California Wire Buyers buys electrical wire and cable, including usable surplus reels, leftover job wire and scrap copper wire. We pick up anywhere in California and put offers in writing before pickup. Send reel tags, cable photos and your city so we can review what you have.
California wire buyers for surplus and scrap
An unused reel and a bin of pulled-out wire are different purchases. We look at usable surplus as electrical inventory, with value tied to its specifications, condition and continuous length. Scrap copper is evaluated for its recoverable metal, not as a replacement for new cable.
| What you have | Buying category | What helps us evaluate it |
|---|---|---|
| New full reels or protected unused partials | Usable surplus | Original labels, footage and storage history |
| Overstock, job leftovers or cut-reel remnants | Surplus review | Exact product and remaining continuous length |
| Used, damaged or short copper wire | Scrap copper | Clear photos, wire type and separated material |
| Stripped or bare copper | Product or scrap review | Size, condition, quantity and source |
Our surplus wire buyers page explains unused inventory. For removed conductors and mixed cutoffs, use scrap copper wire buyers. The copper wire buyers page covers copper in both categories. Keep uncertain material separate until we identify it.
Electrical wire and cable families we review
We buy electrical wire used across building, industrial, renewable-energy and communications work. Product names help, but the actual reel label and cable print identify the construction. Our electrical wire buyers page groups material by application; the wire and cable catalog lists the individual families.
- THHN and THWN-2 building wire: single conductors on small spools, master reels and partial reels.
- XHHW-2 copper and aluminum: feeder inventory identified by metal, size and printed ratings.
- Romex-brand NM-B and UF-B cable: residential cable in unused coils, boxes and reels.
- MC cable: branch-circuit coils and larger metal-clad feeder cable, with construction details that matter.
- Solar PV wire: string wire and larger conductors carrying their own PV markings and voltage ratings.
- Medium-voltage cable: shielded power cable requiring attention to end seals, insulation level and documentation.
- Tray cable: multiconductor power and control products identified by conductor count, size and listing.
- Portable cord: bulk SOOW, SJOOW and related flexible power products, plus cut lengths for review.
Low-voltage cable and fiber can also have reusable value. They should not be lumped together with copper feeder wire for a single weight-based estimate.
Small spools through large feeder reels
Tell us the printed conductor size, not just the outside cable diameter. We review branch-circuit stock such as 14, 12 and 10 AWG, feeder sizes from 8 AWG through 4/0, and large kcmil (MCM) conductors. Available sizes vary by cable family and manufacturer.
The wire sizes guide explains AWG, aught sizes and larger conductors. Size alone does not identify a product: 12 AWG single-conductor building wire differs from 12/2 cable with ground. Include every conductor size shown on a multiconductor tag, including the neutral and ground.
Pickup anywhere in California
We pick up anywhere in California, from San Diego and Orange County to Los Angeles, the Bay Area and Sacramento. Call (951) 903-9804 to set up a pickup.
The California service area includes Southern California, the Bay Area, Sacramento, the Central Valley and other California regions. For regional details, see Los Angeles wire buyers, San Diego wire buyers, Orange County wire buyers and Inland Empire wire buyers.
Location and loading access belong in the first conversation. A heavy wooden reel behind a narrow gate presents different handling needs from boxed cable at a loading dock. Tell us about forklifts, access restrictions and any deadline to clear the material. We confirm pickup arrangements for the actual lot rather than assuming every site works alike.
Contractors, project teams and inventory owners
Electrical contractors may have partial reels after a conduit pull or unused stock after a change order. Solar crews can have PV wire, grounding conductors and collection cable left at closeout. Data-center teams may be clearing power cable alongside network and fiber inventory.
Distributors bring a different mix: slow-moving stock, cut-reel remnants and overstock in multiple colors or sizes. Plants and facilities may hold maintenance spares or capital-project leftovers. Demolition contractors can have removed copper wire that belongs in the scrap category.
Our seller overview helps you identify the details relevant to your situation. Explain who owns the material and who has authority to sell it. A contractor holding wire at a job site is not automatically its owner.
What to send for a mixed-lot offer
A photo of the whole yard shows scale, but cannot establish cable specifications. Close pictures let us separate reusable inventory from scrap and identify questions before discussing collection. For a mixed lot, send:
- One overview showing how many reels, coils, boxes and scrap containers are present.
- A readable tag photo for each different product, with its reel ID visible.
- Cable-print closeups that show type, conductor size, metal and voltage where marked.
- Remaining footage, labeled as measured, tag-listed or estimated rather than treated as certain.
- Separate photos of unused stock, pulled-out wire, stripped copper and damaged cable.
- Notes on outdoor storage, wet ends, missing packaging or rewound reels.
- The California storage city, loading equipment, site access and ownership documents available.
Do not remove labels or cut an intact reel just to make the lot easier to describe. If the tag and cable printing disagree, photograph both. An old tag on a reused spool may identify a product that is no longer on it.
Written terms and documented material
We confirm the offer, payment method and payment timing in writing before pickup. A reel's gross weight includes packaging and non-copper components, so it is not a copper-weight figure. Footage, identity and condition need to match the material being offered.
The detailed transaction sequence belongs on how selling wire works. For scrap copper, we follow California's applicable seller-record, identification, photo, thumbprint, ownership-statement and payment-timing requirements. This is a summary, not legal advice; transaction requirements and exceptions depend on the circumstances.
Keep the useful information with the wire
Retain original labels, reel numbers and any purchase or project records. Note whether each package is unopened, partially used or rewound, and identify separate cut lengths rather than adding them into one supposed continuous run.
The wire selling guides explain footage, product identification and the difference between reel value and scrap value. If the material is already sorted, preserve that separation. A clear inventory helps prevent usable cable from being assessed as an unidentified scrap pile.
Common questions
Can one California job have both surplus reels and scrap wire?
Yes. A closeout lot can contain unused feeder reels alongside pulled-out copper and short cutoffs. Describe those groups separately and photograph each one. We can review both, but reusable inventory and scrap need different information. Keep original tags with unused stock rather than combining everything into an unidentified pile.
Does California Wire Buyers purchase cable outside California?
No. Our buying area is California only, including both coastal and inland locations. Tell us where the material is physically stored, not just your company's billing address. If your business has yards in several states, identify the California inventory separately so the offer and pickup discussion cover the correct lot.
What if my wire lot contains types I cannot identify?
Start with an overall photo, then take close pictures of any readable labels and repeated printing on the cable. Do not guess the conductor metal or voltage from jacket color. Tell us which reels are unused and which came from demolition or equipment removal, and flag any missing tags or unknown history.