Side Street Technology Blog

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.