Below is a
reprint of reader-responses to the Larry Hunt Newsletters’ most recent
subscriber survey. During the time I was
active in the reprographic business, I had a subscription to the Larry Hunt
Newsletters, and saying that “my subscription saved me money” would be an
understatement. Over the years, the
savings we realized on equipment purchases and leases was quite substantial,
thanks to the market intelligence provided in the LHN Newsletters. In fact, the first time I read an LHN
Newsletter (and that was many years ago), I saved enough money (on an equipment
purchase) to fund a lifetime’s worth of subscriptions!
If you are a
long-time visitor to the Reprographics 101 Blog, you’ve noticed that we do not
accept advertising on our Blog. While
this post might sound like an ad for
the LHN Newsletters, it isn’t an ad. It
is simply my way of sharing information – with reprographers – information that
can help them make better informed buy/lease decisions, more informed equipment
selection decisions, and save money. I
can’t imagine why any reprographer would not want to do those things.
This month’s
issue of the LHN Wide-Format Newsletter revealed detailed price quote
information (including service costs) for an HP PageWide 5000 XL system. As more and more subscribers share price
quotes with LHN, readers will be able to determine if they are getting “best”
pricing on HP PW XL systems they are interested in buying (or leasing.) Do you want to be the sucker that pays more than
you have to?
Contact
Information for the Larry Hunt Newsletters:
Results
of a Subscriber Survey, Part 2 (reprinted
with permission from LHN):
Introduction: Readers were asked if
they have been able to use information provided by the Larry Hunt newsletters
to save money on machines, supplies, service or other items? There were a
number of interesting responses to this question. Here are some of them.
Thanks to
everyone who completed this survey!
§
The newsletter has
saved me tens of thousands of dollars over the many years I’ve been a
subscriber.
§
The newsletter and
phone calls were invaluable in negotiating our current Canon/Oce 110 and our
Xerox J75 machines.
§
We have been able to
negotiate consistently better deals throughout the years due to the knowledge
we got from the information in Larry Hunt’s (Dirck’s) newsletters.
§
Your newsletter has
been an invaluable resource in assessing price, leasing terms and quality of
the various machines we’ve leased over the years.
§
If vendors know we get
the newsletter and have the knowledge about pricing and user reports it
eliminates a lot of wasted time getting to the final price.
§
The newsletter
provides me with a starting point for rates.
§
The newsletter allows
me to negotiate a great price when purchasing equipment with the
vendor.
§
Yes, it sets a
starting point for negotiation.
§
Dirck’s knowledge of
leasing factors and leasing company policies has helped us negotiate better
deals.
§
You helped me with my
Xerox J75 purchase three years ago.
§
Yes, to keep my
suppliers honest.
§
Absolutely. I find by
having this tool, we are able to know where to begin the negotiations and know
what to expect.
§
I have shown articles
to salesmen when getting copier bids.
§
We let the sales
people know that we are using your service and get better bids from the start.
We also use your recommended configuration to avoid
unneeded equipment.
§
Yes, multiple times
over many years. We just say “Larry Hunt,” and they become negotiable.
§
For us it has been
more about confirming that we were paying the right price.
§
Besides the
educational value to become a better negotiator the knowledge we have from the
newsletter keeps vendors on their toes. We are not part of a large group, but
have the clout of a group.
§
We’ve used the
newsletter info for basically every copier purchase made over the last 20 plus
years.
§
When the time came to
decide whether we would buy out the lease on our Ricoh 901 or not, we were able
to compare prices which allowed us to get a fair price for the buyout.
§
Absolutely. I always
check the newsletter before purchasing – Larry, and now Dirck, are very
helpful.
§
It helps keep our
vendors honest.
§
We received better
prices from Xerox.
§
Understanding what
others have paid has helped me save thousands on both equipment and service.
§
Yes! A dealer once
said he was offering a machine at his cost. When we compared it to the reports,
he went back to Canon and got us a much lower price.
§
Yes, but not as much
recently. This may be the result of doing such a great job letting people know
what is reasonable.
§
It helps with
negotiating the purchase.
§
I saved money on click
charges. I had no idea what market pricing was until I got the
newsletter. Seeing what others were paying helped me
negotiate.
§
Typically I use the
information to negotiate a better click rate.
§
We have had favorable
negotiations on every piece of digital-printing equipment we have purchased
since 1991 due to the information contained in the newsletters, as well as
getting your specific feedback on each proposal.
§
The newsletter
provides me with information I need when negotiating leases etc. – a great
place to start!
§
Yes, there was not a
lot of info on our machine, but it did help.
§
It’s a good starting point
when considering a purchase.
§
Yes, for all the usual
reasons.
§
Have “quoted”,
referenced and shown data to vendors.
§
We typically compare
what you post with what we are being offered from vendors.
§
It provides useful
info along with personal replies to specific quotes.
§
Helpful info on
equipment, maintenance and click rates.
§
You have saved us
thousands of dollars on new purchases, and have helped me sleep better at
night, knowing that I know enough to receive a better deal.
§
I always consult Larry
Hunt Newsletters before making any decision to lease/purchase a machine.
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§
The newsletters are
good to get a benchmark for pricing and services.
Reprographics 101 