Page 52 - Security Today, March 2020

“When you purchase a used product, you have exposure to many potential pitfalls which could affect the overall quality and reliability of your security entrance.”
if it is purchased from an auction site or other website that is not well-regulated. If you do make this choice, there should be a verifiable chain of ownership beginning with the manufacturer. The reality is that even this paperwork can be falsified, so there is still risk.
It might be a discontinued product. It is not unreasonable to question whether a used turnstile or other security entrance has been discontinued by the manufacturer. If you purchase a dis- continued product, you may not be able to get replacement parts when they are needed or find a technician who is able to properly service it.
If your seller is forthright and tells you the product has been discontinued, they should also be able to give you a full explana- tion of the model, make and year, along with information regard- ing how long parts will continue to be available.
With that knowledge, you can make a more informed decision about whether or not you want to take on the additional risk of buying a discontinued product, particularly if it will cost you more time and money in the long run to maintain the security entrance and find a repair serviceman who is familiar with the model.
You don’t know why it’s being sold. Most security entrances are built to order and installed. This makes it very likely that the product was removed from a site. There must be a reason for this, and the seller should be prepared to provide you with an honest explanation.
It may be as simple as a change in utilization that required a new entry solution. On the other hand, the entrance may have presented numerous maintenance issues or could be on the verge of failure. If a reseller is not immediately offering a reason why they are selling the product, you may have reason to question the quality of the entrance and if it will be reliable when it comes time to secure your building.
All the possibilities have meaning when it comes to the current condition of the entrance, so be sure to find out the true story as best as you can. While you cannot guarantee that you’re hearing the full story, the only way to discover answers to these questions is to ask them.
Its removal may have caused new problems. Uninstalling a se- curity entrance without causing any harm or damage requires a great deal of care and skill. This is because they are usually af- fixed to the ground, floor, walls, fencing or a ceiling structure. Even reliable installers who provide high-quality installation ser- vices may not be quite as careful when it comes to uninstalling a security entrance.
Sometimes when contractors remove this type of equipment, they cut, rip or pull cables that are critical to the future operation of the equipment. This is usually because the contractor is not aware of how the product works or which parts are most crucial to its operation.
With so many required pieces of hardware such as mounting
bolts, anchors and trim screws, small removed parts can easily get thrown away rather than gathered up for resale and inclusion with the rest of the entrance parts.
When a security entrance is removed and resold, it will need to be transported – almost always without its original robust crat- ing or packaging. That leads to a lot of variables for the product and if it will stay in good condition throughout the often bumpy process of transporting it from the reseller’s location to your or- ganization or business.
Ultimately, with so many precision parts that have to work perfectly, the chances are very small that the seller can uninstall, transport and reinstall without damaging something.
The reseller may not be reliable. Ideally, the seller will be the original manufacturer of the product or an approved dealer or partner. However, this may not be the case with used security en- trances you find on the internet or elsewhere.
As many potential customers have discovered when buying products on Craigslist or on other platforms, resellers may be hiding key parts of their history with the product and with the manufacturer.
Before making your purchase, ask the reseller about their rela- tionship with the manufacturer and a few customer recommenda- tions. Have they ever successfully removed a turnstile or door and then reinstalled that model before?
We recommend that you also contact the original manufactur- er and ask for their opinion on the products you are considering as well as the reputation of the reseller and any possible limited warranty.
Key questions could include: Are they aware of any issues that this reseller has had with previous customers? Do they have a re- lationship with this reseller, and if so, what are the terms of their agreement? The reseller may not be authorized to resell the brand at all, in which case you should stop the conversation right away and turn to other options.
Always consider upfront costs vs. TCO. Buying a used security entrance may seem like an attractive prospect from a cost per- spective. The price point listed by a reseller is often much lower than what the manufacturer will offer you, and offers a quicker fix to your problems than waiting until you can afford a more updated or expensive entrance.
However, while you may save upfront costs this way, you may ultimately find that your total cost of ownership (TCO) is far more than what you would have paid had you purchased a new product in the first place.
When you purchase a used product, you have exposure to many potential pitfalls which could affect the overall quality and reliability of your security entrance in the years to come. Fur- thermore, buying a product this way prevents you from getting the full value of the manufacturer’s and installer’s expertise in customizing a solution that truly fits your business needs.
You will also be excluded over time from any manufacturer updates for service and support. For all these reasons, organiza- tions should think long and hard before making
the decision to consider purchasing any used secu-
rity entrance equipment.
Kurt Measom is the vice president of technology and product support at Boon Edam Inc.
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