Reseller warns of net purchasing perils

A reseller that is diversifying into offering ecommerce services has issued a stark warning against the perils of buying IT equipment online.

A reseller that is diversifying into offering ecommerce services has issued a stark warning against the perils of buying IT equipment online.

Trams, which claims to be the UK's largest Apple dealership, put out a press release warning against attempting to save money by ordering equipment direct from manufacturers or through auctions or online aggregators such as QXL.

Businesses risk being left out in the cold when they need support and management, it said. "What they'll face is more like Siberia than cyber commerce," said Nigel Lomas, marketing manager at the company.

"These auctions get a lot of exposure, but people are often making false economies," he warned. "They often end up calling in resellers because they can't cope with the challenge of installing and supporting the kit."

Trams was recently called in to troubleshoot at a large publishing company based in south London that had ordered Dell PCs directly from a website.

The company concerned had already suffered late delivery of its equipment when it emerged that its IT staff did not have the expertise to configure the delivery. The company then called in Trams to provide the value-added services that it had been trying to avoid in the first place. "Ultimately, it cost them more money," said Lomas.

But Trams' critics argue that the firm should be happy as long as customers continue to need its services. "They don't make margin on the products anyway. So what if someone else delivers it?" said one rival.

Other detractors questioned whether, as a reseller looking to build the ecommerce consultancy side of its business, Trams should really be condemning online trading. "Oh, that's different," said Lomas.

First published in Computer Reseller News