In my previous blog article, I gave three reasons to steer clear of Bargain-Brand Cartridges and cautioned why your customers should not be tempted by bargain brands. In this article I wanted to explore what you get when you choose, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) cartridges over bargain brands and how you can protect your customers from the tempting “as good as genuine” claims, by providing automated supplies replenishment tools and rewards for buying genuine Xerox supplies.
Top manufacturers don’t cut corners
When I think about value, what always come to mind first is quality. Companies like Gucci and Prada don’t cut corners. On the contrary, they source the finest available materials, utilize the finest craftsmen, and produce superior goods that over their life maintain their strong value, meaning they deliver on their promise of excellence without compromise. This, I believe, is true of all top manufacturers regardless of the industry segment.
Printer manufacturers—the industry I’m closest to—devote enormous engineering resources to optimize their products, both the printers and the toner cartridges. It’s like a union—a marriage of sorts. To achieve the optimal output, both the printer and the toner cartridges need to function optimally; the finest quality printers cannot produce outstanding output with sub-optimal toner, and vice versa. But together, they produce value in the form of quality print output from the first page to the very last, without variation, and without compromise.
Caveat Emptor: let the seller and buyer beware
But beware, there are toner peddlers out there, and they suggest that their toner is as good as the originals—every bit as good but for much less money. Bargain brands can offer deep discounts because, unlike the original equipment manufacturers, they cut corners everywhere.
Aftermarket supplies that claim to be as good as genuine, for example, seem like a bargain at the time, but later on, when leaking toner affects print quality, contaminates vital components, and eventually causes serious—sometimes irreparable damage— well is that still a bargain?
Buying from trusted brands
There are, of course, good remanufactured supplies available for price-sensitive customers. These companies invest engineering resources to meet the needs of a specific market segment. Just be sure to sell and buy from trusted brands.
At Xerox, for example, we’ve been leveraging our engineering horsepower for over 20 years to offer a range of toner cartridges for other manufacturers’ printers to meet the needs of price-sensitive customers who don’t want to sacrifice overall value. We have enough confidence in their quality (and therefore in our engineering expertise) to offer a lifetime warranty. That means you can sell with confidence, knowing that your end-customers’ will save money and that the quality will meet their expectations, and that should anything ever arise, Xerox is there to help.
Protect your customers, protect your business
By selling genuine Xerox supplies, providing tools that will proactively manage your customer’s entire printer fleet, and then rewarding them for that loyalty you have the formula that many Xerox channel partners are using to build long-term relationships with their customers – and it’s protecting their business.
Become a Xerox Channel Partner
If you’d like to learn more about becoming a Xerox channel partner and getting access to our tools and resources that will help you build a profitable supplies business visit the Xerox Global Partner program page and sign up today.
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