Here are a few tips on buying a used copier. First of all, the meter count is just as important as the age of the copier. Similar to a car; a five year old copier with a low meter count is more valuable than a three year old copier with a high meter count. Make sure you ask for the meter reading.
It’s also a good idea to ask if the copier makes a copy and all the features are working properly. If someone says it’s been in storage and they don’t know you need to be skeptical. Don’t give anyone a check until you see if everything works well. Use all the features that you would normally use when testing.
Many donated copiers are mostly worthless. Somebody bought a new copier and couldn’t trade in the old one because it had no value and some enterprising sales rep said donate it to a charity and take a fat tax deduction. We get calls all the time from people with donated copiers. They are shocked that no one will do a maintenance agreement because it’s too old or has too many copies.
Finally, I’m getting some distress calls from people who bought a used copier from someone on the internet from a different part of the country. Here are two real life examples. Just this week one person called who was hopping mad because the copier arrived with a sorter that wouldn’t work. Another person called this week with a sheet bypass that didn’t work. Plus the model they got wasn’t the one they ordered.
My recommendation would be to find what your looking for locally and then discuss an exchange policy if the copier fails to perform. If the copier proposed is too expensive tell the sales rep and renegotiate. It’s also a good idea to get a maintenance agreement in case the copier wasn’t refurbished properly. That way the vendor takes the hit if there’s a lot of service.
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