United States $
France €
España €
Italia €
Deutschland €
Europe €
0 Items
Used / Refurbished Cisco Hardware
"I was amazed that the refurbished sector at Hardware.com extended to not only legacy equipment but also to most of the current Cisco kit." Hardware.com IT Director
[newscontent=2]
53% of our customers ask for a refurbished price.
Get more for your money. With savings of between 60% and 90%.
Fewer Returns
The percentage of returns for refurbished hardware from Hardware.com is significantly lower than our competition due to rigorous ISO/British Standards Accredited testing procedures. Fewer Failures
Better reliability of refurbished hardware due to "burned in" effect, it has already been tried and tested, the failure for new product is higher within the first 48 hours. Same as New Warranty
Hardware.com offers 12 months warranty on all refurbished equipment with the ability to upgrade to onsite support if required. Browse our products and if the equipment has the
button, then submit the form and we will get back to you with a quote within one working day.The secondary, grey, black and green market.
Essentially the secondary market is the supply of new open box and refurbished networking equipment. According to some manufacturers this market has been painted as a no go area, the logic of their argument is self-serving “You can’t trust anything or anyone else, buy directly and only buy new equipment”.
The grey market is simply a problem of manufacturers not being able to control sales regions within the global economy. There is nothing wrong with this; it is a matter of market forces creating a price opportunity.
The grey market is simply a problem of manufacturers not being able to control sales regions within the global economy. There is nothing wrong with this; it is a matter of market forces creating a price opportunity.
The black market deals in stolen or counterfeit goods. A rule of thumb is if the price is too good to be true, then it is!
The term secondary market is rather clumsy, and perhaps a better way to describe it is the "green market".
It is clearly far better to recover and reuse equipment where possible and that is the position of Hardware.com.
The term secondary market is rather clumsy, and perhaps a better way to describe it is the "green market".
It is clearly far better to recover and reuse equipment where possible and that is the position of Hardware.com.
For a quote on refurbished Cisco equipment, please contact one of our account managers.
Why buy refurbished "green" equipment from Hardware.com?
Once considered an alternative means of cutting IT costs, buying used network equipment is now becoming mainstream; holding spares, decreasing lead times and test equipment outside the live environment.
The key reasons for buying used kit:
Price: Used computer hardware and equipment could save you up to 90% off the price of new equipment. Think long-term: because used equipment offers the same quality product at a discounted price, you achieve a better overall Return on Investment.
Speed: Hardware.com can often ship your pre-owned equipment SAME DAY from our £10 million inventory. Because we keep our own stock, we don’t have to wait for merchandise to be shipped out from the manufacturer, which translates to quicker ship times and bigger savings for you.
Performance: The same performance as new equipment with more configuration options, such as higher capacity memory, etc.
Reliability: Used/refurbished Hardware.com equipment is ‘Hardware.com certified’ meaning it is fully tested, refurbished and guaranteed before being released for sale.
Warranty: Standard 1 year return to base for all Cisco equipment and you can increase your cover with Smartpac Support if required.
Value: Used/refurbished systems have already depreciated and will retain their remaining value, whereas new systems lose their value within 1-3 years.
Choice: We have many available models, from versions you currently have up to the latest and greatest versions.
Quality Assurance: The general industry timeline for networking equipment to fail is within its first 48 hours of operation. With used or refurbished computer equipment, this risk is greatly reduced because it has already been tested and used.
Used Cisco and Hardware.com Q&A
Q. Can you describe what you do and the size and state of the used Cisco equipment market?
A. We're the UK's largest player in the Cisco secondary market, selling approximately $30 million in sales last year. We'll grow again about 20% this year. The global market is probably over $2 billion. There are virtually no public companies in the space, so it's very hard to get a true read on the size.
It's a very sophisticated and professional market. Our effective refurbished inventory is vastly larger than Cisco's suppliers. Our prices are very good. Obviously, that's the headline. In general, our prices are about half what Cisco would charge, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. [-] Collapse
It's a very sophisticated and professional market. Our effective refurbished inventory is vastly larger than Cisco's suppliers. Our prices are very good. Obviously, that's the headline. In general, our prices are about half what Cisco would charge, sometimes higher, sometimes lower. [-] Collapse
Q. How does support work with your products? And what about a customer that might have some products under Cisco SMARTnet contracts, and some products that are used? Are there ever issues with having that mixed-support model?
