How to sell scrap copper
Copper Scrapping Hacks - Scrap Metal For Beginners - Tips And Tricks!
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hello pandas stubb here want some scrap
or copy hacks scrap metal tips to make
more money I've noticed that the
information on copper scrapping is
pretty scattered so allow me to help you
get paid the most at your scrap yard in
this video we're gonna quickly break
down the basics of scrapping copper and
then share some tips and hacks from the
pros to help you get paid the most from
each run so if you're a beginner at
scrapping copper then this is for you
and if you're a seasoned scrap dog well
then stick around because I could use
your help at the end and now in order to
proceed let's assume you've already
identified and collected some scrap
copper you know bright red metal smells
like blood and turns green and might get
sold that's the stuff
wire plumbing pipe electric motors it's
the most electrically conductive
non-precious metal can be recycled an
unlimited amount of times without
degrading and does not react with water
that means it doesn't rust this
unparalleled versatility is why copper
retains so much of its value in any age
or condition and is why it's prized by
scrappers everywhere if that's you then
here are your best practices for
prepping to sell as well as how to
proceed when you go to cash out number
one
clean and sort these are the same thing
because cleaning simply means removing
all of the material and contaminants
that would degrade the value and that's
how you determine the grade which is how
you sort it there are three main grades
which you'll sort by and they are bare
bright wire and pipe this one's pretty
intuitive it means it's clean of all
contaminants and bright and shiny that's
the top grade now right below the top
grade is number one and you'll see
intuitive naming is out the window
so that means it's clean but it's not
great this stuff here I know
it's bare and bright but it's way too
thin so this is not gonna go in as very
bright this is gonna go in as number one
because they'll lose a lot of this when
they attempt to melt it down
number two copper means it's got
contaminant so in terms of wire that
means it's still got its insulation on
it and in terms of pipe that means it's
got things like solder and paint
and then with this stuff you need to cut
these connectors on if you don't well
they're gonna be mad there is actually a
fourth category and that's called number
three in terms of wire that means
Christmas lights also in this category
is roofing copper which you're not
likely to find but it's a low grade
because it typically has a lot of tar
stuck to it so there's a lot of
contaminant this sorting is the most
important step because if you don't the
stuff you bring in will be weighed as
the lowest grade mixed in which means
you'll get paid less and you aren't
gonna get away with holding up the line
while you pick through everything in
front of the scales next in line is
stripping your wire now this is a point
that's been talked to death already and
most people will tell you that it's
obvious you need to strip your wire to
make the most money but I disagree there
is some wire that should always be
stripped but a lot of it you'll just be
wasting your time at best and losing
money or worse something like this which
is many small strands or something like
this which have multiple layers of
insulation well if you strip all the
insulation off of something like this
you're removing a large percentage of
its weight and you may just be breaking
even and in some extreme cases like an
extension cord you might actually be
getting less money after you remove all
that weight off my rule of thumb is that
would rather sit on my thumb then strip
wire but there's a lot of people out
there who love spending their time doing
just that
either one now when it comes to fancy
high grade stuff like this they
definitely do want a strip kind of wire
I don't have a fancy table mounted wire
stripper maybe I would strip more wire
if I actually had one I mean yeah
probably but if you're like me then I'm
an important hack for getting the
insulation off of this stuff is you
definitely have to get it warm so for a
lot of people that means just putting it
outside and leaving it sit in the Sun
for a little while and that's great but
if you live in the
a perpetual winter like I do then you
got to come up with something different
I'll show you what I do see for me in
the frozen wastes of Canada I needed
something a little more reliable so I
like to put it over the hot water pipes
that'll make it nice and warm and won't
take very long either now this stuff is
not frozen solid
it's not like toasty warm that would be
ideal but parts of it aren't there so
this is my favorite method as a person
who doesn't have a professional wire
stripper I just take a really big knife
get it nice and sharp and the gloves are
super important here start on one end
all's flat lift it up a little bit and
then it's nice and easy to just get in
there now we've got it started go at it
from the other direction
and there you see it took us only a
minute to strip maybe 40 pounds of wire
and another minute to coil it up make it
nice my point is any wire you can strip
reasonably efficiently is what you
should be stripping having a table top
stripper will broaden that category for
you but whether it's worth a couple
hundred dollars depends on your volume
