Well, it's property of his workplace, and they're usually resold when the employee gets a new one. And it's not exactly mint any more, is it.

> they're usually resold when the employee gets a new one

Are they? Everywhere I've worked they get shoved into a storage closet and ignored for another 5-7 years

It's pretty common if you have IT and finance teams that are paying attention. Sure a lot of shops let them waste away on a shelf, but that's what it is, waste. If you have fungible inventory that isn't likely to get used soon it is just a mistake it let it sit around unutilized. If it is cash, it is easier to utilize on other projects.

My previous company was overly cost sensitive, but large enough to not notice the waste. IT and procurement managed relationships with the vendor (Lenovo IIRC), and we had the workstations for 3 years officially but most people were 5-6 years. The hardware 100% just went back into storage when we cycled and would be given out to new hires when they joined. We were using Threadrippers with 128GB RAM and NVMe SSDs anyway...

Every laptop I've ever purchased was corporate surplus

Apple has a buyback program for corporations.

Ours are on lease, but the leasing company will release some from time to time for auctions at $DAYJOB. I've won 2. Using one, son flipped the other one for a couple hundred dollar profit.

My old mac was supposed to be donated to some place, but they had forgotten me to tell the iCloud lock is still on there. They wrote me on LinkedIn and as they were a good employer, I did unlock it

Idk if it's common anymore, but some companies rent equipment rather than purchase it. So they'd have to return everything back to the rental company, who is expecting normal wear and tear, not intentional "customization."