How to choose an ITAD partner

Choosing the best service providers for your business is an important task. For companies to perform optimally, it’s a good idea to select partners you can count on.

When you’re looking for services in a competitive industry like electronics liquidation or ewaste recycling, it may be difficult to see what sets each contender apart. There may be small differences, but for the most part, they provide the same services to meet your needs- or at least that’s how it looks.

In the IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) world, service providers often make claims for businesses to “feel good” about choosing them, but many may not be able to back up their claims. Certifications, experience, responsiveness, knowledge, reputation and flexibility are all key areas to consider when selecting an electronics resale or electronics recycling partner for your company.

When companies are certified, you can trust that they are truly handling your equipment securely and responsibly. Just make sure they are listed on the website of the organization they claim to be certified by, which is a RED FLAG if they are not. You can also ask for a tour of their facility and witness their data destruction and data wiping or data erasure process, this is a great way to see if they can prove to you, without hesitation, that what they say they are doing behind the scenes is true.

Look out for companies who are just looking to pay you for electronics, without telling you what they’ll do with the waste (i.e. equipment they can’t sell). You are on the hook for your equipment, regardless if it was in your hands when it was improperly disposed of or not. Make sure you are partnering with someone who will responsibly dispose or recycle any equipment that has no value- as well as properly wipe or shred hard drives to ensure no data is exposed.

Also look out for companies who are only recyclers and do not offer any added value for materials that could be resold. You could be making money back on your IT equipment by using the right partner who is able to resell electronics and share the profit.

Follow these tips when trying to find an electronics recycler, electronics reseller, or data destruction provider for your business computer equipment:

• Ask for customer references- Are there other similar customers to your business who would recommend them?
• Ask for contacts within their company – Will you be helped by a real person or always be waiting for the next generic customer rep to assist you?
• Check their certifications – Look for R2 and e-Stewards certifications, and then double check the official websites to make sure they are current.
• Ask about remarketing and resale – Will they resell your equipment? If so, will you get value back from that? And how do they make sure the data is completely erased?
• Ask about complience – How they will help you comply with your own requirements (PCI, HIPAA, etc)- Make sure they will help you stay in compliance with any legal requirements you may have.
• Ask about Reporting– Will they provide you with detailed reports for your equipment to fulfill any auditing requirements you may have?

If you’re looking for a partner in the Sioux Falls, South Dakota or Midwest area, SEAM can help. Get a quote today to find out how SEAM can responsibly, safely, securely and efficiently get rid of your unwanted technology equipment for you.