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Purchasing measuring equipment on the internet
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Author: Jimmy Maloy is the Sales Director for Fulcrum, Inc. A perhaps unintentional side effect of Moore's Law - the law that computing power doubles every eighteen months or so - has been upon the way equipment is purchased. The advent of the Internet has made it much easier for consumers to purchase products. One merely needs to have a credit card or online payment system, and the need to patronize brick-and-mortar stores drops exponentially. This is good news for companies and laboratories that need to purchase measuring equipment.
There are three ways to purchase measuring equipment on the Internet. If the manufacturer does not offer direct sales, then the first step would be for the consumer to seek a distributor who offers the desired equipment. Many online distributors offer a wide range of precision balance brands to the online shopper. All the buyer needs is a valid line of credit and an entire range of products become available at the push of a button. An advantage to this kind of shopping is the ability to compare manufacturer's lines and get the scale that represents the best intersection of price and functions. However, once the transaction has been made, the distributor ceases to be part of the process - if anything goes wrong with the scale, the purchaser must get it back to the manufacturer on his own dime.
The second way to purchase measuring equipment is to get it from a reseller. Some online stores only offer refurbished measuring equipment. eBay, in particular, features entire online "stores" dedicated to selling pre-owned or refurbished scales. It can be tempting to see the price advantage of buying used equipment as a selling point, but the buyer must beware. Even if a balance has been "refurbished" to the best of a seller's ability, other original parts may have become worn and will eventually need replacement. Furthermore, factory warranties do not generally apply to these purchases, and future repair costs should be at least considered as a potential part of the purchase price.
The third method is to obtain the equipment directly from the source. A small number of weighing equipment companies have made their products available for direct online purchase. For example, Fulcrum, Inc. has made their analytical balances and lab scales available directly to the end user via a dedicated website. One advantage that this offers is a direct conduit to the manufacturer - if something goes wrong, the product goes directly back for service, and the manufacturer is instantly made aware of any problem with the product. Also, this kind of selling cuts out middlemen, making it possible for the company to pass savings along to the end user. However, it must be noted that few manufacturers have made this service available to consumers.
Whatever the preferred method, the Internet offers a variety of interesting ways for consumers to get their measuring equipment without the hassle of going to a store.
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