Today we’ll talk a look at recycling services vs ITAD services.
Let’s get started.
In today’s IT world, it’s typical to rely on either recyclers or ITAD companies to dispose of IT equipment. These are not mutually exclusive, as ITAD firms will provide recycling, but companies usually do specialize. Unfortunately, it’s common to choose the wrong type of vendor to handle your IT equipment.
Thankfully, exIT Technologies offers both varieties of services. These services are tailored to fit the unique needs of specific industries.
And so we thought we would provide a short overview that helps to clarify what the right choice is for you. We’ll include a case study at the end.
A Comparison of Recycling and ITAD Services
Recyclers
Recycling companies can be useful in a few specific circumstances.
- If you have IT material that is definitely scrap – nobody would pay for it or it’s damaged beyond repair.
- If you have a big lot of heavy equipment that’s worth less than it would cost to move it.
When you shouldn’t use a recycler before considering an ITAD company:
- When you aren’t exactly sure what your equipment is worth.
- You have electronics that are damaged, but they might be repairable.
- You have IT equipment that obviously retains value.
ITAD Companies
Specific scenarios where ITAD companies can be of particular use:
- Your equipment is newer than 5 years old and functional.
- You have a large lot of either: servers, storage, networking equipment, computers, or components such as RAM Memory.
- You have bulk lots of components that are valuable but require refurbishment.
Differences Between ITAD Companies and Recyclers
While technically both companies are responsible for the “disposition” of IT assets, there are a few technicalities that make them quite different.
ITAD companies are specifically concerned with recovering the maximum value out of the equipment.
For this reason, they’ll usually conduct an asset valuation.
They will stay up-to-date with IT markets, and inquire for more specifics about the equipment before acquisition. Also, they generally pay you based on the value of your equipment as well.
While it’s not an industry feature, here at exIT we’ve also created a refurbishment & repair process for electronics to improve the total rate of value recovery for our clients.
Recyclers, on the other hand, are essentially dealing with commodities. Because of this, there are a few different price models.
Depending on the type of material, some recyclers will pay by weight, others will pay by lot of material.
Then there are those others that are basically just electronics trash collectors. These companies simply come to haul away your junk for free.
As promised, click for a full case study breaking down the different returns a company received from a recycler VS an ITAD company.
If you are upgrading your computers in bulk then read our Blog: The 4 Best Places to Sell Computers.