Questions about selling "copper cable"

[MichaelD]

No; I have not resorted to stealing people's AC compressors and tubing, nor ripping the wires from their homes. Thought I'd get that out of the way...I know you guys.

I have never sold any metal of any type before and am seeking some knowledge/advice.

Starting about 20 years ago, I got really big into car stereo. I am not into it anymore. Over the years I've accumulated a very large pile of copper wire "cutoffs." I have a box almost 3 feet square that must weigh 50 pounds, full of pieces of 0/4/8 gauge "car stereo power cable." The lengths range from 2 feet to about 15 feet...all inter-mixed AFA gauge and length goes. Basically, it's a bunch of "long cutoffs." I throw nothing away.

Is this something a scrap yard would buy from me? What would be the best way to "sell it?" What do I say?

I don't want to throw it away b/c it's gotta be worth something, but aside from a few select pieces more than 10 feet long, I doubt it's worth putting on CL.

Thanks much.

 

[lxskllr]

Strip the insulation, and take it to a scrap yard. They'll weigh it, and pay you whatever it they pay. If you have a choice locally, call them and find who's giving the best price. Gather any other copper scrap you have when you go. Nothing is too small.

 

[Leros]

According to this site (http://www.earthworksrecycling.com/prices/), you'll get $2.50 per pound for bare wire or $1.60 per pound if it's insulated.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks much for the speedy reply. Does everyone that sells copper cable strip the insulation? That would be a LOT of work, considering how many pieces I have. Not that I'm afraid of the work; I'd just hate to spend a day doing it only to have them say "OH noooo. We need to see the type of cable it came from" or some stupid crap like that. I guess I could call and ask them...but then they'd know I'm a noob and rip me off. I guess I'm semi-screwed no matter what. Oh well. Any money would be better than just throwing it away...where someone else will pick through my trash, take the stuff and make money, right?

 

[MichaelD]

According to this site (http://www.earthworksrecycling.com/prices/), you'll get $2.50 per pound for bare wire or $1.60 per pound if it's insulated.

I would assume half the weight of this box is the plastic insulation...so if the box weighs 50 pounds right now, that would be roughly 25 pounds after stripping...$62.50 is a couple tanks of gas for the car...not bad. Thanks!!!

 

[lxskllr]

Thanks much for the speedy reply. Does everyone that sells copper cable strip the insulation? That would be a LOT of work, considering how many pieces I have. Not that I'm afraid of the work; I'd just hate to spend a day doing it only to have them say "OH noooo. We need to see the type of cable it came from" or some stupid crap like that. I guess I could call and ask them...but then they'd know I'm a noob and rip me off. I guess I'm semi-screwed no matter what. Oh well. Any money would be better than just throwing it away...where someone else will pick through my trash, take the stuff and make money, right?

You'll get more money stripping it. It doesn't have to be done tomorrow. Do a bit at a time when you feel motivated. I use a knife. The redneck method is to burn it off, but that might affect the value. Consider it a public service. You're not only saving resources, but you're getting a bit of money for it too.

 

[Svnla]

I recycle aluminum cans at work and home (not a tree hugger but don't believe in waste). Anyway, our local recycling dealer would take anything, even rusty iron from old beat up cars, fridges, hub cabs, rusty wheels, etc.

Make sure you call them ahead and bring your ID. Our dealer would not process anything without valid ID.

 

[MichaelD]

Thanks VERY much, guys. No problem with the ID; this is all stuff I bought over the years...nothing "appropriated."

I'm a semi-sorta-tree hugger. I love my big, American, gas-guzzling V8 motor, but despise littering and I recycle all metal/glass/paper I can. I will admit that this particular enterprise is financially-motivated b/c I know that copper is of the more valuable recyclables. None of this wire is newer than 10 years old...it's been sitting here for a long time.

Thanks again!

 

[Jeff7]

Strip the insulation, and take it to a scrap yard. They'll weigh it, and pay you whatever it they pay. If you have a choice locally, call them and find who's giving the best price. Gather any other copper scrap you have when you go. Nothing is too small.

