Understand how the number is built
An offer is construction, metal, size, footage and condition, less handling and freight. Ask which input is weakest. If footage is assumed rather than measured, a real measurement can move the offer. If condition is the issue, a close photograph of the jacket may resolve it.
Compare like with like
A scrap quote prices metal by weight and ignores construction. Put both numbers on the same page: scrap value of the contained metal versus the cable offer on the same reel. The gap is usually the argument.
Where room exists
Freight, timing, loading responsibility and lot size are negotiable. Metal content and construction are not — they are facts. Sellers who trade on the first group and document the second consistently do better.
When to take the offer
If the alternative is another year in the yard, the arithmetic changes. Cable that sits through two summers loses value that no negotiation recovers, and storage has a cost even when the space is free.