Do you guys know How to use junk yards? (oops recycling yards)

NO just have several friends in the business and know more than a few others through those friends. I'm in Minnesota near the twin cities (Mpls/St Paul)

Pick-N-pull is about the only place I go to anymore. The rest of them almost always treat you like shit no matter what. Pick-N-Pull may not have a great selection, but you almost always can find something you "need". I used to go to Awesome Auto Salvage because they are a huge yard in DFW, but those guy seem really, really shady and the prices are based on who knows what. Everytime I go in there I feel like I just walked in on a coke or meth deal between 15 guys who act like I'm bothering them with my business.

+2 Crab Spirits.  As much as I love a good JY, the majority are terrible places to visit.

Prices?   Go to  www.car-parts.com  before you go anyplace, Junkyards, e-bay, swap meets etc..
  Without that bit of knowledge how in the heck do you know if you're being treated fair..
   
  Second..
   Having your hands on the parts tells a sharp Junkee how badly you want it..
They are a lot smarter than you give them credit for..  It's called body language and it says more than what comes out of your mouth about how bad you really want something..
   
  The fact that you have such lack of respect for them is reflected back in the way they treat you..
 
  OK you could be right.. to say all Junkees are nice is stupid..  Some are lousy drunks, addicts, and have other problems. However anytime you start saying all you have a problem..
   

OK
   Let me help both of you. 
If you're there in the evening, weekend that's their high frustration time.  Not everybody knows what they want or how to ask for it.. Evenings and weekends is when they come out..
So you start off with a disadvantage.   Are you honest?? How does the Junkee know that? 
Do you know what you're talking about? again how would a stranger know that? 
Are you well informed? Again how many times do you think the junkee has dealt with those who wouldn't know their butt from deep second base?
   
  Now Think of how much knowledge the average junkee has in his head.. Compare that knowledge  to the erronious stuff a lot of people who come to him with. 
  He knows how to remove parts with out damaging them, how stuff works, what demands are for a given product..  Interchange, and what fits what..
    He may be a really serious gear head.. Loves cars but hates to be challenged.. He may know for example that most of the cars come in with that part shot, worn out, or broken.. That's why he's being porkish about it and maybe you might find someone who doesn't know the market that well sells it too cheap..   Or maybe he knows that it's common for that part to fail in a new setting.. (it happens) So while it may work on the way out, in it's new home it might fail!
  I will tell you that most of the guys I've dealt with are decent helpful guys.. However I've heard the crap they get.. somebody angery because their car broke they don't have the money it's gonna take to fix it. and they take it out on the junkee. 
Once you prove to them what you are worth watch how their whole attitude changes..

Just like you, they have bad days.. stuff goes wrong and sometimes you take it out on the wrong person..
   Shif happens..
   Nobody is perfect!

My gripe with our local ones is that they don't know what the (*$* they have most of the time, wasting a great deal of my time visiting them and wandering around (paying entry fee for the privlidge) and then finding they want more than I  think is reasonable for a worn part w/o warranty.  I bought a windsheild wiper motor there and first one did not work, then I went back in the mud pull another.  It did not work as expected (leaves wipers up in rest position) but they would not refund money.  For like $10 more I could have gotten a warrantied one to fit at Advance auto.

I found a near worthless console tray for these rapidly dying out of favor vans, dirty but intact, and the guy wanted like $15 for it.  screw that, left it on the counter.  For my effort and money its not very appealing, although it is fun looking for the most part.

@OMGuar, hey, you're up in the Cities?  I'm down in Rochester, and I have to say, the junkyards down here I've visited are excellent.  Oronoco, Dillon's, and McNeilus have great selection, the parts don't suck, they are friendly, and they deal on price.

This is basic bartering technique, I suppose, but I've had good luck with it--if they throw you a price, and you hem and haw about it a bit, more often than not they'll bump their price down to make the sale.  Usually they are already prepared to offer a discount; they were just waiting for you to prove that you know something first.  Your odds double if you point out a legitimate defect.  For example, one yard was asking $60 for a windshield, I pointed out a small rock chip (dime size), got it for $40.