8 Questions To Ask Your Supplier Before You Buy 4250 4350 Fusers RM1-1082 or Maintenance Kits Q5421A
Updated: May 13, 2019
Ask Your HP Parts Supplier These Questions Before You Buy Another Printer Fuser
With the rise of imported printer parts and outright counterfeit replacement parts there has been allot of miscommunication, mis-information or outright bad representation of what types of parts are on the market currently. The following questions can help you get your company or department back on track.
1) What condition are their 4250 4350 Fusers in?
Since HP discontinued supporting this model some years back, the only conditions available are the following;
Aftermarket New- Many Chinese imports are calling their product new. Aftermarket new means they are not using a OEM chassis. You may have fit form and functional problems with aftermarket chassis. All aftermarket new should be fully vetted and tested. Typically 6 month to 1 year warranty.
Equivalent to New - Coined by leading OEMs as a synonym with remanufactured. It is the process of a parts company manufacturing the 4250 4350 fuser using the OEM chassis and replaces key components and tests comprehensively. Typically 6 month to 1 year warranty.
Used Pull- Someone or a company pulls a fuser out of a working 4250 4350 printer cleans it and resells it as remanufactured. Typically no warranty to 90 day warranty.
2) Do they manufacture the 4250 4350 fusers or are they reselling another companies product?
If your company purchases 5+ orders of HP printer parts monthly you should be factory direct for best price, service and technical support. Buying parts from resellers in this mature market will cripple your profitability and or cost manageability.
3) How many printer fusers does the supplier manufacture per month?
Volume is a one of the parameters to quality. Companies manufacturing 2000+ fusers per month have processes in place to manage quality, returns and quality problems should they arise.
4) What country do they manufacture their 4250 4350 fusers in?
The three likely countries are Mexico, USA and China. Made in the USA 4250 fusers are TAA compliant. Government agencies are required to purchase TAA complaint products if available.
5) What type of toner do they test their 4250 4350 fuser with?
Since aftermarket toner holds a 35% market share, customer driven parts suppliers should have a program of multiple aftermarket toner testing and assimilation.
6) Can the HP parts supplier demonstrate any technical expertise about fuser manufacturing?
Does the company offer any collateral material that support the fact that they understand the production of fuser manufacturing.
6) Do they offer printer technical support?
If yes they how do they handle access. Do you have to go thru a phone tree? Good tech support should get you to the right person with no more then 1 transfer. Is it a call center where you have to explain the problem all over again.
7) Are their printer technical support representative vetted and experienced?
How many years do their printer tech support people have working on printers? Do they still work on printers regularly?
8) Do I have access to a 1on1 printer service advisor or am I calling into a call center?
Many HP printer parts suppliers have tried to adopt call center approach to the parts industry and it has failed miserably for both the parts suppler as well as the printer service organization forced to use them.
If HP replacement printer parts are critical to your profitably or department's printer up time, navigating though imports, counterfeits and cloans is more important then ever.
Now more then ever, printer service organization need a experienced service advisor on the other side of the phone that understand the opportunities and threats for service organizations.
Experience, Honesty and Integrity of service advisers can only be tested by time. These skills sets are critical to help navigate and educate printer service organizations through some of the wildest times in the printer parts channel in its history.
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Developing a Critical HP Printer Parts Stocking Strategy Will DeMuth helps printer service organizations maximize service costs and reduce call backs through product placement, training, and advisory services. Will has 20+ years of product leadership experience and is part of the greatest operational team in the industry. His company Metrofuser has been honored with 20+ Leadership and Industry Awards.
Metrofuser is a leading global innovator, manufacturer of printer parts, equipment, diagnostics, repair information and systems solutions for professional users performing critical tasks. Products and services include hp printer parts, printers and printer repair training. Parts include hp printer parts such as printer fusers, printer maintenance kits and other hp printer replacement parts.
The company's, customers include office equipment dealerships, online retailers, repair centers and MPS service providers nationwide. Metrofuser has been named to Inc. Magazine’s fastest growing companies five consecutive years.