• qarbone@lemmy.world
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    il y a 2 mois

    I have heard of copper theft but I never looked into the profit margins on it. Since it’s usually mentioned in the context of drug addicts, like you’ve done, I thought it was shit money that only the truly desperate would stoop to.

    • CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      il y a 2 mois

      Per the other commenter, it’s about 10x what steel costs. That’s closer than I was expecting, TBH. Maybe that it comes in easily-cut wire form is a big part of what makes it desirable for thieves.

      Margin is a funny way to put it, though, since there aren’t really any fixed expenses. Like a lot of criminal goods, supply is restricted more by risk of getting arrested than anything else.