strong gloves strong knife step wire
nice and warm is what makes it efficient
you might hear people tell you to light
a bonfire and just burn the insulation
off but not only would it be callous and
juvenile to start your own mini
environmental disaster just to make a
couple extra bucks but charred and
burned copper is downgraded so you won't
get what you think you're going to get
out of it and it makes you look like a
copper thief not to mention it's illegal
we'll give you cancer and a lot of scrap
yards refuse to buy it your reputation
with the scrap yard is important as
we'll cover in a few minutes so for me
burning wire is a hard no there are also
subcategories of wire and you'll have to
ask your scrapyard which ones they buy
at different prices for me I've got two
categories that I take the time to keep
separate and that's the VX label cuz it
actually adds up pretty quick the
ethernet cable don't know why that one's
more valuable they just they'll pay me a
little bit more if it separates so I do
now my next one which I don't hear
anybody else talking about I'm not sure
why is bring it in in its original form
off the rack as it were melting it down
to form coins and bricks can be fun and
is an effective way to clean the metal
but not only does it add a significant
cost in terms of fuel and time but you
may actually get paid less for it the
scrap buyer has no way of knowing what's
in those bricks so unless you have a
really good relationship with them
already they'll weigh it in is dirty
copper and that's not good now you've
got your copper all cleaned and sorted
and you're ready to go in and get your
money yes sure but there are a few
things to consider firstly remember that
you don't work for the scrap yard and
they don't work for you you are a vendor
and they are your customer
and the prices have room for negotiation
and you want to negotiate but they
aren't just going to give everybody a
higher price just because they asked for
it so how do you get it
volume my scrapyard sees 500 pounds as
the line of separation 500 pounds or
more of one type of material is where
they will consider giving you the higher
volume price which isn't necessarily a
hard rule but that's just the scale that
they're working with it also helps if
you come by often so if you've got the
space then it probably makes more sense
to save the material up and bring it all
in at once when you've got a large
amount and here's the tip from youtuber
Ryan Sharpie to help with that okay now
I unfortunately don't have a lot of
pieces of large pipe but I do have
enough that I can at least show this so
you take the the thicker ones and then
just grab it grab your hammer and see
now takes up a lot less space so if
you're gonna pile this up for a while
there you go it's just not really worth
doing with the smaller stuff because
like it you're not gonna reduce the
volume by very much now if you're
stacking it up you'll want to keep an
eye on the market price of copper and
cash out when it's high copper prices
tend to change a lot more than silver or
gold and it's not unusual to see the
price of copper go up or down by 50
cents over the course of six months that
doesn't sound like much but it's a
difference of two hundred and fifty
bucks on a 500 pound run of course the
scrap yards are quick to react to a dip
and slow on a high and they don't pay
market spot price because they need to
make a profit - but negotiating will be
much easier when the markets are up so
you've got a stack and the market is
healthy time to get paid yes sure but
pick the right day if you can going on a
weekday not after a long weekend and not
at the beginning or the end of a month
this will be the least busy time for
them and that will make it easier to
negotiate for the price you want plus
you won't feel rushed if you had
questions which isn't a bad idea anyway
just to get to know the people that
you're working with
because that building that relationship
is the main thing that's going to affect
your ability to get the price that you
want well that in volume it's also best
not to go in winter because construction
work slows down in the winter months and
the slump and demand will negatively
affect the prices of copper finally if
you are fortunate enough to have
multiple scrap yards to choose from call
ahead and see you is offering the best
price before you go in different scrap
yards have different buyers for the
material that they sell to and they're
not all the same you can also do your
negotiating over the phone if you have a
rough idea how much you'll be bringing
in and just as your reputation is
important to them their reputation
should be important to you because there
are still unscrupulous scrap buyers out
there and I have chosen to stop
supporting certain ones because of
things that they've done not to me but
other people you're building a
relationship so you need to pick one
that works for you and that is
everything you need to know to get paid
the most for your scrap copper
I certainly hope this has been helpful
or at the very least entertaining and if
it has then you can help me out by
clicking that like button it helps more
than you know for scrappers of all
experience levels please let everyone
know in the comments if there are any
important points that I missed or if you
have any tips for making the most of
your time when scrapping copper
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