#2 insulated wire price

Hello;
amateur scrapper here and new to the forum.

the sort version:

What are you guys getting for #2 insulated wire and do you think its a little low right now?

the longer:

I just stripped a bunch of phone , computer , intercom and speaker wire (plus so 12aug romex) out of a commercial building attic. it took about 2.5 hours and I ended up with 115 lbs of #2 insulated and about 20 lbs of 12 awg romex. its probably not that big a score for you guys but I collect slowly over a period of months and never have 110 plus lbs of wire.

any way. I was excited to call and find out what #2 was going for and its only 70 cents a pound. the last time I payed attention to the price of wire the #2 was 90 cents. Thats what I was hoping for.

so is it a little low right now and what do you think the prospects of it going higher in the next couple of months? MY trailer is almost full so I will be going to the yard soon and was wondering if I should hold the wire for a while.

You really expect anybody to have the answer to that?

prices in the link were from 2012

There are two rules that are followed by Scrappers when selling there goods if they know it or not. Number one rule you need the money you have to sell, Number two rule you have no room to store any more you have to sell, so when the markets are low and you do not fit into the two reasons to sell, hold on to what you have. The prices should start to rise, should does not mean will.

.70 for number 2 wire is a little low, but copper has been down for a while. I just got .85 per pound a few weeks ago. The problem I have noticed with wire is that the yard says it is #2 this week, then next week it's #3. One week they will say, you can leave the ends on, next week, hey you have to cut those off or it goes as #3.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mick

You really expect anybody to have the answer to that?

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I could not imagine for the life of me why anyone would think this an impossible question to answer. What are you getting for #2 insulated wire? thats pretty straight forward. does it seem low? either its usually higher. usually lower or usually the same price.

pretty easy stuff

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Originally Posted by NHscrapman

prices in the link were from 2012

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Sorry but I did not see a link

You really need to check with multiple yards, get their prices and how they classify things. I have 3 yards that I deal with and am looking at another place for some of my wire.

My 1st and primary yard gets 95% of my ferrous and some of my non-ferrous. They classify wire as 30%, 50% and 75%. 30% is power cords, etc.. Prices are $0.15 to $0.35 depending on customer. 50% is romex and THHN, etc. Prices are $0.50 to $0.70.

I have another yard were 30% is $0.68, 55% is $1.23 and 80% is $1.78

A third yard classifies power cords and romex all as #2 insulated and is paying $1.00. Recently sold them over 200 pounds of power cords.

A 4th place that I'm looking at pays $0.71 for low grade (power cords), $1.29 for romex and $1.71 for THHN. They actually pick up if you have over 100 pounds.

Do some calling around before you decide which yard or yards you are going to use.

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Originally Posted by AuburnEwaste

.70 for number 2 wire is a little low, but copper has been down for a while. I just got .85 per pound a few weeks ago. The problem I have noticed with wire is that the yard says it is #2 this week, then next week it's #3. One week they will say, you can leave the ends on, next week, hey you have to cut those off or it goes as #3.

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I'm not certain they use a #3 here. at least it has never showed up on my receipt. If I had paid closer attention to the price per pound I'd have my own answer. I only looked at the end figure.

I know they always say the ends, wing nuts or zip ties need to be off. if there is a lot of zif ties they call it wire harness. No idea why a few zip ties are more difficult for them than all the insulation.

.70 was the highest of 3 places I checked. the other 2 were .65 .

I just looked up some news about copper prices. something is going on in china which has driven down the price recently. there was a sharp 4% decline very recently. so copper may be down or even lower for a while.

Don't discount the idea that bringing in a larger quantity can get you a higher price. I have asked "how much do I have to bring in to get a better price?'. Mike

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Originally Posted by boutselis

Sorry but I did not see a link

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Moderator removed the link; )
If the price goes down in a week good sell, if it goes up bad sell, either way the lb's will pile back up and you can play the game again
115lb at .70 is $80.50 115lb at .90 is $103.50, how long do you want to wait for $23 is your question.

just received 1.05 from my preferred yard. other yards in the general area were around .70

Quote:

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Originally Posted by miked

Don't discount the idea that bringing in a larger quantity can get you a higher price. I have asked "how much do I have to bring in to get a better price?'. Mike

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The one time I was assured I would get a special price for 500 lbs of cast aluminum I was basically lied to. I got the price on the phone of 45 cents. then I asked "well how much for 500lbs" and was told they would give me a bulk price when I came in. I went in. the fork lift operator gave me a bin and said I'll be right back with the price. I unloaded about 1/2 and found out I was getting 45 cents a pound.

#2 Insulated wire
Today I got $1.10/#
Last month I got $1.20/#

Looks like Im doing pretty good up here compared to you guys lately. :) I got a price bump for bulk though.

heres the thing. I don't have to unload the trailer right now. I have a good load on a 16 foot trailer but its not filled to the top. waiting isn't harming me. If the general consensus was that .70 is pretty low and its usually higher then I would keep filling the trailer.

when I look at what you posted now I see it in a new light but not the way you may see it. If I invested $80 in something how long would I have to wait to get 25% return on my investment? of course you can always lose money on investments also.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ParkerFlyer4

#2 Insulated wire
Today I got $1.10/#
Last month I got $1.20/#

Looks like Im doing pretty good up here compared to you guys lately. :) I got a price bump for bulk though.

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how much was the weight? is 100 plus lbs considered bulk for wire?

Call and ask your yard, They don't mind answering questions if it means getting your business.

