Mar (03-04) - Scarcity? You're kidding?
March 22, 2004 EditorialIf you run an S/390 shop, check out the white paper: Moving From Coax (3270) or Twinax (5250) SNA to TCP/IP Ethernet for Host Connectivity: A Strategic Guide to Implementation
If you run an AS/400 shop, check out this hot new product SNMPDRV Ethernet to Twinax printer attachment
So here's an interesting turn of events: dealing with scarcity.
Not since the late 90's dot com collapse and ensuing recession have we found ourselves in a market for which scarcity may be an opperative word. Most dealers who have not been around since the last recession and recovery in the early 90's may not remember the difficulty. Prices tend to stay low on given models until the supply dries up completely, then prices shoot up. This is particularly hard on the dealer community, and especially on those that carry inventory. I am reticent to raise prices until there are no more in the market-- I don't want to force my customer to go shopping and find someone with some old stock at the former prices. Seems that the costs go up faster than prices, until the bursting point is reached. That is, prices won't rise until gear is rare. That is starting to happen (believe it or not).
Over the past several years, corporate layoffs and bankruptcies caused a lot of equipment to come to market. With the flood, prices tumbled. Now that the economy is beginning to grow (although painfully slowly), gear is not so abundant. Clearly there is no cause for panic, but equipment stocks are quite low in many lines. Those of us in the inventory business have taken notice. Packages just aren't out there like they used to be. So here's the advice: If you will be needing gear, don't wait until the last minute. Tell your managment the simple rules of supply and demand. Getting a great price today does not help you two months from now when the prices may be higher. The higher prices are NOT good for the dealer community. The profit margin on gear in a rising market is usually thin, and no one likes an upredictable market.
As you can see, the uptick in activity continues:
End-users: If you are on our mailing list, look for our new mailers showing up soon. Our new marketing campaign will focus on the core values: Honesty, Quality, Competence, Consistency.
Looking for an alternative to IBM's InfoPrint 62 (4370)? Try Psi 4050 or 4060 - Maintained by IBM and NO CLICK CHARGES
Ok, so that having been said, here are the hots and the nots:
Sweet spots:
IBM 3151,
3472, 3482, 3486, 3487, 3488 terminals - and please check out the CLI
et1500, et2000, et3000, and et5000 lines or the I/O
TC4000. Also check out the BOS
line
IBM 3900-0W1
Venerable printer can be upgraded to the 4000 series.
IBM 4224-201
- you can add internal ethernet to these and they last forever.
IBM 4230-201,
202, 5s3, 5i3 - (check out
the internal ethernet for the 4230 family)
IBM 4332-001,
-004 32ppm and 40ppm workhorse beats all comers for least cost per
page
IBM 6262-
all models
IBM
6400-010, -012, -015 Units sitting with most features.
IBM 4525
(1125n) -- less than 11 left
IBM 4247-A00
NEW in box at refurbished prices.
IBM 4247-001
NEW in box with coax and parallel.
IBM 4322-001
Finally some breathing room on the IP21's
IBM 3160-002
high volume laser printer
Lexmark 2480
- fast and durable desktop narrow carriage impact printer
Lexmark Optra T610n,
T614,
T616n,
T620n,T632,
T634
- We have some GREAT machines
Lexmark Optra S1255