Discount stores are everywhere, and most of us take advantage of them at least some of the time. We like discount furniture and discount clothing, and those long aisles of culinary delights at our local warehouse store are admittedly pretty great.
A “Not-So-Great” Discount
There is a limit to what one should pick up at a discount store, however, and one of these is a copier. Here’s why the copiers at a big box retailer are a not-so-great choice for your business.
1. TCO — A big-box discount supplier may not be upfront with you about the Total Cost of Operation for the copiers they sell. Consumer-grade inkjet printers are particularly expensive to operate, with a cost-per-page that’s much higher than their business-grade counterparts. In fact, printer ink is one of the world’s most expensive liquids, outpacing Russian caviar, vintage champagne, and Chanel No. 5.
2. Repairs — We didn’t mention repairs in the paragraph above—we thought you might need some time to recover—but the truth will out. If you’ve ever experienced the frustration of an equipment failure shortly after purchasing a piece of equipment, then you know where we’re headed with this. Low-end copiers often aren’t worth repairing at all, and an estimate may come in higher than the original purchase price.
3. Support — You’ve been here before. A so-called customer service representative tries to talk you through a problem with your copier, but hours later the problem is not resolved, and you’ve wasted most of your day on the phone.