You’re buying a copier (possibly for the first time), and all the numbers you are seeing are overwhelming. Understanding all the information these reps throw your way feels like an impossibly daunting task. Every step of the way, you wish that someone could make this entire process easier to comprehend.
Suddenly, you speak to a sales rep that has a simple quote that’s easy to understand. You pay $324 a month for everything. You feel as if the heavens have parted, and your long journey is finally over. The quote isn’t the cheapest one out there, but every other deal you heard has these overage fees and other copier jargon to worry about when all you want to know is how much you’ll pay every month.
Satisfied with the deal, you sign the lease. You know, without a shadow of a doubt, how much you owe every month on your copier bill. All’s right with the world.
Or is it?
The Hidden Costs of the Simple Monthly Quote
Copier reps know that quotes get complicated. They know the average prospective customer doesn’t have the time or patience to dig through every line item that makes up a copier quote.
So, what do they do?
The copier rep, out of the goodness of his heart, boils down all the numbers to a single number and adds 20-30% to that number. You pay far more for the copier every month than you would have had you taken the time to get your quote itemized.
How Do Copier Reps Inflate Your All-in-One Quote?
One way a copier rep will pad your quote is to add items you don’t need. Did you need a finisher? Do you know what a finisher is? If not, you have plenty of time to learn because it comes with your purchase, whether or not you wanted it.
An unscrupulous copier rep will inflate your monthly bill to set you up on a monthly page plan that’s far higher than any regular business would ever use. In theory, this plan sounds good, but your unused prints don’t roll over to next month; what you didn’t that month is gone forever.
How Do You Prevent Being Tricked Into Paying Extra For a “Convenient” Quote?
The only way to keep from paying extra on your copier bill is to get your quote itemized and go through it line by line. If you are buying your first copier, this process will take more time than you would like. However, taking the time to understand your itemized quote will save your business hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars down the road.
Itemize your quote, dig through each item, and watch your patience get rewarded with a lower quote.
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