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So I told a vendor, I used to use your security appliance many years ago at another place of employment and I remember good things about it.

I currently have a security appliance I do not like as much that was here when I got the job. It runs about $3200 a year to keep licensed and running.

He states they can meet or beat that price and shipped me the item for a 30 day trial. Hooked it up. Love it. It is as good as I remembered and upgraded some as well.

Now we have to go to a reseller to buy it in place. The reseller will not honor any price negotiations we made with the factory rep. The factory rep is now negotiating with the reseller, and I am waiting for “their best price.” They started at a three year deal of $1500, then moved down to a 3 year deal at $1300.

I told him, we need to be at or better than our original number, or we can ship it back. Then there are restock fees and other garbage charges.

12 Spice ups
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next time work with a reseller…

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Isn’t 3 years at $1300 far below what you’re already paying? I’m confused by the issue here.

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Sorry guys left a zero off both numbers. $15,000 and $13,000. So current system is $12,800 for 3 years.

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That makes quite the difference!

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Am I doing the math incorrectly? Shouldn’t 3 years at $3200/year be $9600 not $12800.

2 Spice ups
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Yes looks like I did 4 in my head real quick. Wish I could start this thread over. Numbers aside just frustrated by the tactics.

2 Spice ups
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I just refuse to take anything without having a quote in writing these days, my bosses boss would lose his mind if I did that. Kinda limiting, but there you go.

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Agreed. I’d do the demo, but wouldn’t proceed any further without a quote.

They’re trying to charge restock fees on a trial period? If someone told me that, I’d tape Monopoly money to it when I sent it back. Fake money for fake service.

7 Spice ups
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That is rough sir. I would honestly ship it back, cut ties with both that specific reseller and the vendor, and just go straight to a different reseller to see what they have. There are tons of options out there for resellers, but I’ve seen CDW and Insight seem to have decent reputations with some SW users.

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Did you sign anything for the 30 day trial that said there would be restocking fees? If not send it back without giving two cares and when the original rep calls you back tell him what happened and get something in writing.

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did you sign anything saying you would be responsible for re-stocking fees?

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“Shady sales”. Hmmmm, sounds redundant to me.

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Yea, for that kind of money I would look elsewhere. Probably tell them to pack sand as well.

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Not sure I would call this shady, but I understand the frustration. Was this Meraki by any chance? They tend to do this based on their sales and channel model. They only sell through the channel, meaning that you as an end user can only buy from a reseller and not direct, however- their sales reps are trained to qualify end customers directly and interact with free trials and demos, etc. The end result is exactly what you described where the price should not have been offered by the rep who is not actually selling the gear…

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Just as an aside, you know that you can edit the original post? (The little “down arrow” button in the top right hand corner of the page)

I’d send the two companies an email saying “thanks, but no thanks at the price”. If they try and get the price down further, tell them that they are too late; they should have offered the best price up front. It’s a matter of principle for me; I won’t support any company that I think is using dodgy tactics.

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That’s quite a lot of money. You might want to go elsewhere to try and get a better deal.

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I agree with all of the above.

It sounds like the two of them are giving you the run around.

If you didn’t sign any agreements for restocking fees; or anything at all; send it back and tell them they can stuff it in their rear storage where they keep their pricing numbers.

If I got a number from one guy and then was told to go to another guy and had to deal with all that; it would be over;

I like straight to the point no nonsense vendors.

1 Spice up
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This was my first thought. If you send me a product to demo; great! But you are responsible for return shipping if I don’t end up buying it - not me. You are the one making the sale, why on Earth would I be responsible for you failing to convince me to buy your product? And you know what would certainly convince me to NEVER buy your products? Bait-and-switch promises from salesmen and “restocking” fees for a demo unit YOU decided to send me.

I’d tell the company that I was not shipping anything or giving them any money and that they are free to come pick up their product on their own dime and that I would have no further contact with them.

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Did you pay them anything up front? Doesn’t sound like a “demo” or a “trial” if so. Sounds like you actually did a purchase on something with a 30-day return policy in which stocking fees often apply.

Most demo’s I’ve done have come direct from the manufacturer which I had to return at the end and then buy from a reseller unless the manufacturer sold direct in which case I just paid for it if I decided to keep it.