NIST 800-88 · erasure report per machine
Your data is the part we take most seriously.
Every drive we buy is erased before it is resold. We select NIST 800-88 Purge; where a drive does not support Purge, the software applies NIST 800-88 Clear with three overwrite passes, and each drive's line on the report shows the method and the result for that drive. Every drive is erased, or it is destroyed. Nothing data-bearing is resold un-erased. RAM needs no wiping; it loses its contents the moment the power is cut.
What actually happens to your drive
- Serialized intake. The serial is logged and photographed before anything else touches the device.
- Erasure. Every drive goes to the bench and is run through BitRaser Drive Eraser, commercial erasure software, to a NIST SP 800-88 profile. Not a format. Not a delete.
- Verification. Verification is set to total verification. On a drive that completes, the report records the number of sectors processed.
- The report. The software writes one report per machine, with a section for every drive in it. Each drive's section carries the model, the serial number, the capacity, the drive's health and SMART status, the erasure method the report records for that drive, the number of write passes, the verification setting, the start and end times, the duration, and whether it passed or failed.
When a drive fails
Not every drive erases. Some are already failing when they reach the bench — a controller that has stopped answering, sectors the drive itself has given up on. When the software reports a failure we try again with a different tool. If it still will not erase, that drive is destroyed rather than resold. It does not go back out, and it is not sold for parts.
You are told either way. The erasure report records every drive we ran, including the ones that failed, with the serial, the drive's health and SMART status, and the reason it stopped — the same document, not a separate one. We will tell you in writing which of your serials were destroyed.
What you can and cannot get from us
Ask us and we will email you the erasure report for the drives we erased. The report is generated by the erasure software, not typed by us: it carries its own report ID, a digital identifier and the software version on its face.
We are not a certified processor. SellUsedRAM holds no R2, e-Stewards, NAID AAA, ADISA or ISO certification and does not issue certificates of destruction. If your disposal policy requires one, have a certified vendor sanitize the drives first and we will quote what is left, priced as separate memory and drive lines so the split stays visible.
The honest caveat on solid-state drives
On a solid-state drive that does not support the sanitize command, an overwrite cannot reach over-provisioned cells. That is why the report names the method for each drive rather than stating one standard for the whole job.
NIST replaced SP 800-88 Rev. 1 with Rev. 2 in September 2025. Rev. 2 keeps the same Clear, Purge and Destroy categories and defers the per-media technique to IEEE 2883-2022. Our erasure software labels its methods "NIST 800-88 Clear" and "NIST 800-88 Purge", and that is the wording on the report.
Why RAM doesn't need wiping (and what does)
DRAM is volatile — it loses its contents within moments of power-off, so there is nothing on your RAM to wipe by the time it's in a box. Storage is the opposite: SSDs and laptop drives keep data until properly sanitized, and "deleted" or "formatted" is not sanitized. That's why storage gets the full treatment above, always.
Wipe it yourself first — genuinely encouraged
Belt and suspenders is the right instinct. Our guide shows the exact commands per interface: How to wipe an SSD before selling it. We'll still re-erase and log it regardless — your report shouldn't depend on your own homework.
Stolen-equipment controls
Laptop serials are collected at quote time and checked at intake; duplicate serials across orders raise automatic flags; first-time sellers over $500 get a short payment hold; every acceptance includes a stolen-property attestation; serials are retained and law-enforcement requests are honored. Details in the FAQ.