Side Street Technology Blog

At Side Street Technology, we work with you to ensure your data wiping standards are met and your company’s intellectual capital will not be compromised on your used laptops.

Our standard method is to simply reformat and reimage the disk with a new install of Microsoft Windows or other operating systems.  For most companies, this method is sufficient and allows the unit to be sold without your data.

For companies that want a more secure method on their used laptops, a data wipe is necessary.  To put it in simple terms, a data wipe writes 1 and/or 0s over the entire disk.  Our first option is to offer a single pass.  However, if you a single pass of 1s and/or 0s has been completed, real hackers can still obtain your data because the information is still magnetized on the drive. For customers, that need a more secure data wipe, multiple passes of 1s and/or 0s can be made on the disk.  The US Department of Defense (DOD) recommends either 3 times or 7 times, or even the Gutmann recommendation of 35 times.  To reach this number of data wipe passes is quite time consuming and expensive.  At  Side Street Technology, we typically offer a 1 pass data wipe if necessary for your used laptops.

Are you interested in selling your used laptops, but concerned someone will obtain your sensitive data?  This is a common concern and there are a few options.  First, you can choose to re-image or wipe the used laptops yourself.  If you do not have the time to clean the used laptop harddrive, you can ask the vendor to do it.  At Side Street Technology, all operational used laptops are re-imaged with a new OS.  Additionally, for parts units or upon request for operational units, Side Street Technology will wipe your used laptop harddirves with a one pass of 1s and 0s over the entire disk.  Certificates are provided if needed for your audit records and confirm that the used laptop harddrives have been wiped.  Last, you company has the option to pull the used laptop harddrives and have them shredded at a recycle company.  Your used laptops may still have value even without the harddrives.

Did you know that your obsolete laptop may be worth more than you think?  Obsolete laptops can be used for parts to refurbish other used laptops.   The value of an obsolete laptop will be determined by a few criteria.

First, the manufacturer and model of the obsolete laptop is taken into account in determining value.  The manufacturer and model determine the technical specifications for the used laptop including processor speed, RAM size, Harddrive size, and optical drive type.  Additionally, some brands and models may have more value than others depending on how rare the used laptop is or how saturated the market is for that model.

Second, the completeness of the obsolete laptop is taken into account.  Does the laptop have the majority of its significant components including RAM and the Harddrive?

Third, the condition of the obsolete laptop is considered.  Are the significant components operational including the Motherboard, RAM, or Harddrive?  Is the casing in good condition?

 At Side Street Technology, we purchase obsolete laptops if they can be used or sold for parts.  If the obsolete laptops cannot be utilized for parts, we will recycle the units.  Selling obsolete laptops is quick and easy.   For more information about buying your used obsolete laptops, please contact Side Street Technology.

Is your company looking to sell a lot of used laptops that are ready to be retired? Vendors are available that will purchase your used laptops as a wholesale lot. There are also a few advantages to selling used laptops in wholesale lots. One reason is that it saves you time. When used laptops are sold individually, each unit must be assessed to determine its configuration and condition. It can be very time consuming to assess each used laptop. On the other hand, when used laptops are sold in wholesale lots, the value received per laptop will be less than if the used laptops were sold individually. By comparing the value of your time that it would take to assess each used laptop with the lower price you would receive by selling the used laptops in wholesale lots, you will be able to determine which option is best for your company

If you are interested selling your used laptops as a wholesale lot, please contact Side Street Technology.

In addition to selecting the right packaging material, wrap each used laptop with bubble wrap. We recommend:

• Wrap the used laptop with one layer
• Either make a second wrap to get the 2 remaining sides or cover the sides with a small piece of bubble wrap
• Make sure the used laptop corners are wrapped
• Use ½ inch bubble wrap

Once each used laptop is wrapped and placed in the box, fill the remaining area with packaging peanuts.

Don’t forget to include the battery, A/C adapter, plus any manuals and software CDs that you have.

Packing used laptops is not too complicated, but care should be given, especially to ensure displays do not become cracked. Here are a few guidelines and things to remember:

Select the right box

Make sure that you choose a box that will get your used laptops to Side Street Technology safely. A few recommendations when selecting the right box:

• Use a corrugated cardboard box
• The box should be at least two inches bigger on all four sides of the used laptops
• The box should be at least six inches taller than the height of the used laptops
• Don’t place too many used laptops in a single box. We recommend 3 layers of 4 laptops or 12 per box.

