How to get the most value from your old tech assets
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We all have devices, cables, and other electronics stored away in draws and cupboards which we think we might one day need again. These assets could hold value, and getting the most out of them is something more of us are becoming concerned about. So how can we gain the most value from our old tech?
Reuse and Refurbishment
One way to get the most value from your old assets is to reuse them. If your asset is still in good condition, pass them to friends, family, or charities to be used again by someone who needs them. Not only does this prevent your device from cluttering your storage, but it also saves it from becoming electronic waste, which is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the world.
If you are willing to reuse your device but it is faulty or the condition is too poor, have it refurbished. Refurbishing is often much cheaper than buying new and ensures you are getting the most out of your asset before it becomes redundant. Before you buy yourself a new phone, laptop, or tablet, browse around to see how much it cost for you to get your current one working like new.
Selling for something new
‘Our 2019 tech reliability survey of more than 10,000 Which? members found that a large proportion of people, sometimes up to 50%, replace fully working devices simply because they want something new.’ – Which
Sometimes reusing your asset is simply not what you want. With new devices coming onto the marketing constantly, tech-savvy individuals may want to get rid of their old device in favour of the new features offered on recently released products. However, this doesn’t mean you can’t still gain value from your old asset.
Selling your old tech can be a good way to gain some money to put towards purchasing a new bit of kit, but how should you do it?
1. Assess what you have
Look carefully at the assets you are wanting to sell. Their physical condition, age, and appearance can all affect how much you will receive for them, so it’s important to thoroughly check out your tech before thinking of selling.
2. Choose where to send them
Depending on what you have, selling a damaged asset might not be worth it. But you can still do your bit for the planet by sending them for recycling at an ITAD company or local government recyclers.
3. Take photos and post
Sending photos of the condition of your tech will help a recycler or buyer determine the value of what you have and what elements can be salvaged. Be sure to securely package and post your devices to prevent them from becoming further damaged in transit.
Trade-in multiple assets for a rebate
Many ITAD companies like S2S offer a mobile rebate for assets of value. This is a good option for individuals wanting to gain some money from a bundle of old devices but not risk having their data compromised. Our phone recycling and reuse service provides fully certified data erasure, so any leftover logins, emails, and details are completely removed from the device.
When just selling your device, you might not gain full data erasure as standard, and a factory-reset does not ensure your data is gone. In fact, a study by Blancco revealed 19 out of 100 mobiles contained recoverable data, even after a factory reset was conducted.
As many of us use our mobile phones to access our online banking, work emails, and more, it is important that we are the only ones to be able to access this data. Always consider who you are selling and trading-in your assets to, even if you think it is safe.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
If you cannot trade-in or refurbish your tech because it is beyond repair, it doesn’t mean your only option is to throw it away. Often even damaged devices can be recycled and components reused for the creation of other electronics.
By sending your damaged assets to be recycled, valuable internal elements like metals and circuit boards can be extracted and placed into refurbished devices to be sent off to a user to reuse.
This saves the need to manufacture new components for refurbishing and prevents usable elements from becoming waste.
Find out more about gaining value from your tech by speaking to one of our professionals.
