Guide to Saving Money for School Technology

Before purchasing any quantity of computers (desktops, laptops, or servers) browse through the COMPUTERS category of Ben's Bargains. I repeatedly annoy salesman when they call me offering deals on refurbished computer equipment at "educational pricing" and I ask them if they can beat the deals I find here (the answer is ALWAYS no). Often I find brand-new systems (including 19"+ LCD panels) with Core 2 processors for less than $500 shipped. I've saved this school district thousands upon thousands of dollars doing this.

Some tips when ordering from Dell:

• Fax in your Tax Exempt forms to both Dell Home and Dell Business. Instructions on how to do so here.


• Be careful when using coupon codes. Often Dell limits you to 5 computers per purchase, anything more will cause the coupons to fail. The way around this is to order in lots of 5.


• If you can, order a computer with Windows XP pre-installed. This will guarantee the availability of Windows XP drivers if you aren't a fan of Vista.

Some tips when ordering from Quill:

• Check your inbox (or your district's secretary if she makes orders) for e-mail from Quill. Often they have coupon codes included that can save money. In large orders of printer toner a 10% or 15% off coupon can go a long way to saving the school money.


• Use Quill remanufactured toner or ink. This is a great way to save and Quill is quick to replace non-working cartridges (in my experience).


• Make sure the district is part of the Preferred Customer program. This is a way to save an extra 10% or so on orders!


• Use Ebates for an extra 4% when making orders from Quill. You can fold this back into your budget for an extra printer cartridge or two.

Some tips when ordering from NewEgg:

• Use Ebates for an extra percent or two which can be tucked back into your budget.


• Look for free shipping on large items (printers, monitors, cases).


• NewEgg has a great RMA service, but be sure to keep all the boxes (and the contents therein) of your items for at least 30 days to make for a super-easy process.


• Read the user comments on items but take them with a grain of salt.

For those of you who shop in government or education sections of businesses, be sure to check for prices in the "normal person section" of the website. Sometimes I think just because your budget comes from a tax base companies feel like they can charge you more. Case in point the Dell Education purchasing page; I can nearly ALWAYS beat the offers on there from the regular Home or Business pages, and I can still get my tax exempt status! The exception to this is software, you can nearly always get a large break on education licenses. One handy tip, if you come across software that would be useful in a lab setting but isn't that well known, contact the author and ask if they offer a discount to schools. I've never been turned down, the authors have always been very interested in helping out.

If you are looking to compare prices between products, I suggest using Froogle (now Google Shopping), Pricewatch, or Price Grabber. Be sure to watch the business ratings!

Printer tips:

• If your district goes through a fair amount of ink cartridges there is a way to get some money back. I've had great luck with a company called Recyclers USA. There are others that pay around $1 per empty cartridge, which can add up in a hurry if your teacher's like to print (and what teacher doesn't?).


• Another way to cut printing costs is to use PaperCut on your domain's printer server. This allows you to have fine grained control over printers, I've saved several hundred dollars in paper and toner/ink fees by limiting what and how much students can print. Also a great way to show administration printers being abused by students and staff alike. You will make up the purchase price within a year from the savings.
  


• Use laser printers. They are much cheaper to run, especially in black and white prints. Initial toner fees might be high, but when you get several thousand sheets from one cartridge the cost savings are tremendous.


• Use remanufactured cartridges from Quill. They are inexpensive and work great. Quill will replace non-working cartridges no questions asked.

Power saving tips:

• Set your lab and classroom workstations to shut off after a specific amount of inactivity. One of the programs I use called DeepFreeze has this option built in. I have it set to 20 minutes of inactivity after which the computer shuts itself off. No more coming in over the weekend to see half the lab still running!


• Combine your servers into virtual machines. Doing this allowed me to combine five separate physical servers into one physical machine using VMware ESX Server.


• If your projectors allow it, have them set to shut off after a specific amount of inactivity. No more projectors left on over the weekend!


• Use LCD panels if your budget allows it. They not only save desk space and are easier on your eyes, they consume much less wattage than an equivalent CRT monitor.

If you have any tips you would like to add, please comment!