Stripping Copper Wire Becomes a Popular Side Hustle on TikTok
TikTok users increasingly film themselves stripping insulation from copper wire to sell as scrap. Copper prices hit a record high this year, but many creators earn more from the platform than from the metal itself.
A growing genre of TikTok videos shows users stripping old appliances and cables to recover copper and sell it as scrap. Wired reports that the creators are not part of an organized movement or shared hashtag, but their clips look alike: a complex appliance is taken apart or an industrial cable is split open, and what remains is a bundle of copper.
The participants include hobbyists, electricians, people saving for a large purchase and apparently some cash-strapped teenagers. They speak languages including English, French, Spanish, German and Romanian. At least one sells hand-cast copper ingots on Etsy.
Record prices
Selling scrap copper is nothing new, but the metal's price reached an all-time high this year. According to International Monetary Fund data, a metric ton cost about $14,473 in September, or roughly $7.23 per pound, more than double the September 2020 level. Craig Depken II, an economics professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, says copper theft tends to rise when prices climb and when economic distress is high. Selling lawfully obtained copper is legal across the US except in Minnesota, which requires a state licence.
Income from the platform
Benjamin Stickle, a criminal justice professor at Middle Tennessee State University, identifies three types of legal scrappers: those making ends meet, workers selling metal obtained on the job, and people raising money for charity.
Creator Courtney saved $20,000 for a home over about six months and announced on October 10 that she had hit her goal. A scrap yard receipt she shared showed just $99 for 30 pounds of copper, while one video with 6.8 million views generated $1,446. Other popular accounts, such as King of Copper, stress scale: he is on a self-described quest to collect, strip and sell one ton of copper.
Creators can also earn commissions by promoting wire strippers on TikTok Shop, where AI-generated ads now compete with human sellers.
