Jeff Klein, a long term customer of Zerowait’s, recently wrote an article for tech zone about independent third party support and refurbished parts for legacy Information Technology equipment. It is a well written article and I think it is worth your time to understand the issues involved. Here are some interesting excerpts.
* “The Federal Government spent $2,034,269,948 on new equipment while only spending only $9,114,676 on refurbished. A resounding 99.6 percent of Federal IT dollars was spent with OEMs and OEM authorized resellers.”
* “Still others [OEMs] issue fictitious list prices. These can be a much as 200 to 300 percent higher than what they will charge a good customer, i.e., they can offer the perception of huge discounts to end customers while asking independents to pay much higher list prices for the same product or part.”
Jeff’s article ends with this :
“The solution is simple. Corporate IT buyers must join with their independent suppliers to demand that manufacturers: 1. Stop their attacks on independents. 2. Call on the U.S. Department of Justice to commence hearings to determine if AGMA is in violation of anti-trust laws. Without coordinated action, competition will continue to be curtailed, prices will rise, choices will be limited and free trade in America will be a little less free. ”
