The Two Part Dilemma

Used Network Equipment – Well the time has come that you have decided to upgrade your networking equipment and you need to sell, recycle or dispose of your old networking equipment.. The reasons are varied but generally fall into two categories. One, the equipment can not provide new functionality that your growing business requires or, Two, the equipment doesn’t have the capacity to handle the volume of business your growing company is generating with only future needs for capacity on the horizon. So we’ve made the decision to upgrade our network equipment to meet our ever growing demands. So that leads us to the first part of our dilemma. Well the time has come that you have decided to upgrade your networking equipment. The reasons are varied but generally fall into two categories. One, the equipment can not provide new functionality that your growing business requires or, Two, the equipment doesn’t have the capacity to handle the volume of business your growing company is generating with only future needs for capacity on the horizon. So we’ve made the decision to upgrade our network equipment to meet our ever growing demands. So that leads us to the first part of our dilemma.

Buy New or Used?

The simplest and most reliable choice for networking equipment is to buy new equipment from one of the major network equipment suppliers like Cisco, Juniper, Arista or Aruba. You will have it all, delivery, performance, reliability, service and warranty just to name a few. Problem is that it comes with a major downside which is cost. So your overall upgrade can become one of tradeoffs of what you need in your network as compared to what you can afford. Many startups and smaller companies can not afford the price tag of going with new gear. Even if you have the numbers that show the long term ROI, coming up with the big nut for going new makes the choice out of reach for many companies. So buying used can come at a big discount that can be as much as 10-20% of what you would be paying for new gear yet the gimmies of new, delivery, performance, reliability, service and warranty become fraught with potential issues that could leave you holding the bag, a bag full of problems that make you wish you would have chosen the new gear path.

Buying Used

So here are things to keep in mind while selecting not only the used equipment but the companies that will be providing the equipment and service for your network.

What does “used” really mean?

 There’s a big difference between equipment that is simply “used” and equipment that is refurbished and deemed “certified pre-owned.”  You do not want to purchase equipment that is simply “used” as you are entering the Wild Wild West of buying equipment. It is most often untested, may not fully meet the manufacturers specifications, have outdated firmware that may not be able to be upgraded and/ or not come with any type of warranty. Yes you can get it dirt cheap but as the saying goes….you get what you pay for.

Warranty

You should always check to see if the equipment has a manufacturer’s warranty still active on the equipment but also make sure that warranty is transferable upon the sale of the equipment. Also some suppliers have agreements with the equipment manufacturers such that they can offer extended warranties for your purchase.

Delivery

One of the big advantages of buying used equipment is that the products are very often in stock ready for immediate shipment. With today’s supply chain issues getting delivery of new equipment can be challenging.

Spare Parts

One of the many hidden costs of network upgrades is the cost of spare parts to assure you maximize your uptime on the network. Buying used at much lower costs allows you to keep the necessary spare parts on hand so that equipment outages become short term affairs.

It’s good for the environment

As we all try to be good stewards of the environment, dealing with electronics that contain heavy and rare metals as well as plastics that last centuries can be challenging. So buying used equipment helps slow down the onslaught of harmful substances being produced that eventually find their way into our landfills and ultimately soil and groundwater.

 

So What To Do With The Old Equipment – Sell, Recycle or Dispose

 

Sell

This option is the best as it will give you funds that will go directly to the bottom line on your ROI. While it does take a little work to organize the equipment you would like to sell, there are companies like TeleTraders that can manage as little or as much of the process of disposing your old networking equipment. They can handle all of the process:

• • A phone call to discuss the used equipment you would like to sell
  • Sending your equipment for evaluation
  • Onsite evaluation of your equipment
  • Sorting and processing to determine a fair price for your equipment

Recycle

There is an ever-growing need today to ensure that nothing goes back into our beautiful planet. With the rising importance of green initiatives, more companies than ever before are looking to recycle their IT assets and old office equipment. We strive to keep any and all technology hardware from ever making it into the e-waste landfill. Equipment will be processed by R2 Certified Recylers such that the handling, processing and disposition of OEM material, asset management material and/or commodity materials will be handled in compliance with all applicable health, safety, environmental, and transportation regulations and requirements. Certificates of Recycling can be provided to confirm the proper handling of the equipment.

Disposition

If your equipment is so old that it may not have much value or if you want the equipment destroyed for security reasons. Make sure your reseller can supply a Certificate of Destruction to assure that all information on your equipment is permanently destroyed.