How to Sell Used Servers

Whenever a business goes through a transitional period, be it a merger, a relocation, or an IT infrastructure upgrade, it can often be left with an excess of used servers and other hardware that no longer hold any operational value to the company. But, just because the servers are no longer being used in the day-to-day business operations doesn’t mean that they don’t still hold some financial value. Businesses can sell used servers to a company like Liquid Technology for a return on their investment, and here’s how to do it.

1. Create an inventory of the used servers you need to sell.  Be sure to include details such as make/model and specs if possible.  A good example would be – DL380 G5 w/ 2x E5450 processors, 16GB of memory, 4x 146GB 15K hard drives.  Remember the more information you can provide the more value you can recover, so while it seems like a daunting task, it can payoff in the end.
2. Once you have a list of the equipment it’s time to explore the marketplace and find out what your servers are worth.  Contact a few companies that specialize in buying used servers and see what they can offer you.
3. After you’ve received all of the quotes it’s time to decide which buyer you want to work with.  Obviously, the price of the offer is a big factor, but make sure you cover yourself from any security or environmental liability.  If they are performing data destruction on the hard drives they should be a member of NAID and have liability insurance.  Ask for a sample data destruction report and certificate so you can see exactly what proof you will receive that your data was destroyed.  Also find out what their environmental policy is in case some of your servers need to be recycled.  They should be ISO 14001 certified and use E-Stewards as their downstream partners.  The last thing you would want is your data to be leaked or your used servers to be found polluting a river in China, so it is very important to make sure you are covered.
4. Now that you’ve made your decision it’s time to pack the servers up and get them ready for shipment.  If that’s not something you can or want to do, the buyer should be able to provide that service.
5. If you were not paid at the time of the pickup then you should expect a check within 30 days.  In addition, you should also receive your data destruction report if that was a service you requested.

Liquid Technology makes it easy for you to sell used servers and other IT equipment with our simple, hassle-free process. We meet or exceed all of the above certifications and provide a suite of award-winning asset management services including secure on- or off-site data destruction, e-waste recycling and disposal, and more.