[PrintOwners] Dealers vs. Going Direct

Thu Sep 4 16:33:41 EDT 2008

Mark,

We bought a C500 (it'll be 2 years in mid-october). We have the Creo 
rip (which I highly recommend, if you're using digital as a 
substitute for offset), and the large side paper-tray. We also bought 
the basic finisher, so we'd get a receding output tray. We have a 
Duplo collator-bookletmaker, and an MBO folder, so we didn't bother 
with either folding or bookletmaking in-line. I guess the thing will 
staple flat sets, but we've never used that feature. At the time, the 
NAQP pricing was about as well as anyone was doing, according to 
Larry Hunt's data, so, while I asked about better pricing, I didn't 
press very hard.

HTH,
Steve

> 
> Steve --
> 
> One more question -- which model and what features did you get on your 
> machine?
> 
> Mark
> 
> Mark Cordes
> 
> Cordes Printing, Inc.
> 460 Braen Avenue
> Wyckoff, NJ 07481
> 
> 201.652.7272
> 
> mark at cordesprinting.com
> 
> www.cordesprinting.com
> 
> Steve Blatman wrote:
> > ***** This is a PrintOwners List Message *****
> >
> > We're in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, so we're not far from 
> > you. We bought our machine, and are being serviced, from the KM 
> > corporate office near Horsham, or Willow Grove, or somewhere in that 
> > vicinity. The dealer agreed that trying to service a machine for us 
> > at the KM national-deal prices, would be a losing proposition for all 
> > concerned, and understood our decision to buy from KM.
> >
> > So far, the service from KM has been, in general, anywhere from very 
> > good to reasonable. Once or twice, I climbed the chain of command to 
> > get up to "reasonable," and once or twice they've gone considerably 
> > above and beyond what I had any right to expect.
> >
> > Steve
> >
> >
> >   
> >> Steve --
> >>
> >> So the question I have is WHO is servicing your machine? Does KM through 
> >> NAQP use your local guy to service the equipment? If not -- who?
> >>
> >> Mark
> >>
> >> Mark Cordes
> >>
> >> Cordes Printing, Inc.
> >> 460 Braen Avenue
> >> Wyckoff, NJ 07481
> >>
> >> 201.652.7272
> >>
> >> mark at cordesprinting.com
> >>
> >> www.cordesprinting.com
> >>
> >>
> >> Steve Blatman wrote:
> >>     
> >>> ***** This is a PrintOwners List Message *****
> >>>
> >>> We dealt directly with KM, via the NAQP pricing deal. A dealer 
> >>> offered to match the pricing, so I asked him what I considered the 
> >>> most important question.
> >>>
> >>> "The national deal is $.0x per click, with all sizes counted as one 
> >>> click. Will that be enough for you to give us the level of service we 
> >>> will need, or will we end up with you not able to service us because 
> >>> you're losing money on us?"
> >>>
> >>> In my case, that led to an honest discussion, which concluded with 
> >>> them telling me that, no, they couldn't service the machine for that 
> >>> amount of money, unless I was willing to go to double clicks for 
> >>> 11x17 over an agreed-upon monthly volume.
> >>>
> >>> The last thing you want to do is to put a dealer, upon whose service 
> >>> you depend, in the position of losing money on that service. It won't 
> >>> be good for you, the dealer, the manufacturer, or your customer.
> >>>
> >>> JMO,
> >>> Steve
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>   
> >>>       
> >>>> It has often puzzled me that when dealing with copier companies you can 
> >>>> either deal directly with the company (Xerox, Konica Minolta, Canon) or 
> >>>> at least in some cases go through what I guess is a dealer 
> >>>> (distributor?). This has happened to us a couple of times and I find it 
> >>>> rather confusing.
> >>>>
> >>>> In this particular situation I am starting the process of looking at 
> >>>> some Konica Minolta copier equipment. In our area I have 2 ways I can go 
> >>>> as stated previously. Interestingly enough they are both located in 
> >>>> Totowa, NJ at different addresses. At this point I figure I can play one 
> >>>> against the other, however the bigger issue to me is who will offer me 
> >>>> the best service. Cost of equipment and clicks doesn't mean a whole lot 
> >>>> when I have to wait 24 hours or more for a service call as often happens 
> >>>> with Canon who I am currently with.
> >>>>
> >>>> Have any others had similar experiences and what did you discover in the 
> >>>> process?
> >>>>
> >>>> Mark
> >>>>
> >>>> Mark Cordes
> >>>>
> >>>> Cordes Printing, Inc.
> >>>> 460 Braen Avenue
> >>>> Wyckoff, NJ 07481
> >>>>
> >>>> 201.652.7272
> >>>>
> >>>> mark at cordesprinting.com
> >>>>
> >>>> www.cordesprinting.com
> >>>> _______________________________________________
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> >>>> Post: PrintOwners at printweb.org
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> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
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> >>>>
> >>>>     
> >>>>         
> >>> Steve Blatman
> >>> Ink Spot Printing & Copy Center, Inc.
> >>> 14 Church Road, Frazer, PA 19355 USA
> >>> Tel: 610-647-0776
> >>> Fax: 610-647-4560
> >>>
> >>> _______________________________________________
> >>> PrintOwners Discussion List
> >>> Post: PrintOwners at printweb.org
> >>> Info: http://rb.enter.net/mailman/listinfo/printowners
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>   
> >>>       
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> >>
> >>     
> >
> > Steve Blatman
> > Ink Spot Printing & Copy Center, Inc.
> > 14 Church Road, Frazer, PA 19355 USA
> > Tel: 610-647-0776
> > Fax: 610-647-4560
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > PrintOwners Discussion List
> > Post: PrintOwners at printweb.org
> > Info: http://rb.enter.net/mailman/listinfo/printowners
> >
> >
> >   
> 
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> 
> 
> 
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> 
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> 

Steve Blatman
Ink Spot Printing & Copy Center, Inc.
14 Church Road, Frazer, PA 19355 USA
Tel: 610-647-0776
Fax: 610-647-4560