Is it actually worth stripping wire myself before selling it in Australia, given the labour involved?
Short answer: It depends on wire thickness and your volume. Stripped copper always pays more per kilogram, but hand-stripping thin gauge wire rarely returns enough extra value to justify the time. For thicker single-strand cable in real volume, stripping can meaningfully lift your return; for large amounts of thin, mixed-gauge wire, selling it insulated to a buyer with mechanical stripping capacity is usually the more practical option.
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List Free →The basic trade-off
A buyer paying for insulated wire is pricing in an expected copper yield after they process it — stripped copper skips that processing step for them, which is why it always commands a higher per-kilogram rate. The question is whether your labour to get there is worth the price gap.
When manual stripping pays off
Thick single-strand cable, common in household and industrial wiring, strips relatively quickly by hand and the copper recovered per meter justifies the time for most sellers dealing with real volume.
When it usually doesn’t
Fine multi-strand wire, especially from appliance cords or electronics, is slow to hand-strip relative to the copper actually recovered — for most sellers this isn’t worth the time, and selling it insulated in bulk is the more sensible option.
How ScrapTrade Makes This Easier
ScrapTrade lets you list wire as insulated or stripped, so buyers who specifically want bulk insulated wire for mechanical processing can find your listing directly.
Ready to sell or source wire and cable scrap without the guesswork? ScrapTrade connects verified buyers and sellers with escrow-protected payments and transparent weighing.
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