BUYING A COPIER 101

Scratching your head on what kind of machine to buy for your office? Try to start first with careful consideration of your vendors instead, this might make your decision much less of a hassle.

Here are a couple of good questions to ask:

1. 11 x 17: Many vendors charge separately for tabloid or larger paper, make sure you understand how this is calculated. In the copier industry, most vendors use some sort of cost per copy calculation. For this type of output most charge 2 "clicks", but some vendors only charge 1 "click." It doesn't take too much thought to see where this could get expensive if you're running the larger paper.

2. Service Credits: Make sure you are not paying for impressions being made when your service person is working on the equipment. Again, in the cost per copy world where you are paying up front, or as you go, this can add up quickly. Even with fairly simple devices, they can run several hundred impressions during their visit.

3. Supply Delivery: Are you the customer paying for the supplies going into your machine? It seems small, but most contracts these days are between 3-5 years. Let's estimate you get toner shipped every month and you get charged $7 for each time it arrives--that's costing you $480 during a 5 year contract!

4. Scanning Charges: Make sure you do not get charge for scan to file or scan to e-mail jobs. This is not as widespread as the 11 x 17 example above, but this is just simply a ripoff since it doesn't really cost the vendor at all.

5. Removal Fees: If there is nothing else you take away in the post, make sure you note this one. How does your vendor address lease expiration and removals? You (the customer) are responsible for the return fee, crating, packaging and shipping back to the leasing company. It's not uncommon for this to cost anywhere from $500 - $2,000 per machine.

6. Insurance: 1/4% of the asset value is the industry average per month, however, some vendors include it with their lease pricing. This is a value add to the customer because any claims won't affect your commercial policy premiums, plus there is no deductible.

7. Property Tax: This varies from state to state, but ask your vendor about the local rates. This usually doesn't have a huge premium associated with it, but some vendors actually include it in their offerings.

8. The Guarantee: What happens if you get a lemon? Does your vendor honor giving you a totally different machine if something goes really wrong? Some vendors allow you to make the call, some do not--make sure you're in control.

9. Miscellaneous: Other tidbits to ask about are any lease administration fees, UCC filing fees, Delivery & Setup, Network Setup, Fuel Surcharges, Color Calibration and System Overahauls.

Hopefully asking these questions sooner rather then later will aide you in your buying decision. As you can see, buying from the brochure i.e. speeds, feeds, paper sources, etc. isn't the only thing to consider.