Purchases, Sales Reps, and Gloating About Great Deals

Remember my rant about not paying retail prices (post)? Of course not! ;)

Well, the point was to get a dedicated sales rep and a business account when possible. Not only can they offer better pricing but they also provide personalized customer service. I've had opportunity to purchase several items recently for the server migration and for general upgrades/needs. I wanted to show you why having a sales rep helps.

One of the Dell (site) servers we purchased spec'ed out like this: Single Xeon, RAID 5+1, 2 GB RAM, 146 GB SCSI HDs, rack chassis, redundant power supply, no OS, standard warranty. Dell website price: $3300 Sales rep price: $2700. It helped I was buying a machine that was being replaced by a newer model, the PowerEdge 2950.

Purchased several lengths of ethernet cables from PC Connection (site). One type was back ordered so I called my sales rep and requested a replacement that would ship sooner. By accident both shipped. PC Connection credited my company for the extra cables and let us keep them anyway. Sales rep said it was for the inconvenience; I think it was because it would cost them more to have them returned. Still, one rep is easier to deal with than getting a new person on the phone each time. Your sales rep has incentive to take care of problems so follow-up is relatively minimal.

CDW (site) sent me Backup Exec licenses for Linux instead of Windows. We had to repurchase the Windows ones but the CDW rep explained that whether Symantec refunds the cost of the erroneous licenses or not, CDW will definitely credit us. Like the Dell rep, I've been dealing with this CDW rep for years. He values my business as much as I value his. In the end I can get these things done with less hassle.

Back to Dell. I just order two workstations. This deal impresses me most. Optiplex GX620s, Pentium D, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB SATA HD, DVD+/-RW and a DVD-ROM, two (TWO!!) digital 17" flat panel monitors, two 1 GB USB pen drives, standard warranty, XP Pro, no office suite: $1080. On the site it would have cost me $1400. My officemate is tired of hearing me talk about.

(Why two monitors? Boss wanted to capitalize the workstations so they had to cost over a grand. My initial quote was a little under so I figured I would add a few necessary items. My sales rep is so good that no matter what I added, he just kept giving me the same price. Then I wrote him and said I have this much to spend, help me spend it. He squeezed in some really nice monitors that will help my company out. I wish I always had these problems!)

When the prices didn't work for me, I used NewEgg (site). I've found them dependable and cost effective. They often have rebates specific to them. There is very little customer support but I've seldom had problems. Limited staff, many no-name brands and OEM products, and a limited return policy help them keep their prices down. Returning some items does incur a restocking fee of 15% (oy!) and some items cannot be returned, only repaired through the manufacturer's warranty. I would advise when purchasing through NewEgg, read everything carefully. Customer reviews on products help a lot.

J&R (site) is also kind to non-profits. I've used them in the past but not yet with my current company. They aren't my top retailer but they are in my suite of sales outlets to keep handy.