The True Cost of “Free” Copier Upgrades

A fundamental misunderstanding exists that costs customers thousands of dollars. Their lease expires in a little more than a year, and their copier rep tells the customer that they’ll give them a free upgrade if they change now.

How Copier Reps Use the Word “Free” to Scam You Out of Thousands of Dollars

In the marketing world, there are few words more powerful than “free.” Unfortunately, copier reps use this word to scam customers out of their money.

Here is what’s happening behind the scenes of a “free” upgrade.”

A copier company needs sales, and the leasing companies want new contracts. With this mutual desire, a partnership is born to relieve you of your money.

The leasing company tells the copier company they will forgive a payment or two if they can get another long-term contract signed, as a promotion. Now and again, they will also defer payments.

A copier company will look at the equipment portion of the lease (which works out to half of the total) and see if they can wrap that price into the next contract and remain under retail price.

They go to the manufacturer and see what specials are happening. Instead of giving you the financial incentive the manufacturer provides them, they take this savings and use that to make the remainder of the payments, or close to it.

Why Is This Deal Terrible For Your Company?

You have three reasons why you shouldn’t take a “free” upgrade:

1. If this discount was available for you, you could’ve had the copier for much less had you not had the current lease. Your long-term costs could’ve been much lower.
2. This process is easier to wrap into a five-year lease, which is necessary to make the finances look right. The technology for copiers changes quickly, and you’ll want to upgrade in year four. The liabilities go up over time and had you rode out your original lease, you could’ve been paying a lot less per month for years.
3. This deal gives all the leverage to the leasing company and the copier company. You eliminate your competition, which removes all incentive to provide you with a better deal on your next lease.

Save Money on Your Next Lease by Waiting Out Your Original Lease.

When your lease is up, you can start to shop around and see what your original leasing company’s competition has to offer. In the end, you may decide to renew your contract with your first leasing company, but at least you have the power to shop around and get a better deal for your next lease. Be patient, wait out your contract, and you will be in a far better position to negotiate a better deal.