Yeah, I've pulled my fair share of nails. Pallets are about the only thing I won't mess with dismantling. That is more trouble than it's worth. I always end up splitting the wood and messing stuff up. It's super annoying.Ya I hate pulling nails too but I'll work a little if it saves me money. I'm not one of those that things my time is so valuable that I don't want to make an effort for things. (Not saying you are)
The metal can go either way. Sometimes it is cheap but sometimes it sells for almost store prices.
It's best when there's quite a bit. By the later part of the day most have bought what they wanted already and lots skip over the smaller stacks.
It's literally almost the only time and place I buy metal.
I wish I could find metal down here for prices like that. I'd even pull nails out of scrap lumber If it meant I could frame those stupid pens out and finally get the tarps off and have everything fixed the way it was supposed to. I ran across some pictures of what the poles looked like when I sank them versus what they look like now, and it's just sad.