Guides

Project cancelled? What to do with new-in-box surplus

By John Capovani, Founder, Capilleh ·

Try returning it to the distributor first. Whatever cannot go back sells best as documented, unused equipment, and it sells for what the market pays today, not what the receipt says.

Start with the distributor

If the equipment is recent and sealed, ask the distributor or integrator about a return or restock before anything else. A restocking fee is usually smaller than the discount the secondary market will want. Return windows close fast, so ask early.

The receipt is not the resale price

This is the hard part. A seller recently brought us a lot of unused AV and IT equipment, about six months old, with receipts and a spreadsheet of asking prices already marked down from what they paid.

We passed on buying the lot outright. A buyer on the secondary market compares your price with today's street price and with every other unit for sale, not with your invoice. Six months is long enough for a model to be discounted, replaced, or both.

We offered consignment instead. For valuable, recognizable, unused equipment it usually beats a lot buyout: each item is sold on its own, at its own market price, with a floor you agree to up front.

What to send us

  • Receipts or invoices showing where and when it was bought.
  • Exact model numbers and quantities, in a spreadsheet.
  • Photos of the actual units. Sealed cartons if they are sealed.
  • Serial numbers where you have them.
  • An honest condition line: sealed, opened but unused, or installed and removed.

Sealed sells for more than open-box, and open-box sells for more than installed-and-removed. Say which it is. Buyers find out anyway.

TAA compliance

To the right buyer, yes. TAA compliance matters to people selling into US government work, and they need it documented: the specific TAA model number on the unit and the invoice. To everyone else it is the same product. List it, prove it, and do not expect a premium from buyers who do not need it.

Manufacturer warranty and licenses

Unused does not always mean the warranty follows the box. Many manufacturer warranties and software licenses apply to the original purchaser. Check before you promise a buyer coverage you cannot transfer.

Cash now, or more later

If the space has to be empty by a date, sell the lot outright and accept the lower number. If you can wait, consign the valuable items and sell the rest in one go.

Want a better return than a cash offer?

You keep title. We sell it, typically for a better return than a cash offer.

Need it gone quickly?

Send a sentence about what you have. Quotes come back within 48 hours.