The Imaging
Supplies eBay
With Their
Very Own Craig’s List
–U.S. Globe Corp
By Jamie Hamilton
Craig’s List:
1) Lists new, OEM product only
(product varies, never the same twice).
2) Sells all listed products
within 3-5 hours (first come, first served).
3) An email list you’ll be glad
you joined (check out these prices!).
When Craig Gruber, wholesale manager
at Micro Globe Corp. (U.S. Globe’s wholesale operation), emails his
list of OEM products every day at around noon Eastern time, things
at U.S. Globe get quiet. “It’s like the calm before the storm,” says
Michael Vincent, operations manager of U.S. Globe and Micro Globe.
“Not only do things get quiet… but they slow down.”
Craig’s email list is so massive
(every one included on it has requested to receive it—in fact, if
it’s late, many recipients call to see why they haven’t gotten their
copy) that it slows down the company’s T1 data output line. When
employees start to notice their systems’ delay, they don’t need to
ask questions—“We say, there goes Craig’s List.”
Everything on the list normally sells
within 3-5 hours, Vintsent said—it is a first come first serve
operation, or “otherwise it really wouldn’t be fair.” In fact,
Craig’s List is so popular now that to help Craig with so many
recipients, his co-workers are taking on some of the responsibility
and have lists of their own. All the products on the email list are
new, OEM supplies, and much of the list includes (but is not limited
to) Xerox, Canon and Tektronix OEM supplies. “We sell every make and
model of OEM supplies out there,” Vintsent says.
While this is a great extension of
the U.S. Globe Corp. business, it’s far from all they sell. They
wear a handful of industry hats, one of which is that of an
authorized Panasonic and Sharp dealer. They are a retail dealership
that offers customers not only machines, service and supplies, but
also computer maintenance and business cell phone/walk-and-talk
services. Building computers was a natural extension of the U.S.
Globe Corp business of servicing machines and supplies; being able
to work on a customer’s network as well as the machines gave their
customers a complete one-stop-shop option.
It’s one of the chief lessons learned
in 21 years of business, he says: that customers like one-stop
shopping. “We in no way try to hinder the dealer,” Vintsent says.
“In this business, we all have to work together.” In fact, some of
the most valuable advice he would give dealers is to cross-promote
beyond their “authorized brand” with supplies. “Just because you are
not an HP dealership,” said Vintsent, “doesn’t mean that you can’t
offer the customer HP supplies.
“If they are already buying some
supplies from you,” he adds, “shouldn’t they be getting everything
from you? Give them a one-stop-shop option. The benefit of using
you over the superstores is that you come to them.”
On the wholesale side, in addition to
computer parts, U.S. Globe Corp. is similar to an imaging supplies
eBay. If you can dream it up, they can hunt it down. U.S. Globe has
access to machines (multi-function, fax, printers, etc.), empties,
remanufactureds, compatibles, and toners in the box (OEM) and out of
the box (in bulk).
For example, say you need 100 toners
for your technicians to tear apart or rework. U.S. Globe Corp. can
find toners out of the box at a reduced price you can use; you are
not concerned with the packaging, so it’s a value. If it’s hard to
find or out of date, U.S. Globe Corp will be happy to find it for
you. And, their OEM cartridges are OEM quality, guaranteed to arrive
in perfect packaging.
While this product line has been
fine-tuned over U.S. Globe Corp.’s 20-year history, it all began
with two high school friends. Dean Hatzidakis and John Spencer were
“driven by the dollar” at a very young age; they spent summers
selling ice cream on the beach, paper routes, and driving yellow New
York City taxicabs. When they were 17, they met a man who at that
time as known as the telex king of New York. This man would
introduce them to something that would change their lives forever:
the telex machine. The man told them the precursor to the fax
machine would change business forever.
After discussing it, the two friends
decided to go into business selling the machines. Dean’s three
sisters had moved out, leaving 2 extra bedrooms at his parents’.
They allowed the young entrepreneurs to run the business out of the
basement, and the two could work around the clock. If they needed
sleep, they just went upstairs. Soon they had seven neighbors
hammering away on the telephones.
The business grew rapidly. They
partnered up with Extel to sell their telex machines, and shortly
afterward partnered with Ricoh in selling its top-name fax machine.
Over six years, the two watched the industry grow from telefax to
thermal fax machines. Eventually, one neighbor began to complain
about the large trucks delivering thermal paper to the residential
neighborhood and they had to move out. With the move, the two
friends decided to split up in 1990: Spencer left to pursue a new
business in Southern California, while Hatzidakis stayed to take
U.S. Globe Corp. to the next level.
Another high school beginner at the
company is Vintsent, who began working for the company when he was
17 in 1995. After his college graduation—and after he had worked
nearly every position in the company, from sweeping the floor to
technician to sales and then head of sales—they offered him the
position of overseeing both the retail and wholesale divisions of
the company.
With all these years of experience
and diverse product lines, growing from the telex to thermal fax and
then the fax machines, laser copiers and printers of today, U.S.
Globe Corp. has stayed focused on quality customer service.
And, with various products available
to U.S. Globe Corp. customers, it is important to monitor quality
for each product line. U.S. Globe Corp takes pride in providing high
quality products to customers. If there is a visual defect with a
cartridge or if it has been opened or tampered with in any way, “we
keep it to use in-house, or we tell the customer about it up front,”
Vintsent says.
According to customers’ specific
reman/cartridge packaging needs, U.S. Globe Corp. can find what
you’re looking for. However, with OEM products, customers can expect
a solid OEM cartridge. Examining OEM packaging for damages,
misspellings, or defects is part of quality control procedure at
U.S. Globe Corp.
Customer Quick Info: Orders
made before 5 p.m. EST ship same day at U.S. Globe Corp., and
blind-drop ships are welcome. There is no minimum quantity order
requirement. Shipping charges are not inflated at U.S. Globe
Corp.—they ship UPS, unless asked to ship via another carrier.
While shipping products within the
U.S. is commonplace for U.S. Globe Corp., it does also ship into the
international market.
Contact:
US Globe/Micro Globe:
888-726-9632
www.usglobecorp.com
by Jamie Hamilton— in
addition to writing business profiles in ENX, Jamie writes and
designs ads, brochures, catalogs, newsletters, and technical manuals
for companies in the imaging industry. She can be contacted at:
Tel/ Fax 502-896-1051 or e-mail her at:
jamiewriter@hotmail.com.
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