Dartmouth College equipment sales
- Determine whether the equipment functions as expected and whether it will be sold for use by the buyer, or for parts. If you are selling it for use, make note of anything does not work as expected.
- Gather information and documentation related to the equipment.
- Make
- Model, including information on any accessories to go with the unit
- Serial number
- Any Dartmouth-related numbers, such as fixed asset number
- Any documentation related to service, preventative maintenance calls, etc.
- Procurement Services needs to create a paper trail to document transactions for auditing purposes. Contact Procurement Services and give them the list above (Art Hanchett, Arthur.R.Hanchett@dartmouth.edu, is very helpful). They will help to determine depreciation value and identify the funding sources that were used to purchase the equipment. This will dictate where the sale money goes
- Write a letter of intent/letter of dispersal (example template LOI in PDF format). The letter needs to state why the equipment is being sold, and include the chart/grant strings defining where the money from the sale will be deposited. You will need several signatures. Specifics may vary, but typically:
- Yourself
- The head of your department (Note for shared resources: Department Head can be from Dartmouth Cancer Ceneter finance)
- Your fiscal officer
- OSP, if the original purchase was made with grant money. Procurement can help you to determine this.
- Find a buyer, and set terms of sale. Selling directly to a buyer usually yields the greatest profit. However, selling to a company that deals in used equipment can be quicker, and less labor-intensive. Some options are listed at the end of this document.
- Negotiate price
- Agree upon packing and shipping terms
- Clean and decontaminate the equipment, according to Dartmouth Environmental Health and Safety regulations; there are instructions on the EHS website. Both Dartmouth and your buyer will require this. Send documentation of the decontamination to your buyer.
- As long as Procurement services have the correct account information, they will handle the invoice and receiving of funds.
- Once the sale is final – pack and ship the equipment according to the agreed terms with your buyer (they may pay for any or all of this process).
Helpful notes
Functional Equipment may sell at ~50% value wholesale.
Nonfunctional Equipment (selling for parts) may sell at 10-20% value.
Companies that buy used equipment:
Cambridge Scientific Products
(617) 354-8900
BioSurplus, Inc.
(617) 575-2827
Boston Laboratory Equipment LLC
(617) 209-2525
American Laboratory Trading
(617) 245-0499