PRODUCTS COMPARISON BRAND A vs. BRAND B VALUE VERSES COST

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1 PRODUCTS COMPARISON BRAND A vs. BRAND B VALUE VERSES COST OM Comparison Brand A vs Brand B v121715pr.doc Page 1

2 PRODUCT COMPARISON - BRAND A VS. BRAND B OfficeMart has over 300 national original equipment manufacturers (OEM) brands to choose from, in addition to high quality generic brands. Our generic products (compatibles) are all top quality products matching or exceeding OEM standards in manufacturing and performance. We set the same high standards for our compatible products, just like the familiar name brands you buy at your favorite grocery store or office supply, which our customers trust and demand. PRODUCT PRICING QUESTIONS How do your prices compare to Staples, Office Depot or Quill? OfficeMart regularly does Internet price comparisons of our competitors to make sure that our advertised sale price aligns competitively within the market. Your profit margins are already built into the prices that are shown on our website. In addition, as a distributor, you have the discretion to adjust purchase prices on the website to customers within your administration area on either their Quick Order forms or while presenting a bid. In other words, if the customer finds an item which is less expensive than our advertised price, you can instantly match it. Can I buy ink and toner for less from my office supply store? It would be unusual, unless the item was a loss leader, to find either OEM or Compatible printing consumables from any major office supply s website or big box store that are less expensive than OfficeMart.com. With our reduced cost business model of not maintaining brick and mortar facilities, OfficeMart consistently delivers dramatically better prices on items when compared to the competition, including franchised ink and toner brands like Cartridge World or Rapid Refill to name a few. Why wouldn t I want to take advantage of a lower price found on the Internet? The Internet is a clearing house for both high quality and inferior quality items. For instance, toner and ink supplies have different grades of quality depending on the parts used in construction. When supply companies order ink and toner cartridges from the factories building these supplies, each item leaving the factory line should be tested. If you consider that each buyer has given the factory a spec requirement to follow, not every cartridge will meet or pass scrutiny. Typically, factories don t dump or deconstruct inferior items instead they are offered out to market at tremendous discounts, usually using the Internet. Understand that these cartridges will perform at some level, but not to the exacting standards required by customers, especially B2B customers. We see a variety of quality issues reported, including low volume, light gray tones, squeaks while running, high out dusting of toner in the printer, lighter blacks, and the list goes on. Not all ink and toner sold on the Internet is of lower quality, but how do you discern which is which, and how do you obtain warranty coverage if you have a problem? OfficeMart.com backs all items sold and maintains both a staffed customer care team to assist its clients should a problem arise, as well as sales reps who can personally visit business clients. OUR BUSINESS CLIENTS FIND THAT THE FEW DOLLARS OF POSSIBLE SAVINGS ATTAINED THROUGH SEARCHING THE INTERNET DOESN T BEGIN TO MEET THEIR NEEDS LIKE THE ONES OFFICEMART PROVIDES! VERY FEW BUSINESS CLIENTS WILL WASTE THEIR TIME PRICE CHECKING AND BUYING ITEMS FROM DIFFERENT SUPPLIERS WHEN THEY SEE HOW OFFICEMART SIMPLIFIES THE WHOLE ORDERING PROCESS. (TIME = MONEY!) OM Comparison Brand A vs Brand B v121715pr.doc Page 2

3 OFFICEMART VS. OTHER COMPETITORS As a Business Owner, How Does OfficeMart Compete With Our Competitors? That s not the correct question. The correct question is, How can our competitors compete with us? Easy answer. Added Value for our Area Distributors (ADs) and customers! OfficeMart has done the costly, time-consuming work up front necessary to start your business: Complete business and marketing infrastructure Access to Huge Buying Power Customer Service and a 100% Ironclad product guarantees second to none Innovative Tools specifically designed to grow and retain your customer base Minimal Overhead (no brick and mortar locations, CEO salaries, employee costs, etc.) Flexibility How, when and where to work Managing pricing and profit margins Achieving your own goals and level of success or exceeding them! And more OfficeMart has as much interest in your success as in our own; and this Added Value leads ADs, in turn, to have interest in the success of the OfficeMart brand, for a mutually beneficial relationship. Because we keep your start-up and operations costs so low, offering customers 100,000+ high-quality products and saving them money makes it pretty easy to get customers to place an order. Combine that with an assigned supply specialist, maintenance and repair services, fundraising programs, etc., offered at the most personal, relationship-building levels now those one-time customers very happy and loyal, ensuring recurring orders. Your business grows and so does OfficeMart hand in hand. Do our competitors offer all that Added Value? If not, how can they compete with OfficeMart? Pricing OfficeMart may not always be the lowest advertised priced vendor. On more than one occasion, members of our team have found ink and toner prices advertised for less than those posted on OfficeMart.com, and occasionally we have even found a reseller selling below our cost. How do OfficeMart and you handle that? First, it s important to be certain to compare apples to apples. Second, make sure the vendor is not selling a loss leader. Third, look at whether the vendor provides any other customer services as we do (e.g., do they have a supply specialist assigned to the customer)? Lastly, you have the ability to adjust the prices your customers are paying for each individual item (up and down) within your administration area. You can also adjust the pricing on the same item differently to different customers. Remember, the price shown on the website already contains a standard built-in profit margin. You are in control of your own margins; OfficeMart just offers pricing suggestions. Apples to Apples There are resellers out there that are selling cheap ink and toner products, and if the client searches on other vendor s sites, or one like ebay or Amazon, they ll always be able to find someone selling products OM Comparison Brand A vs Brand B v121715pr.doc Page 3

