No matter what the product is, you always want to get the best price possible for it. When it comes to printers/copiers, the same logic applies.
It’s actually hard to believe how expensive even a simple office printer can cost nowadays. At the basic level, printers can cost around $1,000; at the advanced level, they can cost as much as $30,000 or more.
As a printer/copier company for almost 40 years, we’ve learned that cost is the most concerning factor for customers in the market for a new machine. And we always want to find ways to make it less of a concern for consumers.
We’ve learned a few tips and tricks along the way that can help you mitigate some of the cost of buying an expensive printer, and we plan to share some of those in this blog.
Because buying a new office printer can be stressful, and if you can save even a little bit off the total cost of the machine, it will make you feel better about ultimately purchasing the machine that you need to serve your workplace.
We’ll start by going over what to consider when looking for a new printer before getting into the tips on how to get the best price for your next machine.
What to Know Before Looking for a Printer
Before getting into the tips of getting the best price on a printer, we first must go over what to look for before purchasing one.
There is a lot that goes into buying the right machine, and when it comes to printers, a lot of consumers choose the cheap route.
This is certainly understandable when talking about a printer for personal or home office reasons, but when you’re talking about an office printer, going the cheap route could cost you big time in the long run.
Because overusing a printer can result in frustrating service issues, excess supply expenses and the constant cycle of having to find a replacement printer because the old one didn’t last.
That’s why if you’re a business that needs an office printer for daily use, you need to consider the following:
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Your monthly print volume.
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How many people will need to use the machine.
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The accessories, like extra paper trays or a stand, that you may require.
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The amount of space you need to make for the machine.
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What you’re going to do about maintenance and supplies.
Cost is the number one factor for most consumers, and rightfully so: At the end of the day, we’re all trying to save as much money as possible.
But if you don’t consider the factors above before purchasing your machine, you will end up paying more for it in the long run.
If you would like an entire guide dedicated to what you need to consider before purchasing a machine, download your free copy of our Complete Guide to Purchasing or Leasing a Printer.
3 Ways to Get the Best Price for Your Printer
Now that we’ve touched on what you need to know before purchasing a printer, let’s now get to what you came here for. Here are three tips for getting the best price for your next printer:
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Promotional Discounts
The first tip involves something that almost every company that sells products will offer at some point: Promotional discounts.
Companies that sell printers are always running promotions, and the best way to find out the type of promotion is by simply asking. There’s a chance that they might have certain types of machines on sale or discounts they’ve been given by the manufacturer of the machine that they’re selling.
Manufacturer discounts usually depend on the time of year, or whether or not there’s a surplus of a certain machine model that the manufacturer has overstocked. If they have a lot of one specific model, then it’s likely they’ll put a discount on it for the vendors that sell them. This can then be passed down to you, the customer.
Pro Tip: Buy at the end of the quarter. Oftentimes, print vendors are looking to meet a sales quota, so they might be willing to sell at a discount. The catch is that if you do buy at this time, you’ll likely need to have the machine installed before the end of the quarter or year, so be prepared to make a decision quickly, and take installation timeframes into account.
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Buy at the End of the Year
The next way you can get the best price for your printer is by buying toward the end of the year when companies are looking to get rid of machines they have an overabundance of.
To incentivize consumers to buy their overstocked products, printer companies will typically offer end-of-year promotions so they can sell off the inventory that they have too much of.
Pro Tip: If you’re looking to buy a new printer and don’t have an urgent need for one right away, wait until the end of the year to purchase. That way you will have a better chance of getting an end-of-year discount.
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Special Pricing
The last tip to get a good price on your machine is a broad and sometimes tricky one to explain: Special pricing.
Depending on what kind of vertical market your organization is in, there are special pricing contracts that you could qualify for. The markets that can qualify include state and local governments, school districts, religious organizations and hospitals, among others.
The special pricing could either be a discount on the machine itself or a discount on the cost per print. To qualify for this, you will need to join a cooperative purchasing organization, like TIPS or Provista.
Read our blog on everything you need to know about cooperative purchasing for printers/copiers to learn more about eligibility requirements and whether or not it could be a fit for you.
There are also two other types of “special pricing” you can get on your next office machine. They are:
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Special discounts (i.e. a veteran’s discount)
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Buying in bulk, which could trigger a special discount since manufacturers prefer to sell several machines at a time.
Pro Tip: Consider joining a cooperative purchasing organization. Membership is free in most cases, and you may qualify for a special pricing contract if you’re a member of one.
Bonus Pro Tip: If you qualify for a special discount, always ask for one.
Extra Bonus Pro Tip: If you need multiple new machines, buy them in bulk, as this will likely give you a discount.
Which Printer Should You Purchase Next?
There are not many things more demoralizing than buying a product and realizing that you vastly overpaid for it after the fact.
This is especially true when talking about office printers that run well into the thousand-dollar range.
Our advice as a long-time print vendor is to consider all the factors discussed in the first section of this blog and don’t just purchase the cheapest machine you can find.
Once you figure out your goals and requirements, start looking for a machine that can match what you need in an office printer. After that, take the insider tips you learned today to get the best price possible for your machine.
Printers can be expensive, but if you use some of the “hacks” we gave you today, you will at least be able to offset some of the cost so you can get the right machine in place for your company instead of just buying the cheapest one.
At this point, you might have already figured out which machine you want and are looking for a place to purchase it.
We sell Xerox machines, so if a Xerox-branded machine is what you desire, request a quote for a free estimate on what you could expect to pay for a new machine.
If you’re still undecided on which machine you want to buy next, read our blog on the top three multifunction printers (MFP’s) to see some of the options you have when you are ready to make a purchase.
