I posted similar advice on these lists a few years ago, but it bears repeating: Get several bids for the same equipment.
When my local radio club decided to buy a second Motorola MTR2000 repeater, I sent an RFQ (Request for Quote) to more than a dozen Motorola vendors, both local and out-of state. The response was a real eye-opener! Here's my RFQ in text form: "Please provide your DELIVERED PRICE, inclusive of all taxes, handling, shipping, and insurance charges, for the following list of Motorola equipment: 1 each T5766 MTR2000 station 1 each X530 ENH: VHF 100-25W, Range 1, 132-154 MHz Operation 1 each X597 ENH: Conventional Analog Operation 1 each X580 ADD: Repeater Operation 1 each X84 DEL: Delete Wireline Operation (Credit) NOTE: No programming is required NOTE: Substitutions, Additions, or Deletions are NOT ALLOWED NOTE: This station will operate in the 144-148 MHz band. Range 1 TX is REQUIRED. NOTE: Use UPS Ground as the shipping method when calculating your cost. When filled in, please FAX this page to xxx-xxx-xxxx We will deliver the above equipment to your door for $_____________. This quote is valid until ____________. Delivery will occur within ________ days of order placement. Agent name ________________________________" All but two of the polled dealers responded to the above RFQ. A few dealers returned quotes with additions, and these were summarily rejected. One dealer added a duplexer, commenting that "You'll need a duplexer to use this station as a repeater, so we included one in our quote." Thanks, but no thanks! Another dealer ignored the equipment I specified, commenting that "Most of our customers prefer Kenwood equipment, so we are quoting a TKR-750 system." Yeah, right- as if I'll accept a Yugo in place of a Volvo! Here's the really interesting part: The spread between the lowest and the highest quotes was almost two thousand dollars! The winning bid was $3,925 from an out-of-state dealer, and the highest bid was $5,850 from a local vendor! I suspect that the low bidders probably do a few hundred thousand dollars worth of Motorola business every month, while the high bidders might order one or two systems in a year. I suppose the highest bidder was thinking that he was going make a real killing with these Hams, quoting just a small amount under the published list price. Well, he can gouge someone else! The bottom line is: Shop around, but always stick with a specific list of equipment to ensure a level playing field. 73, Eric Lemmon WB6FLY -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of twtemt Sent: Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [Repeater-Builder] Re: Large Motorola Vendor --- In [email protected] <mailto:Repeater-Builder%40yahoogroups.com> , [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > Who is a good Motorola vendor for new radio purchases. I'm in CA and looking to buy around 80 mobiles. We'll do our own installs. > > -- > -Tim > Tim, I just got a used Motorola Repeater from Penninsula Communications in Salinas, CA. Jim is the Owner and a Ham he seemed to be very fair and I think he would give you a fair deal as well. I met Jim and Jeff at the Marina Hamfest in February of this year and they have been very nice to deal with. You may use my name if you wish. Take Care, Tom KE6VT
