I simply do not see corporations selling off obsolete equipment in the ways I used to. It seems it has become cheaper and less of a burden to take EOL hardware

I simply do not see corporations selling off obsolete equipment in the ways I used to. It seems it has become cheaper and less of a burden to take EOL hardware and shred and sell for scrap than to sell off in a way that could ever wind up in a normal person's hands. I've seen this first hand recently- this very, very well known company had a new plant, with a whole warehouse of industrial equipment just old enough to be considered obsolete- literal highbays full of what were once very advanced robotics and specialized machines, perfectly useable for hobbyist engineers or even small startups, but too much of a burden to try and sell off for this company as that would take too long- the space was needed yesterday. So a service came that literally sawed things off the floor with grinders and torches and used excavators to load up railcars with anything metal. Electronics and cables were simply cut and piled in separate bins. It all literally went for scrap value, and in ways that it could never be repurposed.