Sell Your Circuit Breakers
Breakers are what we buy the most of. One breaker in a garage or forty pallets from a warehouse buyout — we've bought both, and everything in between. You don't need to know what it's worth. That's our job.
The fastest way to get paid: take a picture of the label on the breaker and text it to (951) 903-9804. A real person looks at it — usually within the hour — and tells you what we'll pay. No lists to fill out, no waiting a week for an email.
Types of circuit breakers we buy
If it interrupts current, we're interested. The big three for us are molded case breakers (the gray bricks in every commercial panel), insulated case breakers, and the larger air power breakers that come out of switchgear. We buy residential loadcenter breakers too when there's quantity.
Condition matters less than people think. New in the box is worth the most, but clean used breakers sell steadily, and obsolete frames — the stuff nobody makes anymore — are often worth more than the new equivalent because somebody, somewhere, has a forty-year-old panel that needs exactly that breaker to pass inspection.
- Molded case breakers — 15A to 2,500A frames
- Insulated case and air power breakers, fixed or drawout
- Vacuum and medium-voltage breakers
- Obsolete and discontinued frames (often the best payouts)
- Trip units, rating plugs, and breaker accessories
Brands that get our attention
Square D, Eaton, Cutler-Hammer, General Electric, Siemens, ABB, Westinghouse, Allen-Bradley, Federal Pacific, Zinsco — we buy all of them. The label photo tells us the frame, the amperage, and the vintage, which is why one picture is worth more than a paragraph of description.
Old Westinghouse and GE air breakers deserve a special mention: if you have a lineup gathering dust, don't scrap it. The reusable market pays multiples of scrap value for those.
How a breaker deal actually goes
You text or email photos of the labels. We reply with a number — per piece for the valuable frames, by the lot for mixed piles. If you like the number, we pay by check or cash and we arrange the freight. Small lots ship to us prepaid; big lots we come load ourselves. Local sellers drop off at our Corona, California yard and leave with payment the same day.
We've been doing this as a family business for over 15 years. The reason contractors call us back is simple: the number we quote is the number we pay. Nobody re-trades you at the dock.
What drives a breaker's price
Breaker value is replacement demand, not weight. The question we are answering when we price your lot is how many facilities still need that exact frame and rating, and how easily they can get one new. When the answer is 'many facilities, and they cannot buy new,' the price goes up sharply.
Completeness is the second lever. A breaker with its trip unit, rating plug, and mounting hardware present is worth substantially more than a bare frame, because the buyer does not have to source parts. Sorting is the third: forty like breakers on a pallet price better than the same forty in a barrel, because we can grade them accurately instead of conservatively.
| Molded case, 15–1,200A | Highest volume; sell in sorted lots |
|---|---|
| Molded case, 1,600–2,500A frames | Strong individual value |
| Insulated case breakers | High value, especially complete |
| LV air power breakers (drawout) | Industrial demand; worth removing carefully |
| MV vacuum and air breakers | Heaviest value; we handle removal |
| Obsolete lines (FPE, Zinsco, old Westinghouse, early Square D) | Frequently out-price new equivalents |
| Trip units, rating plugs, accessories | Bought separately — do not discard |
How to prepare a breaker lot for the best number
Sort by manufacturer first, then amperage. Stack on pallets rather than loose in drums — loose handling chips cases and bends lugs, and damaged units price lower. Keep trip units and rating plugs with their breakers rather than in a separate bucket.
For photos, one clear label shot per distinct type plus a count is enough. You do not need forty pictures of forty identical breakers. Anything unusual, old, or large deserves its own photo from a couple of angles. Daylight, label facing the camera, no flash glare across the print.
If the breakers are still in panels, leave them there. We would rather buy a loaded panelboard intact than a bin of breakers that were pried out, and you save yourself the labor.
- Sort by manufacturer and amperage
- Palletize; avoid loose drums and barrels
- Keep trip units, plugs, and hardware attached
- One legible label photo per type, plus a count
- Leave loaded panels intact — we remove them
Before you scrap anything, send one photo
Scrap is priced by weight. Used electrical equipment is priced by what the next facility needs, and those two numbers are rarely close. A scrapyard has no reason to tell you that the item in your hand keeps a plant running somewhere.
There is no cost to finding out. Text photos to (951) 903-9804 — labels and nameplates if you can get them, wide shots if you cannot — and you will have a real number, usually the same day. If the honest answer is that your lot is only worth scrap, we will tell you that too, and you have lost nothing but a text message.
Common questions
What information do you need to quote my breakers?
A photo of the label on each breaker type — that shows us the catalog number, amperage, and frame. For big mixed lots, wide shots of the pallets plus a few label close-ups are enough to get you a solid range.
Do you buy breakers pulled out of service?
Yes. Used breakers in working condition are the bread and butter of this business. We test everything on our end, so you don't need to certify anything.
Are obsolete breakers really worth anything?
Often more than the new ones. Discontinued frames are the only fix for older panels, so demand stays strong while supply shrinks every year. Never scrap old breakers before sending us a photo.
Is there a minimum quantity?
No. One valuable breaker is worth a text. That said, the freight math works better with volume, so if you have a shelf full, sell the shelf.
Do you buy breakers that were never installed?
New-in-box overage is the best material in this category and earns close to wholesale pricing. Contractors who over-order routinely sell us the balance of a job.
Will you buy a mixed pallet I have not sorted?
Yes. Sorting improves the number because it lets us price precisely, but unsorted lots are normal and we buy them constantly. Send wide shots plus close-ups of anything that looks unusual.
Related pages
Ready to sell? Call or text (951) 903-9804 or email photos to sellelectricalequipment@gmail.com.
Got equipment to sell?
Call or text us photos. We'll give you a price and take it from there.