Romex / NM-B
Nonmetallic sheathed building wire — the flat or round cable used for residential branch circuits; jackets are usually stamped with the gauge and "NM-B."
CHICAGO USABLE WIRE BUYER
Sell Your Leftover Wire Rolls — Get More Than Scrap Value
Good wire should never die at the scrapyard. If you have usable rolls of Romex, THHN, or MC cable left over from a job, Ironcrest Industrial Surplus buys usable wire for resale value — which may be worth more than scrap. Based in the Chicago area — and I’ll travel anywhere in the country for the right load.
WE BUYBEFORE YOU HAUL IT TO THE YARD
Before you take good wire to the scrapyard
A scrapyard buys your wire for one thing: the copper inside it. The roll goes into the furnace and gets melted down. The jacket markings, the reel label, the fact that an electrician could wire a whole room with what's on that roll — none of it matters to a yard. That is scrap value.
But a usable roll of Romex or THHN is still a product. Electricians buy it, shops stock it, and it sells by the foot at the supply house. When usable wire can be resold, it may be worth more than scrap — and the difference between melting it down and reselling it is the whole point of this page.
So check before you haul. Send photos of the rolls, and get a fast, free, no-obligation quote.
Before the Scrapyard, Call Me First.
USABLE WIRE WE BUY
Wire types we buy off the roll
Any of these in usable condition may have resale value beyond scrap. The fastest way to check is the jacket printing — the type and gauge are stamped right on the wire.
THHN / THWN
Single-conductor building wire pulled through conduit; the jacket printing tells you the size and type.
MC cable
Metal-clad cable — conductors in flexible metal armor; the jacket label shows the conductor count and gauge.
AC / BX cable
Armored cable with a bonding strip; markings on the armor or reel tell you what's inside.
UF-B
Underground feeder wire — gray, sunlight-resistant jacket stamped "UF-B"; the cable for outdoor runs.
SEU / SER
Service-entrance cable — flat (SEU) or round (SER) jacketed cable used for service feeds and subpanels.
SOOW portable cord
Heavy rubber-jacketed cord for portable equipment; look for the "SOOW" print on the jacket.
Welding cable
Fine-strand flexible cable for welders; valued for its flexibility and strand construction.
Tray cable (TC)
Multi-conductor cable rated for cable tray; the jacket print lists the conductors and gauge.
XHHW
Single-conductor building and feeder wire with a heat-resistant jacket; markings give the size and type.
Bare grounding wire
Uninsulated copper grounding wire — bare spools and coils of solid or stranded ground wire.
Extension cords
Heavy-duty job-site extension cords in working condition.
Common sizes we see every day include 12 AWG and 10 AWG building wire, plus 12/2 and 14/2 Romex — but send photos of whatever you have. The markings tell the story.
HOW IT WORKS
Sell your leftover wire in three steps
No trip to the yard first. No hauling rolls around for offers.
1. Send photos of the rolls
Photograph the rolls, the jacket markings, reel tags, and cut ends, plus the quantity. A group shot for scale helps. Email photos to [email protected] or send them through the quote form.
2. Get a fast, free, no-obligation quote
We review what you have and reply with our number fast. No haggling over a scrapyard counter.
3. Sell if you like the number
If the offer works for you, we arrange the sale. If it doesn't, no hard feelings — the quote is free and there is no obligation.
RESALE VS. SCRAP
When leftover wire may be worth more than scrap
Not every roll is resale inventory. Here's the honest split:
May beat scrap value
A recognizable product an electrician would buy — Romex, THHN, MC cable — with an undamaged jacket, intact ends, and enough length left on the roll to be useful. That's resale inventory, and it may sell for more than the price of the copper inside it. The free quote is how you find out.
Scrap-only material
Short cutoffs too stubby to wire with, burnt or heat-damaged wire, crushed or nicked jackets, and copper-clad aluminum (CCA) wire. That material belongs at the scrapyard — it's priced for the metal inside, not for reuse.
