Where do you buy computer?
As the title says - US based sysadmins, where do you guys and girls purchase your supplies? Computers, Switches, Computer pars and cabling?
Thank you
Posted Sep 20, 2021, 1:39 PM UTC
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We have net 30 terms with a vendor. I've used CDW in the past, SHI, now PC Connection - and when they don't have what I need, I go direct to what i need (lenovo etc)
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In Soviet Russia, Computer buy you.
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I have a few VARs that I've developed a relationship with.
For PCs, I mostly buy off our state bid list.
For servers and network I buy from u/SquizzOC or from a local VAR if I'm bidding stuff.
I did the bake off stuff at first, but didn't find it as productive as I hoped. Especially for PCs/laptops where the margins are super thin anyway.
I'm required to bid out projects over $25,000. So that's technically a bake off, I guess. But a lot of the time it's easiest to buy of the State bid list to satisfy bidding requirements.
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[deleted]
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Can you register with Ingram as a regular organization an not a reseller?
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Dell, CDW, Amazon/Newegg, Monoprice
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NeweggBusiness, eBay, Amazon as last, last resort.
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D&H, Tech Data, Ingram Micro, Micro Center, Provantage
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CDW and CBTS for the most part. Occasionally we hop on Amazon, Staples, or drive to Microcenter.
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Perform VAR services bake-off and crawl in bed with the best regional option.
Improves your buying power, and simplifies your billing.
THIS. And then went with fs.com for our cable and transciever needs because our VAR and all of their brothers like to rake people over the coals on those. (markup * 8 on non-orginial cisco transceivers).
It's difficult to compete with FS and monoprice for patch cords.
But our VAR can compete with 3rd Party Optics, once you factor in the protections of our MSA and the ease of purchasing with a preferred-supplier status in play.
But my priorities & perspectives are a bit skewed. I tend to work on projects a good bit larger than most.
There is less political capital involved with just buying 60 x 3rd Party Optics @ $40/each from our VAR rather than buying 75 optics from FS.com @ $25/each.
Real dollars are easier to get than political capital.
My projects lately are in the ballpark area of buying 192 Cisco optics from the VAR for 200 USD/piece (with support), vs. 192 from the VAR at 160 usd with limited support (that turn out to be fs.com sometimes.) vs. 250 from straight fs.com for 20 usd/piece via net30.
The difference being about 33k USD for orginal cisco via VAR or 26k for 3rd party from VAR. Guess i'll stay with fs.com and buy a couple extra. you know, like "tic tacs". Once you do it often enough it starts adding up on your personal yearly bonus collumn.
disclaimer: prices where converted to USD from EUR and did not include tax(es)
Thank you! Can you elaborate more how would I go with your suggestion? I am new to this, at my MSP we were buying and selling off of Ingram and Amazon mostly.