Are you buying (or selling) printing equipment?
We get lots of calls from copier and/or printer salespeople.
You see…
They don’t get paid unless customers can buy equipment.
That can mean calling dozens of printer leasing companies to find financing for their customers.
Want to know a problem?Not all Printer Financing Companies are Honest
Want to hear a story?
Last year, a woman called. Let’s call her Sally.
Sally had gotten my name from a competitor.
She was looking to lease a plotter that cost $25,000.
Sally had plotter financing quotes from two companies that were wildly different.
Now, let's talk about Sally's credit.
I kind of... well...
It sucked.
"Dear blonde girl…
I saw you on the bus and was too lame to get your number.
I was the guy in the purple shirt.
If you see this, call me at 555-1212."
Fail on me on forgetting the name of the guy who made Sally call.
He totally deserves props here for being an honest dude.
Consider this my lame Craigslist ad…
Honest dude… if you read this, reach out
So… honest dude was more concerned about Sally not getting scammed than with whether he helped her with plotter leasing or not.
He had her call me because he felt that we would tell Sally the truth.
Here’s the deal:
Sally was what we call a “C” credit borrower.
Her credit score was in the very low 600’s.
She had 10 years in business and decent monthly revenues.
Sally could get approved, totally.
…but…
Payments are going to be higher than if she had good credit.
(makes sense, right?)
…and…
…it’s going to piss her off.
Were the Quotes for Sally’s Printer Lease Payments Legit?
When I heard the printer lease rates Sally was quoted…
It was obvious.
Honest dude’s quote was totally legit.
And.. the other dude…
Let’s call him… bottom feeder.
Bottom feeder was totally giving Sally the LBJ.
Scumbag Spotlight - What is the LBJ?
Not this LBJ...
LBJ is an old school leasing term.
It stands for "Low Ball Jack."
Unfortunately, unlike that president from the sixties, this LBJ is still alive and kicking.
Here’s how it works:
Business owners with poor credit (or startups) may need to finance equipment.
If you are a risky borrower, payments are much higher than if you were an “A” credit borrower.
So… maybe you get quoted a legit rate and think you’re being taken advantage of.
(This happens every single day…)
And… they shop until they hear the payments they think they should get.
Can you guess what happens next?
Yup.
Once you swim towards the sharks…
They send you a phony approval that is all lawyered up.
Of course, a real attorney could rip it to shreds…
…but the sharks know small business owners rarely have anyone read their contracts.
The approval will show payments like as if you had good credit.
It will ask for the first and last payment in advance.
Then in teeny weeny little type hidden between lots of other small words…
…it will say how this approval isn’t for real.
Once you send in your money… an excuse will be made up.
Of course you can’t be approved at the original rates.
…and…
You’ll be told you have to move forward or forfeit those payments you sent.
So, Did Mr. Bottom Feeder Pull an LBJ on Sally?
Probably.
Sally refused to believe that honest dude wasn't giving her the straight dope.
In fact, I hung up on her after she became abusive.
I called honest dude and told him the story.
Unfortunately, honest dude agreed she was totally going to get ripped off.
Now, if you need printing equipment leasing…
You certainly don’t want to get LBJ’d.
Click here to get qualified to lease printing equipment (with no LBJ)
If you are trying to help people so they can afford to buy equipment that you sell, you especially don’t want that for your customers.
The Real Rates to Finance or Lease Printing Equipment
There’s a lot of different factors that go into figuring out payments on printing equipment.
First – Looking at You and Your Business
- Is credit good? Bad? Ugly?
- How are your sales?
- Are you making money?
- How long have you been in business?
These first factors all relate to risk.
The less risky you are, the less you pay.
It’s that simple.
We’ll go over payments in just a second.
Second– How Your Printing Equipment Financing is Structured
- How long? 2 years? 5 Years?
- Do you want to own the equipment or just lease it?
To make it easy – let’s look at a few different borrowers.
We’ll go over what payments might be on Sally’s $25,000 plotter.
(Just for pretend… we won’t be sharing anyone’s personal details…)
We’ll assume you want to own the equipment at the end – no balloon payment.
Let's examine payments based on a 3-year term.
We’ll look at payments for an “A” borrower.
A credit means perfect credit, 5+ years in business, decent cash flows and healthy bank balances.
Now, payments are a little higher for a “B” borrower.
B borrowers typically have good (but not always perfect) credit.
Maybe only 2 years in business.
Basically… not perfect… but not super risky either.
As we get into “C” credits… well… payments rise a bit.
C credits can mean a history of late payments, or if your business is less than two years old.
(It’s always harder for startup businesses to get funding)
Lastly, if it’s a stretch to find anyone willing to do the deal…
that’s a “D” credit…
Now, back to our old friend Sally.
Her credit score was well under 625.
Sally had been quoted B (maybe even B+) rates, but she was clearly a C or C- borrower.
Someone offering Sally financing at B+ rates for real?
They’d be on the express train to bankruptcy.
The truth is…
There’s a solution to get approved for printer leasing in most business situations.
But if your situation is pretty rough, and you’re being quoted cheap rates…
Be safe.
Getting ripped off will only make your situation tougher.
If you’d like a (legit) quote to lease printing equipment, call us at (866) 631-9996 or click in the picture below.
