Mystic Toad Press Blog

After upgrading to a new platform, naturally, you want to get rid of your old storage device. One option is to resell it. There are service providers and established channels that are designed to help with this decision and how to deal with the issue of managing the content that was stored in the old device.

Storage devices are actually more than enough for some users even when they don’t come with manufacturer’s warranty so it’s not impossible to sell your old unit.
It’s important to note, however, that reselling storage media also comes with various environmental and information security challenges, says Kate Garbellini of the Deloitte’s Security and Privacy team. She explains that if the information that the old storage device holds should be discarded and an organization’s policies allows for the resale or reuse of the unit, it’s important to set a budget and procedures on how to clear the discs of this data.

On the other hand, if the organization’s policy as well as the data classification does not allow the use of the device outside the company, certain issues come into play before you can resell the unit. For instance, you need to consider whether it is enough that you degauss or if you need more thorough measures such as grinding, incineration or drilling the storage media. As such, you will also need to factor in the recycling and environmental issues surrounding the disposal of the devices.

With those issues carefully addressed, the next is to assess the resale of the device. Fortunately, there is a vibrant market for old hard drives on various websites such as eBay. There are also a number of organizations that offer assistance on decommissioning legacy servers, managed hosting and other storage hardware through recycling, disposal, resale or partial exchange.