Dutch IT firm reports higher sales of used ICT equipment

Businesses and consumers in Europe are increasingly purchasing used ICT equipment which has a positive impact on the environment and helps save money, a Dutch company specialized in the used hardware sector announced on Wednesday.

"Sales of used hardware, such as PCs, notebooks and monitors, actually increased by 23 percent in 2016. The use of refurbished laptops and tablets in secondary education marks a new and rising trend," said Infotheek Group, a Leiden-based circular IT company that has been buying and selling used IT equipment for 25 years.

The company said it realised 352 million euros (391.15 million U.S. dollars) of revenues over 2016, distributed over 14 European countries, which is an increase of 11 percent over the previous year. By comparison, in 2009 that figure was only about 55 million euros.

Its sales involve practically new products that have been returned to webshops and can therefore no longer be sold as new, as well as products that has been "refurbished" to be of good quality.

People buy more good quality used hardware because the difference between new and old models is less significant and data is increasingly being stored in the cloud, which means that less physical storage space is needed on site, said the company.

In 2017, Infotheek expects to see a sharp rise in the sales of used laptops and tablets for secondary school students. Endit