Short answer: fair market value (FMV) buyback pays you a fixed price for your retired IT assets before they are resold. Consignment pays you a share of what they actually sell for. Consignment usually returns more, because you share in the real resale price instead of accepting a discounted estimate, and your ITAD partner only earns when you do.
The vendor quotes a price, buys your equipment outright, and keeps whatever it makes on resale. To protect itself against price swings, it builds a margin into the quote, so the offer sits below what the gear will likely sell for. Once you accept, any upside belongs to the vendor.
Your ITAD partner wipes, refurbishes and resells your retired assets on your behalf, then shares the proceeds with you. Your return tracks the actual market, not a conservative guess. When demand is strong for recent laptops, servers or network gear, you capture that value.
If you need a guaranteed number on a specific date, such as for a budget close, a fixed buyback price is simpler. You trade some of the return for that certainty.
Consignment is how we work. We resell more than we recycle, and when your assets sell, we both win. Data on every device is wiped or destroyed under our NAID AAA and R2v3 certified process before the hardware is remarketed. You get a Certificate of Destruction, full reconciliation reporting and your share of the revenue. At Synetic, you don't have to ever pay an invoice.
Your payout tracks the market, so it can vary. You do not take on cost risk: your partner still handles logistics, data destruction and resale, and only earns when your assets sell.
It should, every time. Ask for a Certificate of Destruction and reconciliation reporting for each project.
A buyback quote includes a margin to cover the vendor's resale risk. With consignment, you share in the actual sale price instead.