My local buyer is changing the way they buy insulated wire, need some advice

My local buyer used to buy all my insullated communication wire at $1.19 per pound with the ends on, which was great. Now they want me to seperate the wire into various catagories to which range from .10 per pound up to $1.10 per pound. I need some help clarifying what types of wire are in the majority of the computers and electronics I scrap. They listed three catagories, but which of the catagories would wire out of TV circuit boards, ribbon cable, sata cables, IDE cables, telephone cables, coax cable and other cables that come out of computers and electronics go?

1) Insulated wire (VGA, power, printer cable, etc.)
2) Insulated wire (CAT 5 – communications)
3) Insulated wire (all other)

Contact Prince William Metal and see what they can do for you.

You were lucky to get such a good pricing until now. Here, all yards separate the wire into catrgories. #1 - thick wires, like battery cables, welder cables, etc, #2 - power cords, #3 - most computer wires and cables, #4 - coax cable. The prices you mention sound about right.

might want to find a bigger yard. 1.00# for number 2 for everything but ribbon cable

It depends on recovery. If you have 45 percent recovery or 65 percent recovery. The easiest thing to do is take a strand of it weight it and separate the rubber coating from the copper and figure out what the recovery percentage is. Nothing like calling the buyer and knowing exactly what your recovery is and have it already separated and ready to ship like that. You can get the best price that way because the yard doesn't have to do the separating for you. A majority of the bigger wire 500 MCM and bigger is in the very high 80s on recovery. Sometimes I have gotten a price so good with the coating on that it wasn't worth my time to strip it no matter the size.

They probably switched to a different buyer to maximize there profit on the wire and the new buyer has a million different rules to play by where as the old buyer just said throw it all in a box and I will buy it as is at a lower price. Remember if you don't do the segregation and stripping at your home or business it has to be done at some point before its a final product ready to be shipped to a refinery to be smelted. Do you want to do the work or do you want someone else to do the work for you? The price you get at the yard will also reflect the point I just made.

very good post^ but seeing the type of wire hes getting it would be below the 25% mark