Clearance is not “calling someone up to haul it away”. What you must account for to the company are three things: why the valuation is this figure, how data on the machines is handled, and where each unit finally went. Missing any one, finance and compliance send it back.
Infraplus Solutions Limited supplies enterprise network equipment and solutions in Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area: new, refurbished and used Cisco／Juniper／Huawei, compatible optics, sourcing and inspection, logistics, installation and setup, warranty, plus ITAD clearance and certification lab environments. This page covers only clearance and buyback.
The three accounts a clearance must hand over
- Valuation basis: not a single total, but explained item by item by model, age, condition and accessories.
- Data handling: how storage media are handled, by whom, and what record remains.
- Asset records: serial, model, disposition (resale, parts, compliant disposal), so you can update the asset register and write off.
The sections below essentially turn around these three things.
What we take and what we do not
General enterprise network and room equipment
Switches, routers, firewalls, wireless controllers and APs, servers, racks and PDU, power and fan modules, optics and cables. Brands are not limited to Cisco／Juniper／Huawei; other enterprise-grade gear can be assessed too.
Memory, optics and parts
Server memory (including ECC class), optics, interface cards — small in size but still with resale value; usually counted piece by piece, not valued as “a pile”. Memory has no separate page: one clearance list can be valued by category, and your quote shows separate figures for memory, optics and interface cards, not a single “pile of parts”.
Items needing separate arrangement
Items containing batteries, refrigerant, or under environmental regulation (for example some UPS battery packs, older display equipment) are not hauled away mixed with general equipment; they need separate arrangement. This is not being difficult — it prevents your clearance from becoming someone else’s compliance problem.
Do we only take “valuable” gear
No. In a real clearance, valuable units offset part of the cost; units without resale value still have to be removed and disposed of. So we look at the whole batch, not only pick the valuable ones. How the worthless part is disposed of and how its cost is counted are explained item by item at quoting, not waved through with an “all-in” line.
Why valuations differ so widely
For the same batch, two people can give numbers differing by half. The reason is usually not “who is more generous” but these six variables:
Age and generation
A flagship from five years ago and this year’s entry-level box are not in the same used-value class. Models EOL for years draw their value mainly from “identical spare” demand, not performance.
Licence and support contracts
Equipment carrying an OEM support contract (Smart Net／Juniper Care class) is usually easier to place than equipment without; but whether the contract can transfer depends on original registration and terms, and is not an automatic plus. Machines with unclear licence status are valued conservatively.
Whether accessories are complete
Power, fans, rack kits, interface modules — missing one lowers the whole unit’s usability. The list says “one switch” but on site only the chassis, no power; the valuation changes accordingly.
Testing and preparation cost
Units for resale need power-on, cleaning, and parts replacement where needed; these are all costs. The price sellable after preparation and the price for “haul away as-is” are not the same concept.
Market demand
Some models circulate in too large a used volume and demand is already filled; some see spare demand because of EOL. We do not pretend to predict this; we reply on visible demand at the time.
Quantity and packing
A whole batch of the same model, boxed and listed, costs less to handle; loose, unpacked, mixed items cost more to count and move. This item’s effect on the total is often underestimated.
Process: from list to settlement
- You provide the list: model, quantity, age, condition, region. Spreadsheet or screenshot both fine; it need not be polished first.
- Initial valuation range: we reply with a range from the list, and flag items that “need an on-site look before we can commit”. This step is a range only, not the final quote.
- On-site check: arranged by scale and location; verify model, serial, accessories and appearance; for units with storage media, confirm quantity and type together.
- Quote and terms: list valuation, disposal method, transport arrangement, data handling practice and record form item by item; we start only after both sides confirm.
- Dismantling, packing and transport: work to your window and route; site registration, elevator use and downtime window agreed in advance.
- Data handling: process storage media by the agreed method; record process and result in the agreed form.
- Settlement and record delivery: settle by the agreed method, deliver asset records; units needing resale have their disposition explained separately.
Steps 3 and 5 are where things most often go wrong: list does not match site, or transport window conflicts with property rules. These two are worth taking time to clarify first.
Data handling: how far we can speak to it
Three directions for storage media
- Keep with you: you remove and take it away yourself; we move only the chassis.
- Physical destruction: physical destruction of HDD, SSD, Flash class; suits media confirmed for no further use.
- Overwrite or reset: data erasure to your standard; suits equipment to be resold or reused.
Which one depends on your compliance requirements and the equipment’s destination, not our unilateral decision.
What we will not promise
We do not pre-issue a “standard destruction certificate template”. The record form (per-unit serial, method, date, processing location) and the certificate types we can provide are agreed at quoting stage against your requirements; if agreed, written into the terms and followed; if not, we say directly we cannot do it, rather than promise first and patch later.
Likewise, we do not guarantee an absolute line like “data is definitely unrecoverable”. What we can guarantee is process and record, not magic. For educational notes on sanitisation／destruction methods and certificate boundaries, see the storage media sanitisation guide; for project timeline see the room clearance and ITAD practical guide.
Five things the property and room manager will ask
- Access and registration: headcount, names, ID registration, whether security escort is needed.
- Working hours: business hours, night or weekend; whether business peak must be avoided.
- Elevator and route: freight elevator size, floor limits, whether door removal or floor protection is needed.
- Insurance and liability: how damage liability during transport is defined, written up front.
- Downtime window: when still-running equipment can be powered off, and who confirms.
These five are usually asked before the first on-site visit; having answers ready makes clearance go smoothly.
Five situations suited to clearance
- Move or renovation: the room must be vacated; equipment must leave within a deadline.
- Generation swap: new platform goes live; old gear retires in a batch.
- Lease expiry: site must be returned, restored and emptied.
- Merger or integration: multiple sites combine; duplicate equipment disposed of.
- Lab or test environment cleanup: a batch of old gear occupies space long term with no reuse plan.
The common thread is “a deadline” and “an account to give” — the two reasons a clearance service exists.
Settlement: cash, trade-in, credit note
All three can be discussed, chosen by your situation:
- Cash: one-off settlement; suits cases with no further procurement.
- Trade-in: old-unit valuation credited toward new or used equipment procurement; usually better than pure cash.
- Credit note: leave credit for later use; suits procurement planned in phases.
Which applies and how it is counted are written in the quote and terms, not verbal.
How to write the list
It need not be formal, but these columns are best present:
| Column | Why needed |
|---|---|
| Model／PID | Basis for valuation; brand name alone cannot be valued |
| Quantity | Batch and per-unit handling costs differ |
| Age or purchase time | Judge generation and residual value |
| Condition (in use／retired／faulty) | Decides whether testing and preparation are needed |
| Accessories (power／fans／modules) | Missing parts directly affect valuation |
| Whether storage media are present | Decides data handling arrangement |
| Region and floor | Affects moving manpower and window arrangement |
One filled table usually beats ten back-and-forth emails.
Process and liability: valuation is a range; the final figure follows the quote and the terms confirmed by both parties. Data handling method and the record forms available are agreed at quoting stage against your requirements; no fixed template is preset. Equipment without resale value is disposed of through compliant channels; disposal method and cost are explained item by item. Transactions are governed by Hong Kong law; resale or export of individual models is subject to export controls. Detail in the terms of service.