They might ask for a driver's license, same as if you were buying Sudafed, you darn meth-head.
(I'm also an entry in the "meth books," because sudafed actually works.)

 

[Meghan54]

They might ask for a driver's license, same as if you were buying Sudafed, you darn meth-head.
(I'm also an entry in the "meth books," because sudafed actually works.)

Actually, they always ask for ID. We recycle alu. cans and plain alu, among other metals. Scrap yards always ask for ID.

Best way to get the insulation off is burn it off. Burning it off won't destroy the metal.

 

[boomhower]

You don't strip it off. Be like a professional crack head, dig a hole in the back yard and burn it off. When your ready to sell it call around to your local scrap yards and see who is offering the best price.

 

[darrontrask]

You might want to call before you burn off the insulation. Around here in WNY they will no longer accept wire that is burned and there is the very real possibility of you getting a ticket for polluting the air.

Locally someone has been taking a bucket truck and stealing the wire from the fire alarm boxes all over town.

 

[iamwiz82]

None of the wiring guys I know ever strip it, too much time for not enough return. When they finish a wiring job they usually have a few hundred pounds of CAT6/coax/speaker wire, etc though.

 

[Hugo Drax]

Put the pile over a pit and slowly burn it off like the kids in India do.

 

[Eug]

Don't waste your time stripping it. For a box like that, it will take just about forever.

 

[MichaelD]

Wanna laugh? I also have about 3K feet of CAT5e, riser rated, that I've not been able to sell. NO WAY I'm going to try to strip that.

Burning the insulation off is not an option. I know what burning tires smell like and there's no way I'm creating a toxic cloud in my backyard.

ATM, the plan is to call a couple of local scrap places tomorrow and ask about prices/stripping/etc.

 

[feralkid]

Actually, they always ask for ID. We recycle alu. cans and plain alu, among other metals. Scrap yards always ask for ID.

Best way to get the insulation off is burn it off. Burning it off won't destroy the metal.

Hope you aren't serious.

 

[MichaelD]

I'm not burning anything. I've emailed two local scrap places and asked them both the same thing (how/how much/etc). If they'll pay considerably more for stripped cables, I'll strip the 0/4/8 gauge stuff. All the speaker wire and especially the 3K feet of CAT5, is staying as-is.

 

[nonameo]

There are tools you can get to help strip the insulation off of the wire. If you expect to do this a lot it may be worth investing in one.

 

[Stifko]

I have a lot of brass scrap that I have to take in one of these days. The price of brass fluctuates with copper. I am kind of disappointed to hear that copper is only worth 2.50 nowadays.

I heard a story about a man that bought a big roll of heavy copper wire at auction recently. Maybe is was around one inch thick. He got it for 11 grand. He spent a few days stripping it with his friend and took it to the scrap yard clean and got 20 grand for it. That is a nice profit for a couple of days work if you ask me.

 

[MichaelD]

I'm not expecting to do this ever again after this go-round, so I'm not buying any special tools. I have a ton of tools already. For the bigger cable, I'd imagine just running down the length of it with a razor to split the insulation should do it.

But again, I'm waiting to hear from them. If it's $2.50/pound stripped or $2.00 unstrapped, I won't bother. The box weighs maybe 50 pounds right now and half of that has to be all the rubber insulation. So it's not like we're talking big money here. I just don't want to throw away money, however little it may be.

 

[Imp]

You don't strip it off. Be like a professional crack head, dig a hole in the back yard and burn it off. When your ready to sell it call around to your local scrap yards and see who is offering the best price.

Do that and when it's time to sell, you may have brain your damaged too much to care .

 

[Anarchist420]

recycling is wasteful because it discourages reduction, it discourages reuse,and because of all the resources lost to separating things. and then a big and wasteful corporation or few gets the recycled stuff at below market prices while the tax payer pays for it.

 

[MichaelD]

Yeah, down with the man! Let's go back to drinking water from a wooden ladle, drawn from a well!

But can I sell this copper wire first, please?

 

[The Boston Dangler]

are you sure it's solid copper strand and not copper-clad aluminium?