Two people can sell the same weight of copper in Hyderabad on the same day and get very different amounts. Here's why, and what you can do about it.
The base price comes from the metal market
Copper is traded worldwide. Indian prices track the London Metal Exchange (LME) and India's MCX, adjusted for the rupee–dollar rate. Smelters and large recyclers set what they pay using those prices, and every scrap buyer down the chain adjusts from there.
That's why copper rates can move from one week to the next. It isn't the buyer being difficult: the underlying metal price has moved. A buyer who shows you a dated rate is showing you where they stand.
Then your grade decides where you land
Buyers sort copper into grades because smelters pay differently for each. Roughly, from highest to lowest:
- Bare bright wire: uncoated, unpainted, shiny copper wire, like stripped house wiring or rewinding offcuts.
- Clean pipe and thick wire: AC gas pipe and plumbing pipe with no brass fittings, solder or paint.
- Mixed copper: anything with paint, solder, heavy oxidation, or fittings still attached.
- Insulated cable: priced on how much copper is inside, not on the total weight.
The rate gap between the top and bottom grades is large. Look at our rates page for the current spread.
How cable is valued
For insulated cable, a buyer estimates the copper yield: the share of the weight that's copper. A thick single-core power cable can be more than half copper; thin multi-core data cable can be much less. A fair buyer will cut and strip a short sample in front of you to agree the yield.
Four ways to get the higher grade
- Separate it. Keep pipe, bright wire and cable in different bags. A mixed bag is priced as mixed.
- Cut off the brass. Brass fittings on copper pipe drag it down to mixed. Brass is sold separately, at its own rate.
- Strip it carefully, with a cutter or stripper, if you have the time and the cable is thick enough to be worth it.
- Keep it dry and clean. Heavy corrosion and mud lower the grade.
Never burn off insulation
Burning PVC releases toxic fumes, open burning of waste is banned in India, and burnt copper is oxidised, so it often grades lower than if you'd sold it as cable.
What to watch for on the day
Ask the buyer to name the grade before weighing, weigh each grade separately, and read the scale yourself. If something is being called "mixed", ask what would make it the higher grade. A good buyer will just tell you.