I'm not sure exactly, but I had just over 200# and that was considered bulk.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by boutselis

I could not imagine for the life of me why anyone would think this an impossible question to answer. What are you getting for #2 insulated wire? thats pretty straight forward. does it seem low? either its usually higher. usually lower or usually the same price.

pretty easy stuff

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Cause in the last sentence you're asking someone to predict the future. If we could do that we'd be rich. I may be getting more than you but are you going to bring your stuff to Maine? Anyway, what I get is based on a little more than 100 pounds.

An likely every area will consider "bulk" different. For example...The yard BC goes to (if he does..ha ha!) on that so call island of his off NYC, they might consider bulk 1000lbs..whereas the crappy little yard just south of me on my sandbar might consider bulk 100lbs.

His area has way more scrappers which translates to much more business. The little crappy yard just south of me on my sandbar, has a small group of folks who go to it. As the others said, only way you'll know is to call and ask.

An for the record I'm getting .95lb for #2 if I go to my main yard. .75 if I go to the little crappy yard just south of me. ;)

Sirscrapalot - If psychics can see the future, why do they always act surprised when you call?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Mick

Cause in the last sentence you're asking someone to predict the future. If we could do that we'd be rich. I may be getting more than you but are you going to bring your stuff to Maine? Anyway, what I get is based on a little more than 100 pounds.

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it isn't predicting the future. it would be following trends. past results may nt be a 100% accurate map to future results but trends are often validated.

Just wanting to know if the current prices are the norm, the high or the low. it may be higher in maine than florid but more than likely if the price lowered in florida of a 3 week period it probably lowered every where over the same time span. nothing is absolute though

Quote:

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Sirscrapalot - If psychics can see the future, why do they always act surprised when you call?

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And why do you have to introduce yourself to them, they should already know your name.
Sorry for the hijack but that stuck out with me,,,

No prices don't drop everywhere. Lest not in my experience. When shred was dropping, my main yard stayed at .10lb while others were reporting on here drops to .07lb. Same with insulated wire. Yes it could drop everywhere but it doesn't. Case in point. Your high price was .70lb(forgive me I quote the wrong number..to many of them in this thread!) mine was .95.

Aluminum has dropped for some on here, mine has stayed steady. My main yard is currently still paying out .10lb for shred, the crappy yard south of me is paying .07lb. Something funny? Said crappy yard had been at .08 for the last 2 years. Only in the last two months did they drop it to .07lb. Never gone above .08 though. Even when other yards were paying more.

The world and pricing of scrap yards...the 9th wonder of the world, or we up to 15 now?

Edit: It's ok Mech, their all aware I'm slowly but surely corrupting you. First it's going off topic, soon you'll be posting quotes an dragging a cooler everywhere! ;)

Sirscrapalot - I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it. - George Bernard Shaw

Boutselis,

Do you bring in quantity (of any type)on a monthly basis consistently? If you do, then ask about getting a higher tier price on everything all the time. My main yard has 3 tiers. Lowest is for everyone off the street and people they don't see on a regular basis. 2nd tier is the regulars and 3rd tier is for garbage and special accounts. The difference in price could be 6 to 8 percent for some items and over 100% for others.

Price range over the past month here .40 to 1.60 ten cents more for over hundred pounds

I would strip the Romex, that's #1. I strip most of my wires. I found it's easy to strip most wiring by cutting to length to fit in a pickle jar or metal container with lid and soak in acetone, which will soften most wire insulation and can pull the wire out of the insulation easy. I usually strip long lengths of Romex with a utility knife. I haven't done 100+ lbs of it yet, maybe 10-20 lbs. A lid is a must with acetone so it doesn't evaporate, can use it for alot of wire. And NO PLASTIC container!! It will melt.

Well there is a new trick. Thanks Soob! I might have to give it a try. I got a crap load of that romex in a tote, I keep telling myself I'll strip it. I keep finding other things to do tho to avoid it. lol.

Wire stripping is not an activity I enjoy much. :(

Sirscrapalot - I've always liked Atlanta. And not just for the strip clubs, but the shopping and the food. - Jon Stewart

$1.00 per lb less than 50 lbs, I cut off or remove brass and leave the rest.

Carnac The Magnificent
"May your Perrier water be secretly bottled in Tijuana."

Can't say I've stripped any Romex with acetone. I have found some type of insulation is unaffected by acetone, not sure what type it is, maybe polyurethane? Always used a utility knife for Romex, pretty quick for me. I put the wire between the blade and a wood board and try my best to hold the blade at a certain angle which strips but doesn't dig into the wire.

Still a useful tip, I dislike stripping wire of any kind. I'll give it a whirl one day here soon, can't hurt to try it. Lest I hope not.

;)

Sirscrapalot - When all else fails there's always delusion. - Conan O'Brien

“Then a homeless man with a dog approached us and put his hand out. This happens to be something that I have a real problem with: homeless people with pets who approach you for food when they have a perfectly delicious dog standing right there?”
― Chelsea Handler

Forgot to add, I hold the knife stationary and draw the wire towards me, the board helps me by having the wire press against the surface.

The last time I cashed in wire was probably about a month ago and got around .70 cents a lb. This was at a yard that I recently discovered is probably selling to a new yard I'm using. They paid .35 a LB for clean stainless and the new yard is paying .65 a LB and I drive half the distance. It pays to call around. Also, having your location is helpful because your price may be higher or lower than the guy in the next state over. Scrap prices are local, not national.

My regular yard is 70 cent. I called around and was told prices lower than that.