Trading in Your Old Machine
Given the current competitive climate among copier, printer and MFP suppliers, chances are that anyone making a bid for your business will offer you a trade-in allowance for your old equipment.
While there is no copier equivalent to the Kelly Blue Book for cars, old copiers are worth very little in actual dollars. What this means is that when a vendor offers you a trade-in allowance, they are pretty much discounting the price they’re offering you. It’s worth it to the vendor to get your business on the service and supplies end, even if he doesn’t make money on the actual equipment, so there is a real incentive for bidders to be generous with their trade-in allowances.
You can also probably get your existing vendor to offer a trade-in allowance, if you stay with the same company instead of signing a new lease or service agreement with another supplier, for the same reason. Dealers make a lot of their money on the service and supplies side, so if your business is in danger of being lost to a competitor, they might be willing to match (or beat) trade-in allowances offered by competing bidders.