Used Microsoft licenses for businesses, verified and fully documented
Save considerably compared with buying new. We supply used volume licenses with a complete proof of origin and personal advice, without an anonymous shopping cart.
Microsoft volume licenses in our range
From server licenses to client access licenses. Pick the area that matches what you need.
Buying used software licenses: the essentials
Many companies pay more for Microsoft licenses than necessary because they consider the used market a gray area. It is not one. Used volume licenses are legal, fully functional and cleanly documented for your accounting.
The difference from a new license lies not in the software but in how it was acquired. And that is exactly what has to be proven. This is why we check every license before it enters our stock, document every step from the first purchase onward and archive the complete chain permanently.
New or used: what actually differs
Same file, same feature set, same updates. The only difference lies in how the license was acquired, and that is exactly what we document.
The feature set is identical because it is the same software. The only difference is how the right of use reaches you. This is why we check every license before it enters our stock and document every step of the way.
What you save with used licenses
The saving arises in two places at once: against the list price of a new license, and against the running cost of a subscription. The second point is usually underestimated, because monthly amounts look small.
What the same workstation costs over five years
A schematic comparison. The height stands for the total spend across the period, not for a specific amount.
The actual differences depend on product, version and quantity. In our quote we compare your case with the current list price and your monthly amount, so that you can document the saving internally.
The same software, the same feature set, the same security updates. The only difference is that the license has already belonged to one company before. Technically it cannot be told apart from a newly bought one.
How large the saving turns out in a given case depends on version, edition and quantity. We state it concretely in our quote, set against the current list price.
A subscription costs money per workstation per month, permanently. After five years you have paid for five years and own nothing. A perpetual license is paid once and you use it for as long as the version is in support.
Run the numbers for your own case: number of workstations times monthly amount times 60 months. Set against that figure stands a single purchase. With used volume licenses the switch usually pays for itself within a few months.
If you depend on shared real-time editing in the cloud, if your user numbers change constantly, or if you need every new feature right away. In those cases we will tell you so, even where it argues against the sale. A customer who realizes after two years that the solution does not fit is no use to us.
Why companies buy from us
Four reasons that tip the decision in purchasing and in IT.
Verified origin
We trade exclusively in licenses from the European Economic Area (EEA) and document every step.
Audit-proof documents
You receive the declaration of transfer and the confirmation of deletion you need to pass an audit.
Advice, not an order form
We work through what you actually need before you buy. Missing CALs come to our attention beforehand, not to yours later on.
Business to business only
We supply businesses and public sector buyers. The VAT ID is mandatory; this is not a consumer business.
How your license purchase works
Four steps from your inquiry to a documented delivery.
Inquire
You tell us the product and the quantity and send a no-obligation inquiry.
Quote and check
We check availability and terms and put your quote together.
Contract and invoice
You receive the contract and the invoice from your contracting party.
Delivery with proof
You get the license keys and the complete documentation.
Origin, transferability and end of support are settled for every single license before we even offer it. Anything that does not pass this check, we do not buy.
Which version is still worth buying today
The purchase price on its own says little. What matters is how long a version will still receive security updates. We give you that date for every license we offer and advise against investing in a version that is running out.
Figures based on the manufacturer's lifecycle data, checked in August 2026. We give you the end-of-support date for every license we offer and advise against investing in a version that is running out. What counts is not the purchase price but the price per year of remaining coverage.
Why reselling used software licenses is permitted
Used software is not a gray area. That licenses may be resold has been settled since 2012 and has been confirmed several times since. Behind it stands a principle of copyright law: exhaustion. Whoever has once sold a copy of software permanently and for a one-off payment within the European Economic Area can no longer prohibit the further sale of that very copy. Their distribution right is spent with the first sale.
The matter was decided at European level, and there is a good reason for that: software licenses fall under EU Directive 2009/24/EC, which has to be interpreted the same way in every member state. When the German Federal Court of Justice had a German dispute to decide, it referred the question of interpretation to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Its answer has bound the courts across the single market ever since. It is also the reason we trade exclusively in licenses that originate within the European Economic Area.
Whoever grants software for an unlimited period against a one-off payment is selling it. The distribution right is thereby exhausted and the buyer may pass the license on, even where the software was only downloaded. The condition is that they render their own copy unusable.
The Federal Court of Justice puts the European decision into German law. It is thereby settled that the buyer of a used license also uses the software lawfully. At the same time, proof takes center stage: whoever invokes exhaustion must be able to prove it.
