I received a quote from Dell that was supposed to be valid for about 15 days. When I tried to place the order within that time frame, Dell informed me that the price had increased, and I would need to pay more. How do others manage situations like this? Do you typically finalize purchases the same day you get a quote? How do you ensure you have the correct price for management approval in your organization?
4 Answers
With the market being so unstable, I’ve noticed that quotes are constantly changing until the products ship. All we can really do is wait or adapt to the fluctuations. It's become increasingly common for vendors to state that prices aren't guaranteed until shipment, which is quite a shocker!
Absolutely! We've been warned that by the end of this month, we could see increases of 20-40%!
I'm trying to purchase 100 new PCs right now, and it feels like a race against time! By the time we find the right devices and go through the budget approval, the prices often change or the stock runs out, forcing us to start the process all over again. It's super frustrating!
I’ve learned to give my management an estimated cost beforehand and get a rough approval. This way, when the quote aligns with our budget, I can just go ahead and lock it in without all that back-and-forth nonsense.
Herding cats is way easier than dealing with this pricing chaos!
I've had to start letting management know that quoted prices might change rapidly, especially if we hesitate before ordering. In fact, I've had approved quotes go invalid due to shortages. I think we just need to accept that it’s all messed up right now, especially for vendors like Dell. They're clearly not going to absorb these costs as they might have in the past.
It’s really frustrating, but I know what you mean about a lack of stability. It's like we’re back to square one every time.
Exactly. Prices aren’t coming down, and I worry that vendors might just be using the supply chain issues as a cover for price gouging.
This issue is widespread. Just the other day, I quoted three Dell servers, and by the next morning, the quote was already invalid. What seems to help is getting pre-approval for a set budget, so that once we get the quotes, the clients can just say 'Approved' right away. It's all about speed these days!
Yeah, I heard about a client who placed a huge order just to be warned last minute about potential price hikes that could push their costs up significantly.