4 for less than OfficeMart does. Generally, these products are not the same quality as the ones OfficeMart sells, and we add value to thousands of office products that no one else does. We only sell ISO certified products. However, their products are often either drilled and filled cartridges, or are re-manufactured with inferior quality ink and toner, the cartridge parts not properly replaced, and/or the cartridges are not pressure tested. Several levels of quality cartridges are available industry-wide. These lower prices appear to go hand in hand with lower quality. Thus, the quality of their products will not meet the ISO standards of new OEM cartridges, but OfficeMart s products will, because we only offer the highest quality tier available in the market today. That is why we can offer a 100% Ironclad Guarantee. This guarantee raises trust on the part of customers. Loss Leaders It s not uncommon for big box retailers to sell a product here and there below their cost to try and attract customers to come in and buy other items. At OfficeMart, we regularly scrub the Internet for the price comparisons reflected on our web site, which helps us establish a benchmark and be competitive in pricing. Our first goal is not necessarily to be the cheapest vendor out there. Our goal is to be very competitive in price, but in such a way that we can provide certified products, quality customer support, and ease of ordering features, all of which separate us from our competition. Quality costs money, so we will not sacrifice quality products and service by simply focusing on having the lowest price on the planet. Remember, lowering a price just to win the account on sheer pricing cuts the profit margin on that product. We allow you to cut the price up to 10% without approval. We may have to lower some pricing to uncomfortable levels to win a special customer, and if we have to, we will. However, your goal is to win the customer on quality products and service, a trusting relationship and value pricing, so that pricing alone is not your only leverage. Our Services and Added Value vs. The Competition OfficeMart has built a sales infrastructure and product inventory second to none. Along with enhanced, innovative software that makes customer ordering easy and nearly error free, OfficeMart gives the customer a one-stop shop for keeping track of all their printing equipment, as well as the particular supplies needed for them, whether for one location or multiple locations. Once a customer s Quick Order form and Snap Order desktop icon is set up, with one mouse click they can order products in far less time than it takes to get to another vendor s web site, log on, and search for and order the same products they purchased the last time they placed an order. It certainly saves them time from having to call or run to a store looking for products they need, hoping they are in stock. Additionally, we ship our products in packaging that minimizes occurrences of shipping damage (as opposed to sticking a compatible cartridge in a flimsy sack and throwing it in a box). We are putting into place affiliated local printer repair and maintenance services across the country, along with corporate incentives and fundraising programs. These factors are all designed to attract and serve customers and grow our market share. Product Coverage OfficeMart has direct access to approximately 100,000 products, which provides you with products to cover the largest amount of printers, copiers and fax machines normally used in business. This is far greater coverage than we find stocked by our big box store competitors like Office Depot or Staples, and tremendously more than a Cartridge World, or a Rapid Refill franchisee, would be able to stock within their locations. Successful business operators aren t unintelligent; they are always looking for ways to cut costs, and raise profits. Since you already have a relationship with your customers, they are going to at least listen to what you have to say, and the recommendation you make to them about OfficeMart. When they see the OM Comparison Brand A vs Brand B v121715pr.doc Page 4

5 competitive prices, ease of ordering, and know they have someone they already trust to rely upon, they are more likely to purchase from OfficeMart, because they will be purchasing from You. Since customers are generally loyal to quality vendors, they will continue to reorder from OfficeMart, and you will profit from every reorder they make. LET S RECAP: For the most part, we carry two types of cartridges - OEM and Compatible. The OEM market is highly controlled by equipment manufacturers to set pricing at certain levels. If our list prices are higher, it is by design. You can always lower a customer s quote. With our model being non-brick and mortar, we should always be in a position to beat the big box store prices as needed. We also carry sell tens of thousands of dollars of Compatible cartridges, generally with a 100% markup (50% margin) from cost, with a system auditing most orders and margins exceed 50% in many cases. Our process is not about pushing toner; however, it is about building relationships and supporting clients, unlike big box stores or Internet sales groups like ebay or Amazon. We bring additional Value to the client other than price, such as what cartridge is best suited for the task at hand and real people to talk to for questions and issues that may occasionally arise a style of business not usually available from the big box stores or Internet direct sellers. Availability of product is much greater instead of a couple of dozen SKUs per printer brand, we carry thousands of SKUs. We are a one-stop shop for busy B2B clients, saving them time with their Desktop OfficeMart icon, customized Quick Order forms, as well saving them money. It s like they enter their personal store, already customized with items needed for their printers, creating an easy, quick, and precise shopping experience. OM Comparison Brand A vs Brand B v121715pr.doc Page 5