Reprinted with permission from ComputerPartner.

NHR Offers Used Cisco Equipment for Bargain Prices

By Witold Kepinsky

The American company NHR (Network Hardware Resale) has started selling second-hand Cisco network equipment in The Netherlands. Established Cisco distributors in The Netherlands are moderately reacting on the coming of the trader.

Chuck Sheldon - CEO, Network Hardware Resale

Network Hardware Resale is headed by American entrepreneur Chuck Sheldon, and has a European offi ce in Amsterdam since July.

Says Sheldon, “We have been active in Europe for fi ve years, but we want to offer a better service and pro-actively acquire customers. Our customers are large enterprises that have Cisco wan’s (wide area network). We promise to deliver within two days. Within a month, NHR will have it’s own distribution center in Amsterdam, which will shorten delivery time. 85% of our sales are Cisco equipment, with a price that is fi fty to ninety percent lower than the new price. Furthermore, we sell Extreme, Juniper and Sun. I expect to run ten million dollars in Europe this year. Within a few years, Europe will be responsible for 50% of the total revenue. We are not afraid of competitors, since we are the only player that can directly ship from stock. Competitors are mostly ‘brokers’ that will buy from us and sell to their customer.”

‘Team leader’ Glenn Fassett, responsible for sales from Amsterdam, says not to work with Cisco and it’s distributors. “We are not bound to them. We sell directly to end-users. Especially in these hard economic times we have started in Amsterdam because companies are looking to save budget on their network and search bargains.” Sheldon adds: “We have a love-hate relationship with Cisco and the distributors. On the one hand Cisco loves us for supplying their customers with Cisco equipment and not with competing brands. On the other hand, Cisco is surprised by us. This is because we offer the same warranties on used equipment as they are on new Cisco equipment.

Cisco distributors do not directly see a competitor in NHR, but make notes to the side. Marcel van Eemeren, divisional manager IT Products & Solutions with Acal: “It is no news under the sun, there are hundreds of those traders. The trade in secondhand equipment is especially interesting for ‘spare parts’. Often there is no warranty on used equipment. Then you will fi nd that a bargain is expensive. Imagine the network to break down because of a second-hand product; it will cost the company a lot of money. Moreover, traders of second-hand equipment compete themselves to death because of the low prices”.

Rene Oskam, general manager of Comstor Nederland, says he has never been bothered by resellers of second-hand equipment. “I have not heard any of our resellers talk about it. Often, the warranty is the problem with used equipment. But apparently there is a market for it, as is the case with used pc’s and used lease cars.”