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(ASCEND) Trade-In Program

> ------------------------------
> 
> From: Todd Vierling <tv@pobox.com>
> Date: Mon, 22 Sep 1997 19:12:32 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: (ASCEND) Tradeups P75(old)->P75/P85(new)?
> 
> On Mon, 22 Sep 1997, Richard B Dervan wrote:
> 
> : We already went through this a couple of months ago.  Ascend is leaving us
> : in the cold...even those who bought a P75 2 weeks before they became obsolete.

How did your P75 suddenly become obsolete?  Doesn't it route IP over ISDN
anymore?  None of my telephones are suddenly useless since Caller-ID became
available on my analog lines.  They simply don't support a new feature.  But
their primary function, telecommunications, is fine.

> 
> Funny, I'm being offered trade-ups for the Pipe75 dfrom OTHER COMPANIES
> (USR, Livingston just to name two) that are below $50 for the difference. 
> And I'm even being offered discounts on their products just because I've
> "tried the competition" and are willing to try them instead.  I'd _like_ to
> stick with what I have now, but it's getting _really_ tempting.  D'oh! 

Are you being offered "trade-ups" or "competitive upgrades?"  The latter
are usually a one-time limited offer to entice you to throw away the
competitors' products and get you to use theirs.  Don't do your budget
projections based on the assumption that the companies all want to give
their products away.  It's not a good bet they'll make the same offer
six months from now.

> 
> KEVIN, ARE YOU LISTENING?  Call your higher-ups, man, before you lose even
> more business!  Convince them that "UPGRADE PLAN" is a valid business term!
> Pick up that phone and make the call....

I'm still curious which of the OTHER COMPANIES you mention actually offer
upgrade programs that are substantially better than ascend's.  You indicate
USR as an example, but I couldn't locate anybody there willing to UPGRADE
their own products -- like a sportster modem.  They suggested I sell it and
buy a new one.  I didn't ask Livingston about what trade-in value they'll
give me for last year's SOHO router.  Have you?  Ascend DOES have a program
in place for "competitive upgrade" trade-ins (where they offer a pitifully
small amount to swap a Cisco 7500 series router for a GRF).  Isn't that all
USR and Livingston are doing, essentially?

> 
> I make product recommendations and feature reports now, and you can read my
> .sig to find out where, because I'm not supposed to use the name in
> conversation such as this.  (This matter's far more personal than business,
> but it _will_ influence my recommendations, since what I use is likely what
> I'll recommend.)  And re-read the underscored portion of my original message
> here. 
> 
> : >Do any trade-up programs exist from the old P75 units (I have one that was
> : >replaced with a new unit thanks to defect very recently) to the new P75
> : >units that support POTS CID (something I was promised when purchasing the
> : >old unit originally)?        ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

If I were one of your clients paying you for your advice, I'd have two questions:

* Did you get the promise in writing?  Was it made by an official Ascend
  representative, or an independent sales rep who doesn't speak for Ascend?

* How did you remain unaware for so long that the new P75's were going to be
  released imminently, and you could have waited if the new features were
  important to you?  Everybody who reads this list regularly was informed about it
  for months.  As a consultant who makes product recommendations, you should
  keep abreast of developments for the benefit of your clients!

I agree that it would be nice for Ascend, and every other data communications
hardware manufacturer, to give us generous allowances on our old hardware when
we upgrade to new hardware.  But it's not common, and would drive the cost of
the equipment way up.  


>    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> 
> =====
> == Todd Vierling (Personal tv@pobox.com; Business tv@lucent.com)

Mike Berger
Shouting Ground Technologies, Inc.
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