With the recent price increases announced by Cisco on October 20, 2018, it’s important to remember that you have options when it comes to buying Cisco equipment. There are several reasons why buying used equipment can be the right financial decision.
Tariffs and Fluctuating Markets
Prior to the recent tariffs announced, the tech market had been relatively steady, and prices hadn’t had a major increase in some time. When the tariffs were announced the heads of Juniper, Cisco, Dell and Hewlett Packard sent a joint letter to the U.S. Trade Representative to explain how this would impact their business. To no avail. And, now we’re seeing the impact. In September Chuck Robbins, Cisco CEO, told CNBC, “The tariffs that are suggested are across a lot of our core networking products, so it’s fairly significant.”
In October, Cisco announced that they were raising prices on nearly 3000 individual products by 7.8 percent. The price hike came with no forewarning and has caught many resellers off guard. While this price increase doesn’t affect orders already placed, for any enterprise that was considering Cisco for their next big system upgrade, they’re likely to think twice.
But, when purchasing used Cisco equipment from Summit, we’re insulated from most market fluctuations. This means that we don’t have to pass on a majority of the Cisco price increases to our customers, unlike other Cisco dealers.
Budget for Value, Not Cost
When it comes to enterprise budgets for IT, there is usually motivation to save money versus spend it. And, considering a major network upgrade is a substantial expense. Buying new equipment usually comes with an ample markup. And, after the recent price increases Cisco announced those numbers just got bigger.
Buying used equipment doesn’t have to mean buying obsolete equipment. Often, what’s available used may still be in the current product line and supported. And at a major discount compared to off the shelf prices, you could save money that allows you to budget for other things.
Consider your current network. Do you really need to end of life equipment that is still running just fine? Buying used equipment to replace what’s failing without doing a complete upgrade provides a better value and return on the investment you’ve already made.
Availability of Cutting-edge Products
Depending how the tariff negotiations go, there may also be a shortage in the latest and greatest models of networking equipment. Because tariffs are being added to not only consumer products but the materials those products are made of, like steel and aluminum, manufacturing may slow in anticipation of reduced sales.
This could lead to less of the latest models being produced and therefore a shortage of equipment by enterprises looking for it.
While buying used gear doesn’t always mean that you get the up-to-the-minute tech, it does mean that you’re not reliant on manufacturers on the other side of the world to produce the switch or router you’re looking for.
Unproven or Buggy Tech
When you’re buying the latest networking equipment and software there is a good chance that there are bugs in the system that weren’t discovered in the product testing. While most developers will put their products through rigorous testing, that testing is also put under pressure if there is a rush to get a product to market before the competition.
It’s common for patches and bug fixes to come out in the first six months after a new product or software release. And while this can solve some problems, if the issue you’re having isn’t widespread, the wait for a solution could be much longer.
However, if you’re buying used networking equipment that’s been thoroughly inspected, refurbished and had the software updated to a stable version, you’re much less likely to come across bugs or other issues.
“Burned In” Means Reliable
Just because equipment is used doesn’t mean that it’s dealt with wear and tear that’s decreasing its value or quality. That isn’t how networking equipment works. Once it’s been set up and operating without issue for about a month, it’s likely that it will keep working without issue until end of life.
This means that used equipment can be just as reliable, if not more so, than brand new, out of the box tech.
Warranties, Reliability and Support
Most resellers of used networking equipment actually offer better warranties than Cisco themselves. Cisco only offers a 90-day warranty for most of their products. At Summit, we offer our Peak Select Lifetime Warranty that covers the cost of repairs, shipping (both ways) and offer advance replacement units so you can get back up and running.
When it comes to reliability, used equipment can stand up to new as well. Cisco may only spot check their equipment as it leaves the factory, perhaps only one of every hundred made.
See Our Refurbishing Process [VIDEO]
The refurbishing process at Summit guarantees that we’ve inspected, tested and reset all equipment before we send it out. Every piece, every time. So, you know that what you’re getting is what you ordered and that it will work as expected.
