Copper Wire Stripping Becomes TikTok Trend as Metal Prices Surge
A growing number of TikTok creators are documenting the process of stripping copper wire to sell for scrap, capitalizing on record-high copper prices and potential TikTok earnings.
What happened
TikTok users across multiple languages are posting videos of themselves stripping copper wire from appliances and industrial materials to sell as scrap metal. The participants include electricians, hobbyists, teenagers, and people saving for specific purchases. One creator, @Courtney2291, documented a six-month effort to strip copper wire to save $20,000 for a home down payment, announcing she reached her goal in October. However, her earnings from actual copper sales totaled only $99 for 30 pounds stripped over six months; most of her fundraising came from TikTok video views ($1,446 from a single video with 6.8 million views). Other popular creators like King of Copper and Queen of Copper operate at larger scale, stripping hundreds of pounds of wire from bulk purchases, and have amassed hundreds of thousands of followers.
Context
Copper prices reached an all-time high in September at approximately $14,473 per metric ton ($7.23 per pound), more than double September 2020 levels, creating economic incentive for scrap collection. Stripped copper commands significantly higher prices than insulated copper, motivating resellers to remove insulation themselves. Economic research suggests copper theft rates increase when metal prices rise and when economic distress is high enough to make the potential returns outweigh legal risks. The visibility and virality of wire-stripping content on TikTok—with some accounts reaching hundreds of thousands of followers—indicates the trend has shifted from individual scrap collection to a documented social media phenomenon, though the actual financial returns from copper sales appear modest for most participants compared to potential TikTok earnings.