruction on your order page: the exact dimensions, quantities and notes the workshop will execute. Treat it as you would a shop drawing — this document, not the earlier conversation, is what gets cut.
Approving it releases the work, and a released cut is the point of no return: the order can no longer be cancelled, because the material has been irreversibly altered for your job. If anything in the instruction is wrong, reject it with a note instead — a corrected instruction is issued and nothing is cut until you approve one.
What to expect on delivery
You receive the pieces named in the approved instruction, cut by the stated process. Cut edges are workshop edges — saw or thermal cut, not machined faces; state it in the request if an edge must be finish-ready. The delivery note reflects the as-cut pieces, and for certified material the mill certificate still applies: cutting changes geometry, never the heat.
Common questions
Can any listing be cut?
Most plate and long products can. Whether a specific piece is practical to cut — and at what cost — is confirmed by the coordinator when you request it, based on the material, thickness and the cut you need.
Do I pay for the whole piece or just my cut?
That is part of the quote. Sometimes the economics favour buying the full piece with cutting as a service; sometimes a per-cut price for your size makes sense and the remainder stays on the market. The quote states exactly what you are buying.
Why can't I cancel after approving the cutting instruction?
Because the material is cut to your dimensions the moment the instruction is released — it cannot be un-cut or resold as the original piece. That is why the approval is explicit and why the instruction shows the final dimensions before you commit.
Does cutting affect the mill certificate?
No. The certificate belongs to the heat of material, and a cut piece remains traceable to it. What you should preserve is the heat-number marking — ask for it to be transferred or noted if your job requires marked traceability.