Wicked Smart Office Supply Shopping
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What's the best price I can get on____________?" When you go shopping, does this question cross your mind? Here's what you need to know to get the best value when you shop for office supplies for your company.
1. "Can you beat this price?" With over $17 Billion in office supplies purchasing power Impact Office Products gets the same great pricing as the "big" office supply stores. Yes, we can get you great pricing on everything for your office, but buyer beware what "cheap office supplies" are going to get you in the long run.
2. Watch out for prices that are too low. You just received an offer from a company that's advertising a price that seems too good to be true?
Tread lightly...
Office supplies are a commodity item. Everyone who is in business needs something that we sell. All vendors and dealers are typically buying at the same prices due to something called buying groups. These buying groups allow the independent regional dealers like Impact to buy as a collective group, and in turn get some incredible pricing that we pass on to you. Short story... office supply stores (big and small) are buying office products at the same price. Yep, we buy office supplies at the same price as the company with a big red button.
If one dealer is offering a price that is far below everyone else, it's extremely likely that they're selling below their cost. Do you know of any businesses that can continue to sell at a loss for an extended period of time? I do... but the companies all recapture the loss on other products.
Loss leaders or incentive introductory prices offered by other dealers may look great, but they drop those prices while raising the price of other items that fly below your radar. What does this mean for you? You'll pay more in the long run, so they can meet their sales quota.
3. Buy a partner, not office supplies. If all of the office supply companies are getting the same pricing, and can pass that along to you, what incentive do you have to go with one vendor over the other? Ask yourself a few questions:
- Let's assume that price is important to you. What else matters most when you buy from an office supply company?
- Emergency same day delivery?
- The ability to speak with someone without waiting on hold for extended periods?
- Next day servicing of coffee machines when there is a problem?
- Customized billing?
- Customized on line shopping website?
Once you know what matters to you, make up questions to ask your prospective vendors to make sure that they can deliver everything you need.
- What problems have I experienced with the service levels that I would like to avoid in the future?
- On-time delivery?
- Issues with receiving an invoice in a timely manner?
- No contact from the sales representative?
- What level of attention will I require to make my life easier?
- Impact offers it's customers a one-on-one level of attention that
the big guys just can't match. The big store business model is to start you with a sales rep, and then quickly transition you to customer service or to their website only. If that's what you're looking for, we can do that too; however, in our experience most customers want an ally. They need someone who has their back, and will partner with them to take care of any issues that may arise.
Let's face it... No matter whom you choose to do business with, you're going to encounter problems. It's the solutions to those problems that set an office supply vendor apart.
What solution can Impact Office Products offer you? Sign up to become an Impact customer, and find out today.