[999900000999]

It's just easier.

You don't have to worry about IT forgetting to wipe a drive or something.

You have a policy that says we take the SSD out before sending it to the reseller/donating.

A used SSD is a bad idea anyway, everything else on a laptop can more or less work indefinitely

[rwyinuse]

From reliability perspective an used SSD is not a bad idea. Average SSD that has seen typical business / home use will become obsolete long before it reaches its TBW rating, and many drives last way beyond that. Keyboard, screen or even the motherboard are more likely to give up before the SSD.

[999900000999]

At least in my experience SSDs are literally the only part that tends to fail.

Using a used SSD( Refurbished assuming direct from manufacturer might be ok) feels like digging though someone else's stuff.

Maybe they cleaned it, maybe they left business docs or other sensitive data. The risk to reward is too great.

[sokoloff]

Having IT roll up into me, I've seen way, way more batteries fail than SSDs. Screen failure [and hinge failure] is far more common than SSDs failing. Keyboard/touchpads fail more often. Charging bricks/cables also fail somewhat more than SSDs. Beyond that, in the low end of the laptop re-use market, "just blindly always buy and install a new SSD" breaks the economics pretty badly.

Look at the SMART stats, format the drive, and install your OS. For people shopping laptops under $250, that seems like a better path than a new SSD.

[positr0n]

What's the risk to you the user if it wasn't properly cleaned? Plug it in and format as the first thing you do if it worries you.