For electricians and anyone doing regular rewiring or installation work, cable is one of the most consistent sources of scrap you’ll generate — and one of the easiest to undersell if you’re not treating it correctly before you sell.
Insulated vs. bright
Insulated cable — still inside its plastic sheathing — sells for meaningfully less per kilo than the equivalent stripped copper, because the buyer has to remove the insulation themselves before processing it.
Bright (stripped) cable — insulation fully removed, bare copper only — commands the highest price of any common copper grade.
Should you strip it yourself?
If you’re generating cable regularly and have basic stripping tools, stripping before you sell usually pays for the extra time, since the price gap between insulated and bright copper is significant. For occasional, smaller quantities, selling insulated is often the more practical choice — just be aware you’re accepting a lower rate in exchange for saving the labour.
Mixed cable types
Not all cable is copper — some contains aluminium conductors, and some (particularly older or specialist cable) may have different core materials entirely. Keeping cable types separated where you can identify them will get you a more accurate price than one mixed load.
Storage matters more than people expect
Cable left outside or in damp conditions oxidises over time, which can downgrade bright copper that would otherwise have commanded top price. If you’re accumulating cable across multiple jobs before selling, keep it dry and ideally indoors.
The practical takeaway
A small amount of sorting — separating bright from insulated, keeping cable dry, and not mixing it with other scrap types — genuinely changes what a cable load is worth, especially if you’re generating it consistently rather than as a one-off.
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