The decision on volume agreements: where a license covers several independently usable copies, those copies may be passed on individually once the previous owner has rendered the corresponding number unusable. What forms a functional unit, by contrast, stays together.
The limit of exhaustion: a backup copy made by the user may not be resold. Only the copy that was actually sold at some point is exhausted. This is precisely why we document, for every license, which original agreement it comes from.
For purchasing this means: what matters is not the software but how it was acquired. We document that route for every license from the first purchase to you and archive the documents permanently.
The legal position in detail
Who we work for
Two groups with different requirements for the same thing: traceable procurement. Both get the same depth of checking from us; the documents differ only in how they are tailored.
Cut costs without compromising on legal certainty
Whether mid-sized business or large group: you get the same software at considerably lower cost, and documents that stand up in an audit.
View the rangeEconomical procurement, sound under procurement law
Used software may not be excluded across the board in tender procedures. We supply the proof for your procurement file along with the licenses.
Information for public authoritiesBefore you commit
Used licenses need explaining. These three pages answer the questions purchasing and IT put to us most often.
What a used license is, which license types are transferable and how to recognize a reputable provider.
Which proof is required, what our documentation chain looks like and where you stand if you are audited.
Articles on calculating CALs, support deadlines, license types and preparing for an audit.
Frequently asked questions
The points that come up most often in purchasing.
Is buying used licenses really lawful?
Yes, and it is confirmed at the highest judicial level. In 2012 the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that permanently acquired software licenses may be resold. The German Federal Court of Justice confirmed this for Germany and expressly for Microsoft volume licenses.
Does Microsoft have to approve the purchase?
No. The manufacturer's consent is not required, and there is no obligation to register either.
Does the software work exactly like a new one?
Yes. It is the same software with the same feature set, and you receive security updates to the same extent as with a new license.
Which documents do I receive?
You receive the license agreement in your company's name, the invoice, a declaration of transfer covering your quantity, the confirmation of decommissioning from the previous owner, plus the download link and activation details. We archive the complete chain of title permanently and present it directly to the auditing body in the event of an audit. If you take over a package in full, you receive the complete documentation.
Why is there no shopping cart?
Because used licenses cannot simply be reordered at will. We check every inquiry against actual stock. A quote you receive from us is a quote we can deliver on.
Do you supply private individuals as well?
No. We supply only businesses and public sector buyers. Providing a VAT ID is a prerequisite.
Do you buy licenses too?
Yes. If your company no longer needs its licenses, we value your holdings and make you an offer.
How do I receive the software?
Through a download link to the manufacturer's original version, together with the activation details. Physical media are not required and are not provided for in volume agreements anyway. You install the same file that would be used with a new license.
How long will I still get security updates?
That depends solely on the version, not on whether the license is new or used. We give you the manufacturer's end-of-support date for every license and say openly when a version is close to running out. Work with the price per year of remaining coverage rather than the purchase price.
What happens in a license audit?
You present the paperwork you received from us. If the auditing body asks for more, we get in touch with them directly and present the complete chain of title. That is exactly why we archive it permanently. You do not need to run a records archive in order to pass an audit.
Can I resell the licenses myself later on?
If you have taken over a package in full, yes. The complete documentation is then handed to you, you step into the entire acquisition and you can pass the licenses on yourself later. With partial quantities the chain stays with us, because it could otherwise no longer be tied clearly to any particular number of licenses.
How much do I save against a new license?
The gap to list price is considerable and depends on version and quantity. Against a subscription the advantage grows every year, because a perpetual license is paid for once and causes no running costs after that. We name concrete terms on request, because they depend on the quantity actually available.
Are subscriptions such as Microsoft 365 transferable?
No. Only perpetual licenses acquired once and for an unlimited period are transferable. Those are precisely the licenses we trade. A subscription ends with its term and creates no ownership of a copy that could be passed on.
What quantities are possible?
From a handful of workstations up to four-figure quantities. For larger requirements we check availability in the market and come back to you with a firm answer. We would rather turn a quantity down than confirm one we cannot deliver.
How quickly do I get a quote?
Usually on the same or the next business day. Beforehand we check availability and transferability, so that the quote states exactly what you will end up receiving. We clear up any questions up front, not only after the order.
Tell us what you need
A no-obligation inquiry, answered with a concrete quote. Usually within one business day.