"I can get it cheaper online"

[cypress]

In a lot of cases I prefer to have customers purchase their own hardware as long as I get to bill them for the time I spent researching and recommending. I also provide purchasing links to 2-3 places to get each item, focusing on a combination of cheapest, fastest and most reliable. Those may include Amazon links (where I get an affiliate credit) but just as often will be Newegg, CDW, OfficeMaxDepotStaples for sale items, etc. Part of this is headaches with warranty stuff in the past - if I sold it to them then six months later end up with a week of downtime waiting for a part from Lexmark/HP/whoever then it's my fault for selling them this crappy printer. If they bought it themselves and we end up with the same week of downtime waiting it's the manufacturer's fault.

For your own, if you have people that want you to research and purchase, go with the markup. If they come back with "I can get it myself cheaper" be ready to bill for the research time.

Just had this instance today, client asked for recommendations on laptop wanted me to send her links for Laptop, Mouse, Printer. I said sure you have Amazon so I can send you all the links and since you have Prime it should be here in a couple days.

Gave her my quote for New PC Setup with Printer Installed, made sure to add my mark up for taking the time to look up the parts even if it only took me 30 mins.

 

[fencepost]

The only thing I'd add to that is that you should be an Amazon Associate and send the affiliate links so if she purchases using them you get 4-6% of the total cost.

 

[cypress]

Yup time to get that done.

 

[HCHTech]

I mark everything I sell up around 100%

Surely that does not include whole systems. If so, you are my hero.

 

[jzukerman]

The only thing I'd add to that is that you should be an Amazon Associate and send the affiliate links so if she purchases using them you get 4-6% of the total cost.

Amazon decided to cancel my (personal) Affliate account because my state was requiring them to collect sales tax which Amazon refuses to do.

 

[jft135]

Amazon decided to cancel my (personal) Affliate account because my state was requiring them to collect sales tax which Amazon refuses to do.

Did they just stop shipping to people in your state?

 

[jzukerman]

Did they just stop shipping to people in your state?

http://www.pressherald.com/2013/09/28/amazon-curtails-program-in-maine_2013-09-28/

 

[callthatgirl]

I get the same response "Hmm, Godaddy will do the migration for free"

My response, "well, if you want your email back in 4 days in Outlook then yes, it's worth free..I do expert level migrations in 2-3 hours and do pre-spot checks, the migrations and aftercare and training"

Sell the services you offer that make it worthwhile. And offer the support too. And then raise your rates friend lol

 

[fencepost]

Amazon decided to cancel my (personal) Affliate account because my state was requiring them to collect sales tax which Amazon refuses to do.

They did the same to mine in Illinois a few years ago, but in the meantime they've reached some agreement and reopened eligibility. Might be worth checking whether it's back now... Nope, looks like the states not in it as of January 2015 were "Arkansas, Colorado, Maine, Missouri, Rhode Island, or Vermont."

 

[DocGreen]

I come across this now and then when clients are more tech-savvy than average. In those situations I tell them that they're more than welcome to obtain the part(s) themselves, but if they do, I can't be responsible for the parts in any way shape or form. It's on them to make sure they're ordering the correct part, etc. I also make sure they understand that they could be stuck paying extra labor if the part isn't correct, is DOA, etc. Most times the customer is happy to let me handle everything. I'm only charging 30% over Amazon's prices and I don't get charged shipping, so they're usually not saving much money ordering themselves.

 

[carlitos31]

When they want to order their own parts, I explain that if I am installing, all I am getting paid is to swap parts and if few months down the road the part becomes defective, and they need my help taking it out of the system for them so they can claim the warranty, there will be a charge for that, an a charge to install the replacement part, or I could handle it all, its their choice and I will be glad to help either way.
I do not provide with parts numbers or anything so they can order themselves, as some people just want to have the part numbers, order the parts, then start calling to see who will do the install for less

 

[xyber]

in my company we provide free service (we collect only conveniance charges) when the product is covered in warranty. but when they are purchasing it online we will charge for all the installations and warranty related services.
when they say i can get it cheaper online
i just say like "you can purchase it through online sir but purchase it through an authorised reseller or else you will not be able to claim the warranty of the products and we will be charging extra for the installtions"

 

[gikstar]

We have very little problem with that... once in a while we charge a client to put his new gaming system together after he purchases the parts - but I learned one lessen in that, always charge extra if they want you to install a water cooler

On another note, some laptops I decide that I don't want to deal with it since it's not worth my time so I take it to another tech repair business and let him order and replace the motherboard that's bad. One time he had to order the motherboard 3 times as he kept getting bad boards and when that last one did not work, he took the original board and sent it off for someone to repair it. I was so happy I had taken that repair to him to do as replacing the motherboard 4 times would have had me pulling out the remaining hairs in my head!

