When companies retire their old technology, many turn to ITAD (IT Asset Disposition) vendors for secure recycling and the chance to recover value through resale. But despite the glossy marketing claims, the real financial return from ITAD remarketing can vary widely. This blog breaks down the truth behind those promised payouts, what fees are typically involved, and what businesses can realistically expect as a bottom line. Equally important for businesses is knowing what to ask.
Understanding the ITAD Resale Model
Most ITAD vendors use one of three pricing models:
- Revenue Share (Consignment): The vendor resells your equipment and shares a percentage of the proceeds with you, usually 60–70%.
- Direct Purchase (Buyout): The vendor buys your assets outright at a fixed price upfront, often lower than resale value.
- Fee-for-Service: You pay the vendor for services like pickup, data wiping, and processing, and receive 100% of resale revenue.
Each model can be valid depending on your goals—but how vendors apply fees within those models is what really matters.
Typical Fees
ITAD vendors incur real costs to process your equipment, and it’s fair that some of that gets passed on. But not all vendors are transparent about those charges. Here are the common fees:
- Data Destruction: $5–$10 per drive for NIST-compliant (adhering to The National Institute of Standards and Technology), wiping or physical shredding.
- Asset Tagging & Inventory: Sometimes included, sometimes charged per device.
- Logistics & Pickup: Varies by distance and load size. May be flat fee, per pallet, or deducted from resale.
- Refurbishment Costs: If items need parts or repairs to be sold, these are usually deducted from proceeds.
- Recycling Fees: Charged for non-resellable items like CRTs, batteries, and damaged equipment.
- Reporting: Basic reporting should be included; some charge extra for detailed or custom reports.
- Minimum Lot Fees: Some vendors charge a flat fee if your load is too small to cover costs.
These fees are not inherently bad. The issue is when they aren’t clearly documented and explained. Often, the fees are hidden in the fine print.
Why Businesses Choose Data Recycling of New England
At Data Recycling of New England, we believe in transparency, security, and fairness as well as clarity upfront. We ask the right questions at the outset and offer our experience and guidance when businesses contact us. Here’s how we stand apart:
- No data erasure fees. We securely wipe or destroy all drives following NIST 800-88 standards — and never charge extra for it.
- Straightforward pickup pricing. We charge a flat fee for pickup, but we credit clients for qualifying computer equipment — reducing the total cost when there’s value to recover.
- No surprise disposal fees. Disposal costs are limited to specific items such as printers and TVs, which most businesses don’t send in bulk as part of ITAD. We include this in our quote.
- Upfront value on buy-back items. Simple and direct: send us what you have and we will give you a price. We offer fair pricing with no hidden deductions.
- Credit toward other services. We provide more value for all your recycling needs. For example, businesses that recycle outdated or non-working computers may receive credits toward additional services — including on-site hard drive shredding and paper shredding.
We’re here to help you securely retire old assets and recover value — simply and directly. Contact us to get a clear, custom quote and see the difference for yourself.
Behind The Curtain: How Much Do Companies Actually Get Back?
Fees: How they are applied and on what items
For example: your company sends 100 laptops to an ITAD vendor. Here’s a realistic scenario:
- Average resale per laptop: $100
- Total resale value: $10,000
- Minus data erasure ($5 each): -$500
- Minus logistics: -$750
- Minus refurbishing costs: -$1,000
- Revenue share (70/30): Vendor keeps $2,100
Total net back to client: $5,650 or $56.50 per laptop
However, it’s important to understand how fees are applied in these revenue share models, as it directly affects your final payout.
There are two main approaches:
- Pre-split deductions: The vendor deducts service costs (like logistics or refurbishing) before calculating your percentage share. For example, if a device sells for $100 and there are $20 in service costs, the $80 remaining is split—so with a 70/30 agreement, you’d receive $56. In this model, both client and vendor share in covering costs.
- Post-split deductions: The vendor calculates your share first and then deducts service costs from your portion only. Using the same example, you’d first get $70, but then $20 would be subtracted, leaving you with just $50. This model places the full burden of service fees on the client and can significantly reduce your return.
Since most vendors don’t clearly state which model they use unless asked, it’s essential to verify this upfront. A higher revenue share percentage doesn’t mean much if all the costs are taken from your share afterward.
But That’s Only Part of the Picture…
Here’s the bigger issue: most vendors calculate that return only on the items that are resold. What about the equipment that has no resale value?
Say you also send 40 old monitors and printers:
- These might each cost $10–$30 to recycle properly
- You could face $800–$1,200 in additional recycling fees
If you also paid $500 in pickup and processing fees, your total return drops even further:
$3,000 resale – $1,000 recycling – $500 logistics = $1,500 net total return across 140 devices
That’s just over $10 per item, or ~15% of total resale value.
Hidden Fees and Fine Print to Watch For
Some ITAD vendors add extra fees that can shrink your payout even more:
- Double charging: Fees plus a percentage cut of resale
- Undisclosed deductions: Refurbishing, recycling, or admin costs removed without transparency
- No reporting: You get a lump-sum check with no breakdown
- Free service claims: They resell your valuable equipment but return nothing to you
- Underreported resale values: Some vendors may report lower-than-actual resale prices (e.g., claiming a laptop sold for $100 when it actually sold for $140). While hard to verify, this practice has been observed and reinforces the need for detailed, itemized reporting.
The key takeaway? Revenue share percentages mean nothing without clarity on what’s deducted first.
What Businesses Should Ask ITAD Vendors
Before signing an agreement, ask:
- What’s included in the revenue share percentage?
- What fees will be deducted before the split?
- What happens to items with no resale value?
- Are there fees for pickup, data wiping, or recycling?
- Do you provide full reporting on each item?
The answers will tell you whether you’re working with a transparent partner or one who makes their money in the fine print.
When ITAD Resale Isn’t Always the Best Choice
While remarketing can offer real returns, it’s not always the most practical or cost-effective route. In fact, many businesses have encountered surprise fees or disappointing resale results—sometimes even ending up with a bill rather than a payout. This often happens when vendors overpromise on revenue or underdeliver on transparency.
For example, some providers advertise high return rates but subtract fees like logistics, testing, refurbishing, and recycling after calculating the revenue share, dramatically reducing the client’s portion. Others may quote optimistic prices based on ideal conditions, only to downgrade items later for minor cosmetic issues. We’ve even seen cases where companies expected thousands in resale but received far less—or nothing at all—after hidden deductions.
So when should you avoid remarketing and choose traditional recycling instead?
- When equipment is outdated, damaged, or low-value
- When the number of items is too small to justify the overhead
- When your organization requires guaranteed data destruction
- When shipping costs outweigh expected resale returns
For these cases, a flat-fee electronics recycling service is often the better option—offering simplicity, compliance, and predictability.
Bottom Line
ITAD remarketing can absolutely help you recover value from retired equipment — but only if you understand the full cost picture. Even standard, justifiable fees add up. When you include disposal costs, logistics, and service charges, your net return might be far less than advertised. And, much less than you expected.
Look for partners who are upfront, offer detailed reporting, and explain how they make money. Because in ITAD, the biggest hidden fee is a lack of transparency. — but only if you understand the full cost picture. Even standard, justifiable fees add up. When you include disposal costs, logistics, and service charges, your net return might be far less than advertised.