You might be surprised how old a laptop can be to still have some value.  Many times older used laptops are used for parts for business who are wishing to extend their investment in their current fleet of laptops.  In other situations, an older laptop works just fine for businessman who needs a portable device for word processing, spreadsheets, e-mail, and occasional Internet surfing.  Last, an older model used laptop may be of value to someone in another country where technology is not as prevalent.  Of course, the value is also determined by other factors such as the used laptop brand.  At Side Street Technology, we purchase laptops as far back as Pentium II models!

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.

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.

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

• 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.

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.

At Side Street Technology, we purchase most types of mobile computing technology included used Laptops, used Notebooks, used ultra-light laptops.

There are a few brands of used notebooks that standout. IBM (now Lenova) has a well-earned reputation for durable laptops with their ThinkPad brand. IBM ThinkPads hold their value very well.

Additionally, Toshiba and Fujitsu also have excellent reputations for building solid business-class laptops. Last, Apple also makes high quality, well integrated and elegant laptops.

What about the Dell brand? One factor that affects the value of used Dell laptops is their market saturation. Because of their popularity in the marketplace, used Dell notebooks sometimes don’t hold their value quite as high as some other brands, but still can fetch a very reasonable price.

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 is the availabilities of a warranty for used laptops. Just because used notebooks are “used” does not mean they do not come with warranties. At Side Street Technology, we offer either a 30 or 90 day guarantee. Extended warranties are also available for our used notebooks, laptops, and handhelds. Extended warranties can extend the coverage of the unit for 1, 2, or even more years.

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