Not sure which side your wire falls on? Send photos — that's what the quote is for →
WIRE BUYER — BASED NEAR CHICAGO
A buyer for wire anywhere in the country
Ironcrest Industrial Surplus is based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, and buys usable wire anywhere in the country — for the right load, I’ll travel to see it. Chicago-area is home turf: Schaumburg, Palatine, Arlington Heights, Elgin, and everywhere in between. But distance doesn’t stop a good deal — we buy usable wire wherever it is.
Have heavy cable or bus bar too? See our Chicago copper wire buying page →
Contractor with shop surplus? See our contractor surplus page →
GET STARTED
Get your free, no-obligation wire quote
Send photos of your leftover wire rolls — Romex, THHN, MC cable, extension cords — and get our number fast. Free quote, no obligation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Leftover wire questions, answered.
Is my leftover wire worth more than scrap?
It may be, when it's a recognizable, undamaged product in a meaningful length — a roll of Romex or THHN an electrician would buy is resale inventory, not furnace feed. The free quote is what determines which side your wire falls on.
What kinds of wire do you buy?
Usable wire on the roll: Romex/NM-B, THHN/THWN, MC cable, AC/BX cable, UF-B, SEU/SER, SOOW portable cord, welding cable, tray cable, XHHW, bare grounding wire, and extension cords. Send clear photos of the jacket markings, gauge, and quantity.
How do I get a quote?
Send photos of the rolls, the jacket markings, reel tags, and cut ends, plus the quantity. You'll get a fast, free, no-obligation quote — no trip to the yard first.
Do you buy burnt or damaged wire?
Burnt, heat-damaged, crushed, or very short cutoff wire is scrap-only — it can't be resold, so the scrapyard is the right outlet for it. We buy wire that still has usable life left in it.
Should I strip the insulation off before selling?
No — usable wire sells intact on the roll. Stripping turns resale inventory into scrap. Send photos first; leave the jacket on.
How do I know if my wire is really copper?
Check the jacket markings first — they tell you the type and gauge. For the conductor itself, take a careful look at an exposed or cut end: copper shows copper all the way through. Copper-clad aluminum can look copper on the outside but shows a silver-gray core when cut or lightly filed — that's CCA, not solid copper, and it's priced differently. Don't use a flame or lighter test; a careful visual check is all you need.
What area do you serve?
Anywhere in the country. Ironcrest Industrial Surplus is based in Rolling Meadows, Illinois (Chicago area) — and for the right load, we’ll travel to see it.
Who buys leftover wire rolls in the Chicago area?
We do. If your wire is still usable — on the roll, jacket intact, markings readable — Ironcrest Industrial Surplus buys it for resale value, which may be more than a scrapyard pays for the copper inside. Partial rolls count; there's no minimum beyond "worth quoting," and the free quote tells you where your wire lands.
Have leftover wire rolls to sell? Send photos and get a fast, free, no-obligation quote — email [email protected] or call 312-880-8174.
WHY SEND PHOTOS FIRST
Identification protects value.
Usable wire keeps its value when we can identify it. Jacket markings, reel tags, and a careful look at a cut conductor tell us whether wire is resale-grade copper, copper-clad aluminum, or scrap-only. Send photos before anything gets cut down for the yard.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Leftover wire questions, answered.
Who buys leftover copper wire?
Ironcrest Industrial Surplus buys leftover and scrap copper wire — partial spools, cutoffs, demo wire, and full truckloads — from contractors and shops nationwide. Text photos to 312-880-8174.
What kinds of copper wire do you buy?
We buy THHN, Romex, service entrance cable, armored cable, bare copper wire, and communications cable — stripped or insulated, on spools or loose.
Do you buy small quantities of wire?
Yes. From a single partial spool to a full cleanout, we buy it. Text photos to 312-880-8174.
How is copper wire priced?
Pricing depends on the wire grade, gauge, condition, and current market. We never publish per-pound prices — text photos for a current quote.
Do you pick up wire?
Yes. We coordinate pickup and travel anywhere in the country for the right load, so you never have to haul it to the yard.