Selling used software licenses
Microsoft volume licenses you no longer need are tied-up capital. We check free of charge whether your licenses are transferable, value the holding and make you an offer. Submitting it commits you to nothing.
When selling is worthwhile
Licenses regularly become surplus: after a move to the cloud, after site closures, after headcount reductions or when hardware has been replaced. Those licenses keep their value as long as they were acquired permanently and are transferable.
Rather than leaving them on the shelf, you can turn them into cash. The sale can be shown cleanly in your accounts, and you receive from us the documents that record the transaction.
How the purchase works
Four steps from submission to payment.
Submit the holding
You send us a list of your licenses with product, version and quantity.
Checking the chain of title
Working from your contract paperwork, we check whether and how the licenses can be transferred.
Our offer
You receive a concrete purchase offer with a price per item and a total.
Transfer and payment
Once you accept, we handle the transfer and pay the agreed amount.
What we buy
So that you do not gather documents unnecessarily: this overview shows which holdings we can take on and where a sale is legally ruled out.
- Microsoft volume licenses from Open, Open Value or Select
- Windows Server in every edition, together with its client access licenses
- Office, Project and Visio as perpetual licenses
- Exchange, SharePoint and SQL Server together with their CALs
- Holdings from a business closing down, a merger or a move to the cloud
- Surplus stock from oversized purchases
- Subscriptions. They are a right of use for a period and never become your property.
- OEM licenses without the device they came with. They are tied firmly to the hardware.
- Education and government licenses from special programs. Their terms usually rule out passing them on.
- Developer licenses from subscription programs. They are tied to a named person.
Not sure what you have? Send us the invoice. We will tell you within one business day whether the holding can be traded, without you having to prepare anything further.
What determines the value of your holding
Two holdings of the same size can attract very different offers. These five factors explain the difference. Knowing them helps you choose the right moment to sell.
Remaining support life
The most important factor. A version that will still receive security updates for years is worth considerably more to buyers than one whose support ends in a few months. If you know a holding will be released anyway, do not wait until shortly before the end of support.
Completeness of the paperwork
A holding with complete documentation can be resold; one without cannot. This point therefore affects not only the size of the offer but whether we can make one at all.
License type
Volume licenses from programs granting permanent use are tradable. Subscriptions, licenses tied to hardware and pre-installed copies are not. Which type you hold is set out in the contract paperwork, not on the product key.
Demand for the product
Server licenses and their client access licenses are sought after constantly. For specialist products with a small user base demand fluctuates, and the holding may sit for a while before it finds a buyer.
Size and composition
Larger, uniform lots are easier to place than many small remainders across different versions. We buy both; the difference lies in the effort, and that effort shows in the offer.
What plays no part
How long the software was in use with you is irrelevant. Software does not wear out. A license that ran for ten years is worth just as much as one that was never installed, as long as the paperwork is in order.
What we need for the valuation
The more complete your details, the faster and more precisely we can value the holding. If paperwork is missing, simply tell us. The chain of title can often be reconstructed through the manufacturer's licensing portal.
- Product name, version and edition
- Quantity per item
- Licensing program, for instance Open License or Open Value
- Purchase receipt or contract number of the first purchase
- Confirmation that the licenses are no longer in use
When paperwork is missing
This is the most common reason a sale falls through, and rarely a reason to give up. A great deal can be reconstructed once you know where to look.
The license agreement cannot be found
Volume licenses are usually held in the manufacturer's portal, under the account of whoever concluded the agreement at the time. If that person has left, a look at the accounts often helps: the invoice names the contract number, and with it the access can be restored.
The invoice from the first purchase is missing
Ask the reseller of the time for a duplicate. Accounting records have to be kept for several years by law, so a copy often still exists. Your own archive often knows the transaction too, if filed under the cost center rather than the product name.
The company was renamed or sold
Then evidence is needed that the rights passed to today's company, from the commercial register or the sale agreement for instance. That takes effort, but it is workable. Let us know early and we will work out together what is needed.
Only a product key is available
A key on its own is not enough, neither for us nor for a later buyer. Without contract documents it cannot be proven that the license was ever lawfully acquired. In that case we say no openly rather than make you an offer we would have to withdraw later.
Checking your holding costs you nothing, even where no purchase comes of it in the end. You receive written feedback from us in every case: what is there, what is missing and whether obtaining the missing paperwork is worth the effort.
What you declare as the seller
Selling a license is not selling goods. You are not handing over a device but a right, and three declarations are needed for that. We prepare them; signing them is for you.
Declaration 1
A permanent first purchase
You confirm that the licenses were acquired permanently and for a one-off payment, not rented or subscribed to. That statement matches your contract paperwork; we check it against those documents before signing, so that nobody declares something they cannot see for themselves.
Declaration 2
Complete decommissioning
You confirm that you have removed the software in question and rendered all copies unusable. That is the central precondition of resale. Plan the timing so that operations do not suffer; the handover follows your schedule, not the other way round.
Declaration 3
Entitlement to pass them on
You confirm that you are entitled to dispose of the licenses and that no third-party rights stand in the way. With affiliated companies or after a restructuring it is worth checking in advance who formally holds them. We will tell you what to look out for.
Two practical points
First: clear the sale internally before you declare the decommissioning. It happens that a department still uses software the IT team assumed had been replaced. Second: the proceeds of the sale are a business transaction and belong in your accounts. How they are to be treated there is a question for your tax advisor; we cannot and may not say anything on that.
Frequently asked questions about selling to us
Which licenses do you buy?
Microsoft volume licenses acquired permanently, from the European Economic Area (EEA). We cannot buy subscriptions with a recurring fee, because they are not transferable.
How is the price worked out?
What counts is the product, version, edition, quantity and current demand. Older versions close to their end of support fetch less than versions with a long life left.
What if paperwork is missing?
Come to us anyway. In many cases the purchase can be documented through the manufacturer's licensing portal or through the reseller you bought from at the time.
Does submitting a holding commit me to anything?
No. You receive a valuation and an offer. Whether you sell is your decision afterwards.
What does the check cost me if no purchase comes of it?
Nothing. Checking your holding is free of charge and without obligation, whatever the outcome. In every case you receive written feedback on what is there and what may be missing.
How long does the whole process take?
We usually give a first assessment within a few business days of receiving the paperwork. How long it takes after that almost always depends on how quickly any missing evidence can be obtained. Where everything is complete, the matter is settled promptly.
Do we have to uninstall the software before selling?
Not for the check and not for the offer. Decommissioning is only required at handover, and we agree the timing with you. That way you can plan the changeover calmly rather than switching off under time pressure.
Can we keep part of it and sell only the rest?
With independent workstation licenses from a volume agreement, releasing part of them is usually possible. A server license together with its client access licenses, by contrast, forms one unit and cannot be broken up. Which applies in your case, we can see from the contract paperwork.
Before you decide
Three pages that are often needed as well when selling used licenses.
Why resale is permitted
The exhaustion principle explained plainly, the rulings of the CJEU and the German Federal Court of Justice, and the limits at which a sale genuinely fails.
Who we are and how we check
The four steps every holding goes through before we take it on, and what we deliberately do not buy. So that you can judge what you are getting into.
Telling license types apart
Twelve terms from licensing paperwork in plain language. Useful for working out in advance what your contract documents actually say.
Submit your holding without obligation
Send us your license list. You will receive a valuation and a purchase offer.