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Selling Copiers "Should I Go Out on My Own"

Way back when in 1986 I went into business for myself at the ripe age of 29.  I had been selling copiers for a Minolta dealer in central New Jersey since 1982, and believe it or not by 1986 the owner was in a divorce, hooked on other stuff and the business just didn't open one day and the previous weeks pay checks had NSF. 

 

What else was I to do when there were a number of accounts for the picking? With that I got my brother (he had been a tech for a short time at Metro Business Systems which was a Canon Dealer in New Jersey) involved and another sales person who eventually turned in to a technician.  Since all of the accounts had Minolta products we needed to secure a source where we could get out parts and buy copy machines from.  That company was Century Office Products (the company I work for now). Back in the eighties when you bought copiers from another dealer (which was in violation of the dealer agreement), that dealer was "skating" copiers, which means that they would rid the copier of the serial number and then sell me it to me so I could resell the unit.  I think early on we were reselling the Minolta's and Mita units from another dealer in NJ (Budget Copy, no longer in business).

 

Buying copiers and parts from these dealers was not that easy, you needed to come in with cash for parts, supplies and the copiers. I can remember many times when we needed a certain copier, parts and supplies that we weren't able to get them in a timely manner.  When you're selling copiers and repairing them you need to get everything in a timely manner. We were probably buying these "skated" systems for about a year or so, and it came time to see if we could hook up with a manufacturer to get Authorized!

 

See, back in 1986 you could say it was like the Wild, Wild West there were so many opportunities for reseller copiers and fax machines. Since the eighties the copier industry has been whittled down in size so that only the strong survived.  Back in 1986 there were a glut of copier manufacturers and non manufacturers that were putting their label on the box and reselling the units. 

 

The 80's list of distributors and manufacturers here in the US for copiers were:

Minolta

Ricoh

Mita

Sharp

Toshiba

Monroe

Gestetner

Savin

Oce

Royal

Konica

Adler Royal

Lanier

Sanyo

Towa

Olivetti

AB Dick

Pitney Bowes

Xerox

Canon

Selex

 

I'm sure I've missed a few. The 80's and early 90's were the golden years to get into the industry because there were so many opportunities available and a glut of manufacturers and distributors. Many garage door copier companies graduated to become some of the largest dealers in their markets. 

 

If you have a credit card, could turn a screwdriver, and had some selling skills you'd be able to land an Authorized Dealer stamp for your business.

 

My how times have changed the players have changed in only 23 years. What was once a mighty field of 20 or so has now been whittled down to the likes of Ricoh (bought Savin, Gestetner, Monroe & Lanier) Canon (bought OCE), Xerox, Sharp, Kyocera, KonicaMinolta (merger Konica and Minolta), and Toshiba.  Two other copier aka MFP/MFP manufacturers/distributors are also active today and they are Muratec America and Samsung.

 

Thus, how can you start a new Authorized Dealership today?  What's it going to cost you? Could you afford to play with the likes of Canon, Ricoh, KonicaMinolta and the others? Can you meet the quotas for hardware and aftermarket? 

 

Most of those answers if not all of them would be no. Today, it seems if you wanted to get into the copier business you would need to start with purchasing copiers from distributors and then try to make the ascent to obtain an Authorized Dealership some where down the road.  However, there are some opportunities still out there with some of the not so major players.  Companies that come to mind is Muratec and possibly Samsung.  I know more about Muratec than I know of Samsung.  Muratec would be a good choice since they have A4 & A3 system, in addition they have many solutions and even a Managed IT program. 

 

What you'll need is a business plan, of course good credit, a plan to market in a territory where they need assistance for placement, an SE or two and maybe yourself selling and at least one sales person, and the Desire, Dedication and the Determination to succeed. 

 

The opportunities are out there, they may not be as easy as it was in the eighties or early nineties.  As long as their are offices there will always be a need for an office equipment/solutions dealer.

 

-=Good Selling=-

 

 

 

 

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While we are reminiscing about starting an office equipment dealership, it was 37 years ago that I started Business Machines Inc. (BMI) in Raleigh.  BMI started as an Olivetti City Dealer and later into a full service dealership.   Over the years BMI transitioned from a typewriter/calculator dealer to a computer, fax, and finally a copier dealer.

 

It was August, 2012 that I started my exit of the industry by selling BMI to CEI with the agreement to work with them for one more year.  As I write this post on my last week of employment, I would like to thank all the people that made my office equipment career possible.   Starting with my employment with Monroe, the many vendor contacts with BMI, and finally with the staff here at CEI.  THANK YOU.

 

Mike Upchurch

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