Tips For Turning Copper Scrap Into Cold Hard Cash

When it comes to selling various metals, you might first think about someone selling off some fancy gold jewelry or maybe some silver pieces. But while gold and silver tend to get a lot of hype on the metal market, there are still plenty of buyers out there interested in copper scrap. If you are thinking about reaching out to copper buyers at the local scrapyard or recycling center, here are some tips to help you get some extra money.

Copper is All Over the Place

Before you head to the local scrapyard to sell your copper, you might want to take another look around your house or other property. Copper wire can be found in a wide variety of different items. It could be inside your old electronic devices, inside of speaker cables, inside some of your old pipes in your commercial building or residence and so on. You likely already have a good amount of copper inside your house or building, the trick is knowing where to look to find it. You may be able to significantly increase your payout if you have some patience and do some investigative work on your property before you head to the scrapyard.

Organize Your Copper Before You Get to the Scrapyard

When you sell gold pieces, you will of course sort them according to karats before you get to the buyer. The same logic applies when selling copper: different pieces of copper can be of different quality and that can affect the price you are offered. Copper can be of different grades, so you do your best to sort through these and ensure that you don't have higher graded copper being weighed at a lower rate. Your local scrapyard might be willing to help you sort a small collection if you let them know you are unsure about how to organize the pieces. 

Make Sure the Copper is "Clean"

You may also lose value on your copper if the buyer has to perform work on it after buying it. Some copper pieces might have screws or other attachments sticking to them depending on where you got the piece from. Copper piping, for example, is a good example of this. Take the time to strip the copper of any non-copper pieces to maximize your payout.

Selling copper scrap is a tried and true way of putting some extra money in your pocket. To learn more about copper buyers, contact a recycling center near you.