Business Profile: GPEC

Profit with Refurb Copiers

(Or Sell Your Used Machines)

At Greater Philadelphia Equipment Company

By Jamie Hamilton

With 22 years in business, Greater Philadelphia Equipment Company has seen industry demand go from typewriters to word processors and then set its focus on copiers.  But one thing has remained the same:  Greater Philadelphia has always sold used, wholesale equipment.

“For dealers, there’s generally more money in refurb/used equipment than buying a brand-new piece of equipment and selling it,” says Greater Philadelphia’s founder, owner and president, Glen Stephenson. “They can make a lot more money in the used market, a lot more.  It’s not even close.”

“That’s because there is no or simply less competition,” he adds. “When you’re selling a new machine, all your competition is paying the same price for that machine.  So, the margins are small, to be competitive.  But some dealers don’t pursue used equipment, so the profit margin is drastically different because there is less competition.  In the end, it’s the dealer who decides what he’s going to put into it and what he will get back for it.”

While dealers can accentuate profit margins by selling high quality, refurbished copiers, they can also make a return on their used machines.  Greater Philadelphia Equipment Company accumulates used copiers for dealer and export markets. 

Seeing the market in used machines, Stephenson has continued to supply dealers with a high quality product that is cosmetically sound.  Family owned and operated, Greater Philadelphia takes quality personally.

Products and Quality

Greater Philadelphia takes quality back over two decades: “We get copiers in from sources that we’ve built up for almost 23 years,” Stephenson says.

Scaling the gamut of name brands, Greater Philadelphia carries a large model selection from almost every manufacturer, including Canon, Minolta, Mita, Ricoh, Sharp, Toshiba and others. 

On brands with not as much demand, Greater Philadelphia lets customers decide which models they will offer.  “On the lesser requested brands like Xerox and Kodak, we want to see what the most popular models are for customers before we start searching for a particular model,” Stephenson says.

One way to find out what products Greater Philadelphia has in stock is to sign up for their product fax list.  Divided up by brand, customers can receive lists of their favorite manufacturer’s models.  While you can also have the list emailed, Stephenson says that most customers prefer to have the product list faxed so that they have a hard copy to hold on to.  Each product line fits neatly on one page.

While they have products across the board, Greater Philadelphia has one centralized philosophy about each model:  high quality.  “When we get the machines in, we make sure that they pass a copy and that the cosmetic covers are good,” Stephenson says.  “If there is discoloration or broken covers, they get replaced.  That probably makes us a little different than other wholesalers who do not replace the covers.”

High quality isn’t the only thing that sets them apart, however.  The company’s shipping methods and packing materials are not only unique in design and less expensive, but keep products from being damaged on the way to your facility.

“It’s a rare situation that anything ever gets damaged coming out of our company because we use packing materials that we’ve been successful with over 22 years of learning,” Stephenson explains. “We know how to properly pack the equipment and the cheapest, fastest ways to deliver our equipment.”

When it comes to shipping out a quality product in the most efficient manner, Greater Philadelphia not only has the experience and the know-how, they cover every area that is important to customers. 

“Not all wholesalers do what we do,” Stephenson says.  “All these aspects of checking that the machine works, that the covers are good, and that it doesn’t get damaged in shipping are critical to the buyer.  We know that it’s very, very important that it gets done properly.”

This is why Greater Philadelphia has a double-check system that ensures each order is processed correctly.  Initially the order is checked as it comes into the service area.  Then, as the machine is preparing to ship out, it is checked again.  “If I have the time, I’ll run out there and triple-check it,” Stephenson jokes.

But product orders are taken seriously—they want to make sure a buyer is getting exactly what they expect.  This is the philosophy that Stephenson has lived by for the past 22 years:  “You can’t stay in business this long without building relationships the right way—at least, no company I know of has.”

Company History

Stephenson has been in the office machine business literally as long as he can remember.  His dad sold typewriters, and when Stephenson was just 12, he began to work for his uncle who was also dealing in the machine“In the early ’80s, typewriters and word processors were really all we had,” said Stephenson.  “There were a few copiers out there, if you could find them.”  And that’s exactly what Stephenson did.

Branching away from what his dad and uncle were doing, Stephenson went into the later-model word processors and typewriters until he could get his hands on enough copiers to start a business out of his condo’s garage. The year was 1982.

Right off the bat he was selling the used machines, realizing the turn-around value was better than trying to resell a new one.  Copiers rapidly gained the complete attention of the market, while typewriters and word processors began to lose market share.  Soon, Stephenson hired a few technicians to help with the machines and moved into a small office/warehouse. By the early 1990s he had a 7500-sq.-ft. facility, and in 1993 he moved into his double-decker, 21,000 sq. ft-per-floor warehouse in Newportville, Pa., where he still has his operations.  Today there is also a full team of sales and technicians that make up the Greater Philadelphia team, who now work out of a current facility that measures 42,000 square feet.

Glen Stephenson has not only filled the large warehouse with products, but also with some members of his family.  His dad, Dick Stephenson, now helps him: “Just call him the Controller,” says Stephenson, laughing lightheartedly.  Also, his mom, Alberta, is the secretary for the company; his mother-in-law, Carol, is the bookkeeper; Jim, brother-in-law, is the warehouse manager; and Dean, also his brother-in-law, is a warehouse man.

Perhaps Greater Philadelphia Equipment Co. has set the standard for not only “family owned” but truly “family operated.”

Contact Greater Philadelphia Equipment Co.:

Tel:  215-788-7111

Fax:  215-788-4445