Retiring School Devices

Old or aging Chromebooks, iPads, MacBooks starting to stress you out? So much money and time was spent investing in those devices, training the students and the staff on how to use them, loading and unloading software and data… and now they are either just sitting there or you are starting to wonder what you’re going to do with them when they start getting old… or perhaps your school is just ready to upgrade to something newer and that can support your curriculum better. Whatever state your device fleet is currently in, you can bet there is an option for you. 

Use this simple guide to retiring your school devices  to help you along the process. You can find a complete, in depth guide here.

Start with these 3 easy steps: assess your device inventory, find a good partner, get paid. Let's break these steps down one-by-one. 

Step 1 - Assess your inventory

Believe it or not, all devices hold some value; even the gross old chromebooks stored in the basement. However, most devices hold their maximum value and ROI when they are about 3-5 years old. Check out this guide to understanding device value here: How Device Value Changes Over Time.

We recommend you take a second and complete this exercise: 

1. Write down all the different models of Chromebooks, iPads, MacBooks, etc you have in your school fleet - and list out their quantity
2. Locate each models’ AUE year (this will tell you when the devices are no longer supported by Google and will be much more cumbersome to use in class)
3. List out the year before (this is the year you want to sell those devices)
4. Create a plan for how you will retire your devices (reminder: best time to sell is when devices are 3-5 years old)

Step 2 - Find a good partner

When you are shopping around for the best partner to sell your devices to, you should look for ITAD companies that have the R2 (Responsible Recycling) certification. Tech Defenders offers full transparency throughout the entire process, and when the buyback is complete, we send a full, serialized report that explains the grade out and ultimately the payout. 

A good partner will walk you through the entire process. They will send you an accurate quote with a guaranteed minimum payout. They will cover all logistics and ensure your devices are safely delivered to the processing facility. They will wipe all data from each device in compliance with R2 - the highest industry standards. They will report back to you on the condition and payout of every single device. Lastly, they will get you paid within 60 days. 

Step 3 - Get paid

The last step in the process is to get paid. This is the easiest step, of course. If you work with the right partner, you will get your check within 60-90 days of your devices landing. You will get paid fair market value. And you will get a full report on your devices. 

In conclusion, life is busy, especially if you are a tech admin at a school. The best thing you can do for your tech budget is to spend some time assembling a solid device retirement plan, that includes selling your devices to an ITAD partner so that you recover the maximum value for each device and are able to put those funds towards purchasing updated devices.