Recommended Hardware Supplier?

[Gongalong]

Hi folks,

 

I've been using Misco for a number of years for mixed hardware orders e.g. laptops, printers, cables, but of late they have become awful (they've cocked up the last three orders quite stupendously).

 

Can anyone else recommend a supplier that has a good inventory and can actually supply things without issue? (It seems surprisingly difficult!)

 

TIA

[Millgate]

Would it be wrong if I recommended myself???? I'll beat Misco's pricing 99% of the time plus I don't charge delivery. Drop me an email chap

 

Luke

[Gongalong]

Hi Luke. We have asked before and you were more expensive I think, plus your quote responses are often slow or non-existent

[PyROm]

If you are on the new Derbyshire SAP system, any orders going to misco go to the goverment framework rep at misco rather then the sales department, reported it to county, county checked with misco and changed it to salesdesk email. Then someone high up in county changed it back and got finance to ring me and tell me never to call them again. We are finding it increasingly difficult to get an actual order through to them, the last 3 orders havent appeared at misco at all and we have had to fax copies through.

[Millgate]

Hi Luke. We have asked before and you were more expensive I think, plus your quote responses are often slow or non-existent

 

Really??? I don't like the sound of that. Fancy dropping me on email with what you're after and I'll get on it right away for you?

 

Sorry if you've had a bad experience, I definatly want to correct that. I/we supply to stacks of schools on here and I'm sure they'd sing our praises.

 

The only time we ever lose to Misco/Insight/ etc is when they've bought a vast quantity of one particular item from HP. They'll have a "bid" on that item that noone can compete with. But other than that, I'll be able to kick their booty

 

Luke

[Gongalong]

PyROm: Our Accounts have used the LA SAP (not Derbyshire, we're in Hants) route, and it has been problematic - our Bursar insists on going a bureaucratic route where *they* place the actual orders. We have also gone through our Misco Account Manager though via the last 3 orders, and it is amazingly difficult to just get an order placed and have it turned up within a day or two.

 

Anecdotally: The first of the three failed Misco orders "vanished" in their email system (right). 3 weeks later I chased it, and they invoiced us for the items at a higher price than on the original PO. They were trying to make us pay the not inconsiderable price difference, although seem to have finally accepted months later that they were at fault. The second order was for two colour printers. They were apparently out of stock, which we discovered 2 weeks later when we chased the order - one of the printers was for the headteacher. We were offered an alternative, but it was monochrome so clearly unsuitable. We ended up ordering two (substantially more expensive) replacements, and were told we could claim most of the difference back on an HP cashback offer. The next morning the two expensive replacements arrived. In the afternoon two monochrome printers arrived! The next day the two printers we'd originally ordered, and were told were out of stock, arrived. It took weeks to get Misco to take back the printers we hadn't ordered. The cherry on the cake was that we could only claim cashback on one of the printers due to the rules of the offer, so we ended up out of pocket. The third and final order/straw was an order placed 3-4 weeks ago for a mix of laptops, printers, and other hardware. I stupidly believed they couldn't cock up anything else. This time the items simply haven't arrived. I've chased the order twice and have been getting flannel about delivery failures - the site has been open 8am-6pm every weekday. I still can't get a straight answer on when these items will be delivered. Awful.

[Gongalong]

Luke, I did ask for the quote to be refined a couple of times, and it still didn't have the right information on it. I chased it, and got no reply. We are really busy here so I can only ask for clarifications and chase so many times. I also need fairly quick turnaround on quotes. I'm sure you can appreciate that.

 

We weren't very impressed with the quality of the install over half term. I appreciated that the guys did get it finished, but it felt rushed, and we had to stay late while they finished. Less than ideal also.

 

This time around I've gone with a more local supplier, so will see how they do.

 

Re. the hardware quotes, I believe we asked you for a comparative quote on Lenovo laptops (not HP) and you were unable to either get the model or match on price.

[Millgate]

Fair enough then chap. There are always two sides to the story but i respect your opinion.

 

Again, we do installs etc for quite a few of the Edugeekers so I'm sorry that you had a bad experience. The HP bit above was just an example. It can happen with any brand. We also buy certain items in vast quantity & when we do, other resellers can't come anywhere near us. It's just how it works.

 

Again, I'm sorry you've had a bad experience & I hope we can work together in the future

 

[psydii]

Probrand and Bechtle have always been great for me. Bechtle for techincal competence and often price. Probrand for price.

 

Recently probrand appear to have gained someone who really gets education, and their overall 'offer' has improved. They also seem to be developing their in house pre-sales technical competency too.

 

YMMV