Sell Servers Online Right Now
If you’re most interested in getting a quote for what your servers are worth, you can go ahead and click that link to go to our server buyback page. You would simply fill out a short form at the top of the page with what servers you’ve got. Shortly thereafter you’ll receive a purchase offer if we would be a good fit for you (we do have a $1000 purchase minimum).
So you’ve got some servers laying around and you want to know the best place to sell them? You’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll discuss the most reasonable places to sell your used servers and what the pros and cons are for each option.
Otherwise, let’s go over some key principles for selling servers in general.
Data security
If you are planning to shred or discard your drives separately from the server resale process, you can disregard this section.
Otherwise, proper data security practices are the most important aspect of your endeavors to sell your servers. Get the insider information from our Blog: Are Old Systems Spilling Secrets?
If your organization doesn’t have specific data erasure policies to adhere to such as NIST, a single pass drive overwrite will do. One pass is generally considered sufficient by most authorities on data security.
Communicating hardware information and inventory
It’s very difficult to list and/or sell your servers online if you do not possess all of the information on your hardware. Most data centers and enterprises have outdated inventory management logs.
You will likely find it in your best interest to do a comprehensive discovery session before beginning the server sale process.
For consumer purposes, getting the model numbers / part numbers / total quantities Will do. You’ll want this info mostly for drives, processors, gpus, raid cards, and RAM. Photographing the servers themselves should be sufficient to advertise your hardware online.
If the server itself has little demand, it may be easier to strip the chassis of its components and sell them individually.
However, we do not recommend this unless you’ve exhausted other options or are very familiar with the IT market.
Best Places to Sell Used Servers: Our List
eBay
eBay is a titan in the recommerce arena, but it’s definitely more consumer-centric and does have drawbacks for enterprise hardware like servers. For this reason it’s typically not the best place to sell used servers for most individuals.
The first and most obvious feature of eBay is the seller fees. Another drawback is that you need relatively good seller ratings already established if you want to have the best chance at moving your equipment.
As with any consumer platform, it’s nigh impossible to find buyers for wholesale quantity.
Even then, it’s hard to find ones that are willing to settle on a reasonable wholesale price. eBay is generally only going to be a good option for someone established on the platform. It also is not very ideal for those with a large quantity of servers.
Craigslist
Craigslist is not a secure platform, and is distinctly consumer based. There is no recourse in the event of a dispute. There are no fraud prevention mechanisms either, like escrow or scam compensation policies.
If you do insist on using this platform, always arrange a public meet in person at a safe location. Craigslist is rife with scams for high value items like servers.
That being said, there are no fees on this platform, so for the hardware seller with plenty of time who doesn’t mind sifting through plenty of bogus inquiries and filtering out scams, Craigslist is a somewhat viable option.
Reddit is extensively visited by system administrators and system engineers in the market for enterprise hardware. Specifically, Reddit.com/r/hardwareswap , reddit.com/r/sysadmin, and reddit.com/r/homelab are three meccas for young hardware professionals.
At the very least these can valuate your hardware and direct you even if you can’t find a buyer. You’ll want to ensure you vet a potential buyer’s profile and follow the guidelines for Hardwareswap’s trading market.
IT Asset Disposition Services
If you have a bulk quantity, but want to minimize time spent and maximize returns, ITAD is your best bet.
IT asset disposition(ITAD) vendors specialize in bulk value recovery of IT assets. They will typically pay you anywhere from a few days to a month after closing the server buyback deal, depending on the size of your lot.
Some services will also be able to provide on-site logistics services and assist with tedious processes. For example, teardown, palletization, shipping, data erasure, and even discovery/ hardware refresh strategy.
Related: Sell IBM Servers
ITAD companies are in business to make profit, so you aren’t receiving the full value of the equipment. Still, the best ITAD vendors will be able to recover more value than you would expect anyways, so the end result is a mutually beneficial relationship.
For most purposes, IT asset disposition vendors are the best place to sell used servers in bulk.
Do you want to know more about the future of data centers? Come read and learn about Defining Edge Computing and Edge Data Centers.
If you’d like to receive a free quote for your equipment from a family owned ITAD vendor, fill out a form below! We’d love to hear from you. For more information visit our Server resale page.