A. Everything we sell comes with a one-year return to base warranty which gets repaired or replaced. We'll extend that warranty to customers as long as they want for a fraction of the cost of Cisco support — two, five, 10 years or whatever works for the customer. We do that with spares, because if you buy a spare and buy a five-year warranty, you’re basically done forever. Cisco SMARTnet typically covers what the customer is using inside a given chassis. Historically, Cisco will provide technical support for what's in a given covered chassis. We've never seen a problem between the two support models. [-] Collapse
Q.How does Cisco view what you do?
A. Cisco does a decent job painting the authenticity and quality of the product as low. I would say that's simply not the case for companies like Hardware.com that have very large operations.
Our facility in North America is 25,000 square feet and employs over 100 people who do nothing but receive and inspect and test the equipment. Every piece of gear we touch is physically inspected, at board level, which is not true of new equipment. We have rigorous testing methodologies in place to not only ensure it's authentic — that's a given — but also that it functions, and basically looks, as new.
So the market is healthy and growing. Cisco's installed base of equipment is probably in the billions of units. But most of that is eventually going to find its way through our market at greatly reduced prices. Unless Cisco were to take it all back, which has its own logistic and economic challenges and which I don't think they would want to undertake.
There's no stopping the market. [-] Collapse
Our facility in North America is 25,000 square feet and employs over 100 people who do nothing but receive and inspect and test the equipment. Every piece of gear we touch is physically inspected, at board level, which is not true of new equipment. We have rigorous testing methodologies in place to not only ensure it's authentic — that's a given — but also that it functions, and basically looks, as new.
So the market is healthy and growing. Cisco's installed base of equipment is probably in the billions of units. But most of that is eventually going to find its way through our market at greatly reduced prices. Unless Cisco were to take it all back, which has its own logistic and economic challenges and which I don't think they would want to undertake.
There's no stopping the market. [-] Collapse
Q.Have you noticed Cisco become more aggressive in keeping customers from coming to resellers such as yourself?
A. We've heard the rhetoric for many years and there's probably been an increase in rhetoric from Cisco. I think they're realising, or trying to come to terms with, the competition the secondary market is providing.
I would love to sit down with Cisco and work on a way we could formally cooperate. We sell Cisco's product, and we love Cisco's product, as do our customers. So you'd think, fundamentally, we're on the same team. [-] Collapse
I would love to sit down with Cisco and work on a way we could formally cooperate. We sell Cisco's product, and we love Cisco's product, as do our customers. So you'd think, fundamentally, we're on the same team. [-] Collapse
Q.What about the potential pitfalls of buying used network equipment? Are there risks of ending up with a faulty or even counterfeit product?
A. There's a lot to be afraid of in any secondary market. At Hardware.com we have some of the most sophisticated technical checks in place within our industry to make sure that no counterfeit goods are ever booked into our warehouse.
Any supplier found shipping a counterfeit product to Hardware.com is reported to the manufacturer and removed from our approved supplier list. I guess that it should not come as a surprise that a business like Hardware.com gets very little credit for the role that we play in preventing counterfeit goods from spreading even faster into the market. The last thing that we want is for our customers to lose their trust in us. [-] Collapse
Any supplier found shipping a counterfeit product to Hardware.com is reported to the manufacturer and removed from our approved supplier list. I guess that it should not come as a surprise that a business like Hardware.com gets very little credit for the role that we play in preventing counterfeit goods from spreading even faster into the market. The last thing that we want is for our customers to lose their trust in us. [-] Collapse
Q.Have you ever approached Cisco with that idea?
A. We're interested in selling more equipment, and the best way for us to do that would be to sell new and used equipment. But that's been a nonstarter with Cisco. And it's understandable why: They want their new VARs selling new.
What I would be interested in talking to them about is their recertification program, which really doesn't work for us. And that's where I'd like to work with them most. I'm not sure it was designed to work with us; I think it was designed as a tool to prevent customers from working with us. But it could be great. We're selling Cisco's products and our customers want to buy their products. There should be a way to make that make economic sense. By working better with the secondary market, they're only going to increase the value of their equipment in the secondary market, which increases the value of their brand.
