Ever had a quiet pint down the local rudely interrupted by a dodgy geezer in a pork-pie hat giving you the hard sell on something that “dropped off the back of a lorry”?
It’s the kind of experience most right-minded people would do anything to avoid.
But what if you were a network manager under severe financial constraints and the guy said he had a Cisco Catalyst switch going cheap?

I doubt Network Liquidators’ UK sales director Kesh Prasad wears a pork-pie hat or is in the habit of talking to strangers in pubs, and I’m sure his business practices are beyond reproach. So it’s a shame that my mind could not help conjuring up images of saloon-bar wheeler-dealers when I was having a chat on the phone with him the other day. What he had to say about the economic and environmental benefits of using second-hand kit made a lot of sense, however, and was certainly not the kind of thing you’d expect to hear down the Nag’s Head.

If your company is in the market for, say, a Cisco switch, it might be worth giving Network Liquidators a shout. On the company’s web site it says, “We buy and sell new, used refurbished and new open box Cisco Systems, Extreme Networks, F5 Networks and Compaq equipment at up to 90 percent off list.”

Cushty!

Many large enterprises refresh their entire network every three to four years, replacing kit that has done nothing but sit in climate-controlled rooms and move network traffic. Remember, all the configuration of this hardware is done remotely, so the only time it gets touched is when it’s plumbed in, when it’s taken out or if it has the audacity to fail.

In the past much of this kit would be destined for a landfill site, but this will no longer be an option after the WEEE directive comes into force in July. So more companies will be looking to sell their obsolete kit to the likes of Network Liquidators in future, which should mean that second-hand kit will become even cheaper.

Network Liquidators also buys old equipment from finance companies. A lot of network kit is leased through finance companies, and when a typical three-year term runs out, that equipment is often up for grabs. Prasad said that these companies are keen to sell because depreciation makes keeping the kit uneconomical, and it also means they avoid having to pay for it to be recycled, which will soon be mandatory under the WEEE directive.

All used equipment bought by Network Liquidators is refurbished and fully tested. If a switch has a problem it won’t be sold on. Systems sold by the firm have a one-year guarantee, and range from basic four-port ADSL routers to hefty Cisco 7206-VXR routers. Network Liquidators customers include some large telecoms firms, banks and logistics companies.

So if your finance director turns as white as a sheet every time you bring up the subject of a network refresh, maybe you should think about inviting a second-hand dealer in for a chat. Just don’t be disappointed if they’re not wearing a pork-pie hat.