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Both Steve and Stuart agree that there are many pitfalls in acquiring Digital equipment. Steve says “There are many times when what appears to be the cheapest offer on the table often turns out not to be the case, with additional hidden costs not fully disclosed”
With this in mind Stuart explains “We would like to draw the buyers attention to some of the things that they should be looking for, prior to signing any contracts”
Service and Support
When comparing the service rates for colour prints, you need to establish exactly what you are getting. Steve makes the point “ Ensure that the print rate quoted is the same for SRA3 as well as A4 and includes all the consumables”, Stuart agrees, “Too many times buyers think that they have a low print rate, only to find that there is a separate cost for the RIP support charge with too high a minimum print commitment which is not annually aggregated, leading to expensive quarterly under usage”
Too often buyers find that as part of the sales process they sign a service contract for the same period as the lease rental, meaning that there is often a high financial penalty should they wish to move service providers for any reason.
Steve advises the buyer “When you are looking for a service contract negotiate a 12 month term which can be renewed on the anniversary date and agree in advance the level of service increase to be levied each year. It is also a good idea to find out who carries out the service, will it be the manufacturer or the dealers engineers and what happens if your supplier ceases to trade”
“Don’t forget”, says Stuart, “Ask your potential supplier to provide you with service call out times, referral’s and which consumable parts are customer replaceable, as this will often have a big say in production times for jobs”
Steve draws the buyers attention to a very important point “Always ask the supplier for a customer expectation document for any equipment. This should detail both the capabilities and limitations of the equipment. Then you should both sign a copy, for referral purposes in the future should your equipment start to develop problems”
Lease Rental
Steve and Stuart are in unanimous agreement that this is the biggest area many buyers fall down on and come unstuck. Steve makes the comment “Even after 25 years in the industry, I am still not surprised by the many basic errors that buyers make when signing lease rental agreements”
“Some of the biggest mistakes come about by not reading and keeping a copy of the agreement on day of signing” says Stuart. “By following some of the following points you may well avoid a lot of pain further down the line”
A) Always ensure that a customer copy of the contract is left with you at point of signing.
B) With all documents make sure you have a copy of the lease proposal detailing the structure of the contract, clearly showing any upgrades and settlements carried forward into the new agreement. Along with the total rentals due under the terms of the agreement.
C) Find out who is the funder of agreement and who your liability is with. You need to know what happens if the supplier is a dealer and unfortunately ceases to trade in the future
D) Are you due to make an advance payment on the activation of the lease, often this point is over looked at the point of signing and can prove to be very costly for budget purposes
E) Is the rental a fixed term contract or on a annual step increase with the finance house?
F) If you are on a print/copy plan agreement, establish what are the annual payment increases and how much do you pay for extra prints over your agreed commitment. Remember any excess copies on a normal agreement should only be for the service rate. If however you are on total volume plan then the extra prints will still be at the same rate as the minimum commitment as you include the capital element as well.
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