 

[PCBMerchy]

My markup on hardware/software is the cost of researching and ordering the correct part for the client. I don't give out part numbers in quotes anymore for this reason. Quotes are real generic now, especially for servers. If the client insists on the part number, then I provide the part number + a bill for my time, because my experience/knowledge isn't free.

I use this method when anyone asks, which is rare. I mention that I , like any business, adds a percentage to all orders to cover time spent researching the proper part, dealing with any customer service/delivery issues and any possible return problems. If they want to order their own equipment, I'll even help them find the correct items but I will always add an extra hour to labor costs on my bill to cover.

Ultimately, I think clients will recognize your value and not complain as long as you don't take advantage of the situation by overcharging too much.

My quotes also are fairly generic ("Dell Optiplex" and not "Dell Optiplex 3020 Micro with WIndows 7 Pro/4GB RAM/G3250T Processor" ). If they want to nitpick then they can go ahead and figure out what they have and try to find the exact machine cheaper. I've found that once you allow someone to order an item on their own (or God forbid fix an issue on their own) they usually find it's not worth the time and effort to do it their way and instead of your way.

And if someone insists on a specific link to an item, I just send them the most expensive link I can find so my pricing seems much more reasonable.

 

[vickie thivierge]

OH Yeah. the " I can get it cheaper on line ".....Hate IT!

It's pretty simple to explanation to the customer why I only install parts that I sell.

First of all I tell them sure, you can just go buy that part from someone else and I'll be glad to install it...HOWEVER....I can't offer you any warranties if the part doesn't work after I install it or later on when it stops working. If it does fail than you can pay me to take it out, test it, and write you up a trouble report. Then you can pay to mail it back and wait until the guy you bought it from decides if they're going to refund you or replace it or do nothing.

So, yeah sure, you're going to pay a few dollars more for parts that I carry but I'm going to take care of you if there's a problems with the repair or the parts after I've installed it.

Usually they just shout up about the cheap parts and buy ours, but then again there are a few who'll take the gamble on the cheaper parts.

 

[Jim Carter]

My parts prices are higher than Amazon etc. Those that ask questions and buy their own equipment are in their own boat. I take the bull by the horns and tell them "you could get it cheaper on Amazon but make sure you order the correct part and check that the delivery time is reasonable. When you fit it make sure you do so carefully." There's a reason why they've called you in the first place.

That's basically what I tell the customer (although it happens VERY rarely). I also add that we only install parts that we've had success with many times over. They usually understand they are also paying for our insight into which components are most reliable. With monitors, I explain I've done the legwork to ensure they are getting the best manufacturer warranty in the business. I make it clear there's sometimes a lot of research involved to determine quality.

 

[Alan's Computer Repair]

I read in a different forum where somebody was having troubles with people price shopping for new computers. He switched to some different models that weren't as common and so when people did a search on the model number they wouldn't find much to compare with.

I don't sell items such as printers, instead I just refer them to a couple of local stores. That way any problems that result are not my fault.

 

[Jim Carter]

I read in a different forum where somebody was having troubles with people price shopping for new computers. He switched to some different models that weren't as common and so when people did a search on the model number they wouldn't find much to compare with.

I don't sell items such as printers, instead I just refer them to a couple of local stores. That way any problems that result are not my fault.

I once took that exact stance, but then they expected me to force something to function that wasn't appropriate or of very low quality (long after they could return it to the store). My web site, receipts, etc. indicate that everything we sell is covered by a "manufacturer's warranty". We've never had an issue since we posted the disclaimer so forcefully.

 

[FancifullFish]

Normally when we get a customer who says that they can buy it themselves cheaper. They're normally the cheap customers who've taken advantage of our free diagnostic and weren't going to use us in the first place for the repair.
To keep my prices down I just use Amazon Prime to buy the product and then sell it at MSRP.
Now when I get a customer who does purchase a replacement part, I make sure to inform them (even before they buy it sometimes) that if they buy it themselves I cannot offer any warranty of any kind. Normally, that scares them and they just go ahead and buy the product through me.
Don't stress too much about not getting every customer, I've learned the hard way that not everyone can be pleased. Normally the people who are penny pinchers are not good customers.

 

[dgoglio]

Thankfully most of my clients just want us to handle the purchase and just want to know the cost. My typical markup on quotes is 20-30%. Just a note, we do not do consumer work so that makes a difference. If a business customer wants to buy their own equipment then we tell them they would have to deal directly with the manufacturer or dealer they bought it from for warranty issues and we may bill if we have to deal with failures, etc. Don't get too much of a fight but we tend to shy away from customers who nickle and dime us.