If the fee structure for resale and reregistering of maintenance of secondary equipment made more sense, they'd be getting a huge amount of revenue from recertification fees and maintenance. As it is, the fees don't make a lot of sense. It's not uncommon for a customer buying a $50,000 system to be faced with $25,000 in fees to recertify and reregister the products. [-] Collapse
What I would be interested in talking to them about is their recertification program, which really doesn't work for us. And that's where I'd like to work with them most. I'm not sure it was designed to work with us; I think it was designed as a tool to prevent customers from working with us. But it could be great. We're selling Cisco's products and our customers want to buy their products. There should be a way to make that make economic sense. By working better with the secondary market, they're only going to increase the value of their equipment in the secondary market, which increases the value of their brand.
If the fee structure for resale and reregistering of maintenance of secondary equipment made more sense, they'd be getting a huge amount of revenue from recertification fees and maintenance. As it is, the fees don't make a lot of sense. It's not uncommon for a customer buying a $50,000 system to be faced with $25,000 in fees to recertify and reregister the products. [-] Collapse
Q.Enterprises that buy your products, what type of kit are they buying? Do they use you for spare parts, or are they building whole networks on used Cisco equipment?
A. It spans the mix. One reason customers buy from us is price. It's no secret that the very largest of Cisco customers get very good prices, whereas most enterprise and small businesses don’t get as good prices.
Most businesses buy from us because they don't need the latest and greatest. They can get what was a $10,000 router five years ago, from us for $800. For other products, such as security, they probably want the newest stuff; to be very honest, we counsel customers all the time to buy certain products from Cisco. We can usually get them, often not at a good price.
For some customers, they just want more of what they've got. They’ve bought a bunch of switches two years ago — the Catalyst 3550 series is a good example. Cisco came out with them, and then made them end-of-sale in 12 months. But a lot of people bought them, because they are a really good switch. We sell hundreds of those a month, because people have standardised on it, and they want spares. It's no secret the maintenance is expensive. If you have 10 of the same switch, you can maintain all 10 [with support services], or you can just buy one more. [-] Collapse
Most businesses buy from us because they don't need the latest and greatest. They can get what was a $10,000 router five years ago, from us for $800. For other products, such as security, they probably want the newest stuff; to be very honest, we counsel customers all the time to buy certain products from Cisco. We can usually get them, often not at a good price.
For some customers, they just want more of what they've got. They’ve bought a bunch of switches two years ago — the Catalyst 3550 series is a good example. Cisco came out with them, and then made them end-of-sale in 12 months. But a lot of people bought them, because they are a really good switch. We sell hundreds of those a month, because people have standardised on it, and they want spares. It's no secret the maintenance is expensive. If you have 10 of the same switch, you can maintain all 10 [with support services], or you can just buy one more. [-] Collapse
Q.So can manufacturers really complain about a business like Hardware.com selling refurbished network hardware?
A. They can’t. All our products are clearly represented as to what they actually are.
Very few manufacturers are enlightened enough to know that the used network hardware market is the entry point for many small and medium sized businesses to the manufacturer’s products.
Considering those businesses with limited budgets and technical inexperience; they are simply not the prospects to buy new. But after purchasing refurbished hardware and as their businesses grow, they often become prime customers, ready to buy new and add the latest technology.
So why libel the secondary market? We are not grey marketers. We are not pirates or counterfeiters. We are proudly secondary marketers – yes a used equipment reseller.
We are the Green Market! [-] Collapse
Very few manufacturers are enlightened enough to know that the used network hardware market is the entry point for many small and medium sized businesses to the manufacturer’s products.
Considering those businesses with limited budgets and technical inexperience; they are simply not the prospects to buy new. But after purchasing refurbished hardware and as their businesses grow, they often become prime customers, ready to buy new and add the latest technology.
So why libel the secondary market? We are not grey marketers. We are not pirates or counterfeiters. We are proudly secondary marketers – yes a used equipment reseller.
We are the Green Market! [-] Collapse
Hardware.com is neither a partner of nor an affiliate of Cisco Systems.
Copyright © Hardware.com 2012 - Order by Phone: 0800 0830 646 Hardware.com Limited is a Private Limited Company. Registration Number: 04197529
Logos remain the property of the corresponding company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Hardware.com 2012 - Order by Phone: 0800 0830 646 Hardware.com Limited is a Private Limited Company. Registration Number: 04197529
Logos remain the property of the corresponding company. All rights reserved.
