USED, REMANUFACTURED, REFURBISHED OR PRE-OWNED: What is the difference?
Could saving a few thousand dollars on office equipment help your business? Absolutely. Considering previously used printers and copiers could be a wise choice. Used, remanufactured, refurbished, pre-owned…what’s the difference? Often the terminology of previously used equipment becomes muddled and sometimes even interchangeable, leading to misunderstandings. There are key differences, however, and you as the consumer need to be aware of them. If not, you could be wasting your money – not just in the short term, but long term for the duration of the life of the machine.
Manufacturers, dealers and or a third party company can re-sell equipment based on their own definition and processes. There is no governing body overseeing any certification process, so it is completely up to the organization selling the equipment. This, unfortunately, can be vulnerable to deception on the quality of the device you are receiving.
Let’s break it down (pun intended!) to each type of previously used equipment:
Used Office Equipment
Company’s may look to save money by purchasing used printers or used copiers through online merchants such as eBay or Craigslist or through a local auction. While it may seem to be a good option, some considerations need to be evaluated. For example, when you buy used at an auction – you really are buying by sight only. There may be issues in the internal mechanics including items such as fusers, gears, feed rollers and other moving parts that are integral for the machine to work optimally. You wouldn’t know this until you get it back to the office, plug it in, set it up, and realize that something isn’t right and it breaks down within 4 weeks.
In addition, you may find after the fact that there are issues with scanning, faxing, copying and or printing that is not necessarily easy to spot off the shelf. Simply put, used equipment simply indicates the re-sold machine is without any cleaning or repair.
Here’s a Com Pro tech tip on cleaning your equipment.
Refurbished Office Equipment
Manufacturers, dealers and a third party companies can do a complete refurbishing of office printers and copiers. Generally, a refurbished process includes a good cleaning internally and externally, but is the extent.This would be considered one-step above used office equipment. However, not much better. You are still at risk for breakdowns or issues with any component within the machine or features.
It is also possible that when you purchase refurbished equipment there is no guarantee or service agreement to maintain, repair or service it. Often, the equipment is very outdated and may not have parts available any longer – thus putting your business at risk in the event of it not working correctly.
Remanufactured (Reman) Office Equipment
Devices that have been previously used, demo models, trade-ins or end of lease can be resold as Remanufactured (also known as reman). The idea behind reman is to do a complete overhaul including inspection and bringing the device back to original as much as possible. It often includes a certification process before being sold as remanufactured. Machines that go through this process are considered to be “like new” and operate as such.
However, like mentioned before, there is no real governing body to guarantee that a reman process has in fact been completed. You would still be left in the dark on whether or not the machine has received a full over-haul and is working optimally.
Certified Pre-Owned Office Equipment
When it comes to quality and reliability, look for dealers that offer a certification process. While there is no governing body, dealers may offer this alongside a service guarantee for the life of the machine. In other words, they are backing it up and in the event of issues will repair and or replace the machine if needed. Looking from a customer service standpoint, as well as extending the life of the machine, looking for a dealer like Com Pro would be good business for the bottom line, productivity and support for the duration you have a certified pre-owned copier or printer.
At Com Pro, our Certified Pre-Owned process includes a full scope of inspection, cleaning, repair and replacement of parts and finally a certification from a lead technician.
Putting it all back together, here is a quick review of what to look for when it comes to investing in pre-owned office copiers or printers:
- Know the Upfront costs and recurring costs — consider the potential breakdown costs including repairs to the machine AND the business costs of downtime
- Technology advancement capabilities – is it easy to upgrade?
- Environmental impact
- Warranty — is there support or service or replacement with the dealer or seller?
Investment in quality office equipment including multifunction copiers and printers is something that every business requires. Whether or not to go with brand new office equipment, or if you want to save some money and the environment looking at pre-owned equipment is up to many varying factors.
Com Pro has provided Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley with sales, service and support for pre-owned equipment, including a 5 year guarantee on any Certified Pre-Owned office equipment we sell. To learn more about how our team can save your business, contact our sales team to get a quote.