Submitted by a hardware store owner on the copper saga...

I spent part of the weekend updating price lists for the hardware store and the items which are heavily reliant on copper have seen incredible increases in price recently. For instance a 1/2" x 10" Type-M length of hard copper tubing cost me slightly less than $7.00 a month ago. Its now $8.84 per length for an increase in excess of 25%

Another example is extension cords, particularly contractor style cords. A 14/3 100′ good quality cord would cost me about $23.50 which I often sell in bulk for $29.99. I checked the price this afternoon for a re-stock order and my cost is now $28.35 each!

Outside of paint we had been experiencing relatively minor increases in price this year but this is clearly a quick shift that I feel will quickly make its way up the supply chain to the retail level. I simply cannot sell something for $29.99 when I am paying $28.35 for it!