This series of articles focuses on the factors driving the used notebook market – meaning the reasons used notebooks and laptops are popular.

Another reason that buying used laptops is popular is that buyers can now purchase used units with confidence enabled by reduced risk.

One factor for reduced risk of purchasing a used notebook is that they are very durable. They are built to be portable and have few moving parts. Though some notebook brands and models with be more durable than others, their overall durability provides buyers assurance that a used notebook will last a long time.

In addition to their durability, not all used notebooks are sold because there is something wrong with the unit. Corporations, in particular, have IT departments that ensure employees take good care of the equipment that is loaned to them by their employer.

Because of the demand for used notebooks and laptops, the market for your businesses to sell your used equipment is strong.

There are four common methods of retiring a laptop including:

1. Throw it away
2. Sell it to a used equipment dealer
3. Sell it or give it to an employee
4. Donate it to charity

Guess which costs the most? No, it’s not throwing it away. It’s selling or giving it to an employee!

No matter which method you choose, old programs and files must be removed from the laptop. However, when you sell or give the used laptop to an employee, you also have to prepare and test the system for the new employee. Reinstalling software and customizing the system for the new user can be time consuming. Selling the used laptop to employees, rather than giving it as a perk, can help you recover some of these costs, but you still have to advertise the sale and track and record the transaction. Don’t forget that you might have to take the laptop back if there is a problem.

Giving a computer to a charity is almost as expensive. Yes, you get a tax write-off but you generally have to clean and prepare the system, assign a price (that the IRS will accept) and do some record-keeping.

When you throw the laptop away, you don’t recover any value from the unit, especially having taken the time to clean the unit. Also, laptops should be handled in a more environmentally friendly manner through recycling.

Selling it to a used equipment dealer who buys used laptops can be a nice alternative, especially if the vendor specializes in buying used laptops. A vendor that specializes in buying used laptops can clean the system for you and provide a certificate for your records. Even if you still desire to clean the laptops yourself, you don’t have the expense of installing software and reconfiguring the system.

A vender that specializes in buying used laptops may be able to offer you the most value.

So, what’s a used laptop worth?

Did you know that your used laptops may be worth more than you might think? Because laptops are small, they can be shipped at low cost helping enable a strong after market for used units. Additionally, used laptops can be great starter computers for kids, students going to college, or for businessman with basic computing needs such as word processing, e-mail, and Internet browsing.

Vendors that buy used laptops look for several criteria to determine the value of a unit including brand/model, specifications, and condition.

Brands, Models and Laptop Value

The first factor that vendors who buy used laptops look at in determining the value of a used laptop is the brand and model. That’s correct, it’s not age. While age is a factor, more important is the brand and model. A five year old Toshiba 6100 might have more value than a three year old Dell Latitude, for example. The brand and model determine the technical specifications of the unit. The key specifications of the used laptop that determines value is:

• Processor Type (Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium IV)
• Processor Speed
• RAM size
• Hard Drive size
• Optical Drive Type
• OS Type (Win XP, Win 2K, Win NT, Win ME, Win 98)

Vendors that buy used laptops also look at the supply and demand of a particular brand and model. Some units are harder to find while other models have been saturated in the market. Harder to find models of used laptops will often times have greater value.

Weight and size can also add to the value of the unit. Ultra-light laptops can sometimes bring greater value to vendors that buy used laptops. On the flip side, heavier units which are powerful and are used for “laptop” desktops can also bring greater value.

Some models are known to have certain issues and that can affect pricing. For example, on certain models of Dell Latitudes, the mouse embedded in the keyboard makes an indention on the screen.

You will find that all brands including Dell, IBM/Lenova, HP/Compaq, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, and ACER will have units that run the spectrum of value.

Vendors that buy used laptops may offer a couple of options to obtain a quote and buy your units.

Option 1: Specific Quote

For a specific quote, you provide detailed information about the specifications of the used laptops or information such as Service Tags where the specifications can be obtained from the manufacturer’s Web site. Information that is needed includes:

1) Number of units

2) Hardware specifications

Model Number
Processor Speed
RAM size
Hard Drive size
Optical Drive Type
OS Type (Win 98, Win XP, Win 2K)
OS COA sticker on bottom (Y/N)

3) Condition of units (operational, partially operational, parts, recyclable)

Option 2: General Quote (after shipping quote)

For the professional that is too busy to assess their used laptops, units can be assessed by the equipment vendor after the units are shipped. A price is agreed upon after the units are assessed.