If the gold plated connectors are the type that are encased in plastic then yes, they are going to pay less for them, of course. Think about it from a business point of view.



Copper wire still sheathed is easy enough to deal with, you just simply run it through a stripper, or you incinerate it so that you burn off the shielding. The end connectors cannot be processed in the same way. End connectors cost more to process, and produce different types of by products or gas. As well, part of the end connectors weight is that same plastic. So far as separating the gold from the copper if they are plated, that's fairly simple. They are melted into a bar and then processed via an electrolytic cell. Even still though, they must be clean. If any plastics are transferred to the copper cell, they may interfere with the refining process.

So much more labor intensive, thus the price difference.

Scott