New and Used Telephone Systems
÷New telephone systems are supplied by the above reputed telephone system manufacturers with fixed warranty, though the warranty may vary from manufacturer to manufacturer and from model to model. On the other hand, used telephone systems may not carry any warranty. Hence, when a decision is taken to purchase used telephone system, the warranty part should be questioned and a specific commitment obtained from the supplier. If properly handled, used telephone systems can save considerable amount of money. On the other hand, if a wrong supplier is selected, it can lead to unwanted frustration due to frequent equipment failure and may be much more costlier than a new telephone system in the long run.
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While purchasing a used telephone system, the features, expandability and reliability should be carefully considered. Cost should not be the sole criteria. By spending some extra money, a good used telephone system that does easily fail can be purchased. The question whether the supplier will be able to install and maintain the system should be gone into. Any dealer who cannot install and maintain but only supply the equipments should be avoided. Normally, buying used telephone systems from one supplier and engaging another wiring and cable company for the installation is not a wise decision.
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Another factor that will need to be checked is how old are the used telephone systems and the phones. It should be ensured that the used telephone system and the phones had been properly refurbished and thoroughly tested by the supplier. The supplier or the dealer should also be able to supply phones and required spare parts in case there is such a need in future. The supplier should provide a written warranty for all the hardware at least for one year. The used telephone system should have the standard communication capabilities like automatic call distribution, call forwarding, full-feature voice mail, extension dialing, VoIP support, etc. If all these factors are checked and the system is purchased, it will be as good as a new telephone system.
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However, the above option of buying used telephone systems may be suitable only for small business houses that cannot afford new telephone systems. Used telephone systems that had been refurbished can never match new telephone systems. They will lack the quality that a telephone system from Alcatel or Panasonic can provide. If the operations of the company are critical and with lot of outside voice and data communication, only new telephone systems should be purchased, irrespective of the cost. This will also ensure scalability in future and total reliability.