Summary
This guide is for members of LSA who wish to purchase University-owned property for their personal use BEFORE it is processed and sent to Property Disposition. This process usually takes 1-2 weeks after dropping off the device with the Hardware Lifecycle team, and there are no ways to expedite and also follow university policy.
LSA has it's own policy on the Individual Purchase of LSA Computers which prohibits the sale of machines that aren't able to run a current and supported operating system or receive security updates.
It is always recommended that you first visit the Property Disposition website to see a selection of items that have already been processed and are available for immediate purchase.
If you would like to purchase items that are NOT tech hardware - such as furniture - please email lsa.facilities@umich.edu to create a ticket with LSA Facilities. Tech Services can only help with items that they would typically collect for disposal, all else should go to facilities
Frequently asked questions as well as supporting details from the U-M Standard Practice Guide are included after the step-by-step directions. Please contact LSATechnologyServices@umich.edu if you have any questions about this process or if you would like to create a ticket.
Directions
Step-by-step instructions for anyone who wishes to purchase tech hardware before it is sent away to Property Disposition.
- Create a ticket with Technology Services indicating that you would like to purchase a machine for personal use. Please include a description of what you would like to purchase, and if relevant, either the hostname or serial number.
- This is generally done when a machine is targeted as part of the standard 4-year replacement cycle, or when an employee leaves the university.
- Machines that are less than 3 years old will require approval from your direct manager and/or Chief Administrator.
- Tickets may be created by phone, chat, email, or in person at a walk-in location.
- Arrange a time to drop off the machine with the Hardware Lifecycle Team (HLT) through the ticket. HLT is located in Angell Hall Room G155
- Back up all personal data (such as family photos, music, etc.) to a separate device before bringing the machine to HLT.
- All University Data should already be backed up on another device or in network/cloud storage, but please confirm that it is.
- Once released to HLT none of the data on the machine will be recoverable.
- Drop off the machine with HLT confirming your name and ticket number.
- Wait for the quoted price from Property Disposition. If you agree to pay this price, Property Disposition (PD) will send a PayPal invoice to your umich email address.
- Payments are only accepted through PayPal for this service.
- If you do not have a PayPal account and do not wish to make one you may use a guest account with a Credit Card.
- Pay for the device
- Arrange a time for pick-up from HLT in the same location as when you previously dropped it off.
- Pick up your machine at the arranged time. It is now your personal property.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):
Why do I need to bring my device to campus?
Our Hardware Lifecycle Team needs to inspect and photograph the device to answer questions for Property Disposition to create a quote. We also need it on hand to rebuild the device without an LSA Operating System and remove U-M software.
Why do I have to back up personal data myself? Can’t they load it back on for me?
The U-M has Standard Practice Guide (SPG) policies around what sensitive U-M data (e.g., student information, personal health information, financial data, etc.) can be stored on personal devices, and faculty and Technology Services staff cannot be liable for accidentally transferring sensitive data from a U-M to a personally owned device. More details are provided in the SPG (below).
Who sets the price for my computer? Why is it so expensive? Can’t you make it cheaper?
The price is set by Property Disposition based on the age and the current state of the machine along with the current market rate. Searching for the same device on ebay can generally give you an idea of what items may cost. Items less than 1 year old will be quoted for the full price paid by the University.
Can I pay with cash when I pick up the computer?
The money goes directly to Property Disposition, and they ONLY accept PayPal. You may check out as a guest with the PayPal invoice that is sent to you.
Why do I have to purchase my own copy of Windows?
Some hardware manufacturers can encode the license for Windows 10/11 that was shipped with the device onto the device itself, and for these no purchase of a key is necessary. Others will require purchasing a license key to continue using your device without features being limited after 60 days. We cannot confirm this for machines that we sanitize and rebuild, as it is then your personal property.
Additional Information
Relevant Standard Practice Guide (SPG) Information:
Purchasing a computer for personal use has some requirements that we are unable to bend on, and this is due to a few sections of the Standard Practice Guide.
We are required to wipe the drive as part of SPG 601.27 - Section III - A:
It is assumed that all U-M owned devices have stored at a minimum data classified as Moderate. Consequently, all U-M owned devices must be sanitized according to this Standard at their end-of-life or before disposal as surplus. Specifically, no device or storage media containing personally identifiable information or any data classified as Restricted, High, or Moderate can be transferred or disposed of as surplus unless the appropriate UM-approved sanitization methodology has been completed and certified.
This assumption means all University owned devices have some measure of “Moderate” classified data on them, and therefore all devices must be wiped for personal purchase.
Additionally, SPG 601.12 Section III - A details why we are unable to load data back onto a device:
THE DATA RESOURCE WILL BE SAFEGUARDED/PROTECTED.
As an institutional asset, data will be protected from deliberate, unintentional, or unauthorized alteration, destruction, and/or inappropriate disclosure or use in accordance with established institutional policies and practices and federal and state laws.
“Inappropriate disclosure” would include putting this data onto a personal device. Since we are unable to confirm the nature of every file on your computer, we cannot guarantee that we are complying with the above policy if we replace or back up any of the data that was on your machine before wiping.
Please note: Please respond to the open ticket regarding your request if you have questions about anything within this instructional guide, or email lsatechnologyservices@umich.edu to create a ticket.