What’s Hot in the Pre-Owned Market
While the overall economic forecast is calling for an extremely cold winter, activity in the market for pre-owned networking equipment is heating up. In my job as brokerage and acquisitions manager at NHR, I understand why these two contrasting conditions are closely related.
When the economy downshifts, causing companies to downsize or reorganize, an influx of equipment typically floods the market for pre-owned gear. In this “buyer’s market,” scores of quality, refurbished equipment can be purchased at exceptional savings. So, shoppers looking to get a jump on next year will find great deals right now on everything from current Cisco technologies, to previous generation and end-of-life. Based on the laws of supply and demand that guide this industry segment, the hottest Cisco products on the market currently include:
- WS-SUP720-3BXL
- WS-X6748-GE-TX
- WS-SUP720-3B
- NPE-G2
- NPE-G1
- WS-X6704-10GE.
To put things in perspective, a Cisco Supervisor Engine (SUP720) carries an OEM list price of about $40,000. While the average Cisco customer would pay between $22,000 and $24,000, you can find it on the secondary market now for $12,000. You do the math; perhaps buy a spare while you’re at it.
It’s not surprising that the fastest movers on our list come from a vast inventory of Cisco equipment. Currently, there’s a glut of some equipment that wasn’t even readily available last year. For example, demand for specific Gigabit and 10 Gigabit Ethernet blades, such as Cisco’s 6704 10GE four-port blades, continues to climb. We are also seeing a lot of demand for older, 10/100 Mbps blades as they are particularly good for SMBs. Right now, there are also great deals on the most popular equipment from other manufacturers, such as Juniper and Extreme.
In addition to great savings, don’t overlook the fact that providers of pre-owned gear typically can deliver equipment the next day. Try that with your OEM. Also, many secondary market outlets offer assembled, tested and configured equipment, which deliver huge time savings for resource-constrained IT teams. When supply is high like it is now, it’s a good time to take advantage of the secondary market to support a network upgrade or stock a few extra spares. Doing so will help you capitalize on significant savings while maximizing your budget for network expenditures.
Tags: assembled equipment, buyer's market, Cisco, configured equipment, end-of-life, NPE-G1, NPE-G2, pre-owned market, savings, tested equipment, time savings, WS-SUP720-3B, WS-SUP720-3BXL, WS-X6704-10GE, WS-X6748-GE-TX