When being "a good steward of the Lord’s money” doesn't mean
buying at the lowest price
These
days online shopping is more than just convenient. I've personally bought
everything from printer ink to car parts to major appliances online. Not too
long ago I saved $45 by ordering a part I needed for a pool pump repair online
instead of from my local store. When shopping for a projector it may seem more
attractive to Google search for the cheapest price. Every penny you spend on equipment is one
less spent on ministry; you are spending folks’
hard-earned and entrusted donation money. It’s
a big responsibility and, understandably, a difficult decision.
As a “brink and mortar” AV dealer, I may not be fully
objective, but knowing the inside tricks of the industry, I would strongly
caution against buying a projector from an online store. Here are my reasons:
1.
You may not get a warranty.
Your receipt is the only way to prove the purchase date of a
projector. The manufacturer will only recognize and honor a warranty if they
can verify the legitimacy of that receipt, and they will most likely not be
able to verify that a receipt from www.XWZ.com is authentic. Heck, the chance
of www.XYZ.com still being in business 3 years from now is highly unlikely
anyway.
2.
You may not get the service and support you
need.
Online stores can sell at lower profit margins because they don’t have to keep trained
/experienced staff who know the product. They won't be able to help you find
the proper mount or tell you how far away to mount your projector to get a 12
ft wide image.
3.
You may not be getting the complete purchase.
In order to offer such low prices, many online stores remove (and
sell separately) the remote, power cord, or manuals. Some even swap out the
bulb for a 30 hour starter bulb knowing that you will have to call them in a
few weeks to order the original bulb at a high price.
4.
Beware of
the “bait and
switch."
I recently helped a customer who wanted to order a specific
Hitachi model projector, and he'd found it online at a great price (about 15%
cheaper than any other dealer). The
online store listed the model as “in stock," and they gladly accepted and ran
his church’s Visa
card. After several days of “in
process” emails,
he was finally able to reach a live human being on the telephone. Only then did
he learn that the unit was unavailable (they advertised it, but in reality
couldn’t get
that particular model from Hitachi), and they were substituting for an
equivalent machine from Epson. The catch is that the Epson in this case was
nowhere near the same. It was a single chip DLP and only came with a 1 year
warranty. Buyer Beware!
I guess
it comes down to this: you owe it to your congregation and The Lord to be so
very careful when spending church money.
However, this doesn’t mean finding the cheapest price. Sometimes the best deal isn’t the cheapest deal but truly is the best long term
solution for the congregation.
About the
blogger:
With
almost 25 years of experience in the multimedia industry, Darren Macdonald has personally
designed thousands of church projection systems. He is “tech geek” enough to make the system
work and “real” enough to make sure that it makes sense to your volunteer
operators. He truly has a passion for helping churches maximize their impact for
Christ via the use of technology. Got a
burning question for him? You can reach him at Darren@ShepherdMedia.com
