Avoid Gimmicks When Buying Computer Furniture
The internet is inundated with “free” offers, and the computer furniture industry is not immune. You can literally find hundreds of web sites trying to catch your attention with “free computer furniture” offers.
What most of these web sites mean when they say “free” is only some part of the furniture is offered without you paying for it. In some cases it is the design that is free. So you don’t get anything tangible. It is important that you check the entire advertisement or online resources thoroughly to find out what exactly is being given free of cost.
Sometimes when someone purchases office furniture in bulk, dealers will offer some type of free bonus offer. If you are purchasing computer furniture for an entire office, you will need several desks, chairs, printer tables etc. One average sized office space can fit up to 25 computer workstations. Since many industries are run by computers these days, the computer furniture market is highly competitive. This intense competition leads to a huge amount of gimmicks that dealers use to try and capture their piece of the pie.
Do not be misled or blinded by these sorts of campaigns.
It is always preferable to visit the dealer in person. Have a detailed discussion with the salesperson and find out exactly what you will get and how much you have to pay for it. Then do your product research to find out if you are really getting a good deal. Also, a good question to ask the salesperson is where did the furniture come from? Is it used or refurbished?
Asking the right questions is perhaps the most important aspect to consider when buying computer furniture. This is part of becoming an educated consumer. Obviously, no company is going to make a spectacular offer without any benefit to them. So as a consumer it is your job to figure out when considering free offers, “what is the benefit for the company?” Sometimes, just getting your contact information gives the company the benefit of being able to target you in future ad campaigns. To you, it may be worth it to receive junk mail and email in the future to get a free product right now.
As a general rule however, if it is too good to be true then it is. The only time you can really benefit from a free offer is maybe if a retailer has been hanging onto a product line too long and they need to push it out of their inventory. Or maybe product line is being discontinued and they need to get rid of all the leftover inventory.
The number one thing you should watch out for is financing offers. In many industries, much more money is made from financing than from actually selling a product for profit. So they may give you “half-off” if you will finance with them. There is a reason they do this! You may end up spending 500% + more than what you originally “bought” the product for. This is not a good deal for you! However, if you have the money for the furniture then it is a good deal to get there discounted price, finance the purchase, and then pay it all off in the first month (avoiding all interest costs).
I hope that you will take the time to become an educated consumer and not be a sucker for furniture dealer gimmicks.
Personal Buying Guide for Computer Furniture
There are many options to consider when shopping for computer furniture. You must consider things like:
1. How many hours a day will I be spending at my computer furniture?
Is this just a place to pay bills once a month or is this a place you will spend many hours a day? This answer will affect not only how much time and money you will invest in furniture shopping, but also whether or not you should be considering ergonomic furniture.
2. Besides a surface to set my computer on, what other functions would I like to get our of my computer furniture?
Do you also need a place to file documents and store office supplies? Do you need to have plenty of writing surface?
3. What space will the furniture be located in?
Maybe you have a 200 square foot office to fill, or maybe you have a small nook in your kitchen. This will significantly effect your office furniture search.
4. How many pieces of furniture do I really need?
This question goes along with question 2. Do you need a separate filing cabinet? Do you need a printer stand?
5. What style furniture do I want?
Contemporary, traditional, executive, etc. Do you want furniture made out of a particular type of material? You should make a decision on the style of the entire computer area, and then decide what furniture will best coordinate with that space.
6. Do I want to order my furniture online or purchase it in a store?
You can save thousands of dollars by ordering furniture online. But of course the shipping costs may outweigh the savings. I suggest a little of both. Even if you are going to buy from a local store, do your research online first. Know what you want and how much you are willing to spend. This will give you an advantage when dealing with furniture salespeople.
7. Can I assemble the pieces on my own?
Keep this in mind if you decide to buy online or from a discount store. Some pieces of computer furniture can be extremely complicated to assemble.
8. How much am I able to invest in my new office furniture?
Know this BEFORE you start shopping.
9. Do I want to buy new or used furniture?
Before actually spending any money, it is helpful to answer all these questions for yourself. Your answers to the above questions will work as your own personal buying guide. This guide will serve as your computer furniture shopping blueprint.