How to Sell Used IT Equipment for the Most Money

Making ensuring you get the most out of your equipment requires following the best practises for selling IT equipment.

Thoroughly Document Used IT Equipment

When selling IT equipment, proper paperwork is crucial to a seamless transaction. Also, it is crucial so that you can maximise the value of your equipment, safeguard the value of your IT assets, and check for identification errors.

NOTE: Unless you are very experienced, avoid disassembling your equipment into individual parts. This typically results in a reduction in overall revenue generating. Bare-bones systems have extremely low demand, despite the possibility of additional liquid components.

1. Make Spreadsheet: Used IT Equipment to Sell

General Equipment Guidelines

When selling servers or other large quantities of IT equipment, spreadsheets are very useful. A strong spreadsheet can help you obtain many estimates. Together with the precise information necessary for selling each type of IT equipment

Specific Parts: Detailed Requirements

Servers:

• System Model #s
• Hard Drive or SSD part numbers and quantities
• CPU part numbers or model numbers
• RAM part numbers
• Purchase Dates
• Service tags for any Dell Servers

Storage:

• Systems
• System Model #
• Disk Array Enclosure Model #
• Setup: Unified or Block?
• Drives
• Physical Disk Inventory Report
• OR List of Hard Drives by Part #

Network:

• System Model #s
• Condition
• Purchase Dates
• Pictures if available

Hard Drives:

• Hard Drive Model Numbers: ST1000DM003, OR
• HD Densities: 1TB
• Connectors: SATA
• Spindle Speeds: 7200 RPM
• Conditions: refurbished

CPUs:

• Processor Model Number(s): Intel i7 7700K, AMD Opteron 4386 SE, Intel Xeon E5 2690 V4, etc
• Quantity
• Conditions: Refurbished, broken cap, missing pad, used, new, etc

Memory:

• OEM Part Number: HP, Dell, IBM, etc.
• Mfg Part Number: Samsung, Hynix, Micron
• Quantity and condition

HBA

• HBA Model Number(s): QLE2672 OR
• Step Code: 832938043305
• Quantity
• Conditions: refurbished, new, etc.

Graphics Cards

• Equipment Condition– New in the box, refurbished, used
• Part Numbers
• Brand– EVGA, Nvidia, AMD, MSI
• Overclocked Y/N?
• Total Quantity

Computers

• System
• Model and OS: (Lenovo Thinkcentre m700, Windows 10)
• RAM Memory Specs & Quantity: (16GB DDR4, 12x)
• Drives
• Hard Drive Capacity: (1.8TB)
• CPUs, Model number & quantity: Intel Core I7 7700 7th gen, 2x

2. Take Pictures of Products & Product Numbers

This helps to demonstrate the condition of the used IT equipment, and the product numbers confirm exactly what it is, which is critical for accurate valuation and quotes. Without this, a quote could easily deviate significantly by incorporating a different part.

There are numerous variations of various types of equipment, and a small difference between components can make a significant difference in resale price, as discussed in our common mistakes when selling computer equipment and illustrated in our diagram.

3. Contact Different ITAD Vendors to get Quotes on Used IT Equipment

When you have a large amount of IT equipment to sell, it is critical to understand your inventory and explore your options. For those who have a large quantity of equipment, you should sell IT equipment to Equipment HQ to an ITAD vendor rather than trying to sell it on eBay, Amazon, Reddit, or any of the other potential outlets for a variety of reasons.

Contact multiple ITAD vendors because each operation has different pricing structures for the same equipment based on what they can do with it after purchasing it. If you don’t contact multiple companies and have a large amount of equipment, you could be throwing money away.

Make certain to inquire about shipping. Will they cover the cost of packaging and shipping, or will you? This is an important concept to grasp and incorporate into quotes to ensure that you are adjusting appropriately.

Shipping is not a place to cut corners in order to save money, as it can easily end up costing you far more than the cost of shipping if your IT assets are not properly packed.

4. Choose your ITAD Vendor

Think about all of your options and make the best decision. We recommend that you think about:

Price (including shipping considerations) (including shipping considerations)
R2 certification for data erasure policies
Trust is a difficult to measure but important factor to consider. We didn’t include it above because it is difficult to measure and compare in importance. You should have faith that any ITAD companies you are considering have your best interests in mind, as they should be assisting you in getting the most value out of your equipment so that they can as well.

You and your ITAD company should work together, not against each other!

5. Ship your Used IT Equipment (Very Carefully!)

When original packaging is available, it is always preferable. Shipping is an important part of selling used IT equipment, and as previously stated, shipping costs should always be addressed early in the process.

Because many people are unsure how to properly package their equipment, resulting in damaged equipment, we put together a collection of hardware packing instructional videos to help guide you and ensure that your equipment arrives in the same condition it left in.

Condition of Your Equipment AFTER ARRIVAL Is Most Important

It makes no difference whether your used IT equipment “was in good working condition” when you sent it if it does not arrive in good working condition. Then we or another ITAD vendor will be unable to sell it and may be forced to scrap it or invest time, effort, and materials in repairing it.

Regardless of which platform you use or whether you sell to an ITAD vendor or not, this will have an impact on everyone’s bottom line and may cause a lot of headaches. Packaging is important, so keep that in mind! Most ITAD vendors will provide packaging for larger orders, and if they do not, this should be considered when comparing quotes.