With a little over a year to go until the end of 2024, postage meters are getting their biggest update in two decades. On December 31, 2024, old, information-based indica (IBI) postage meters will be decertified, which means hundreds of thousands of them will need to be replaced with intelligent mail indica (IMI) compliant devices. Many office technology dealers have seized the chance to capitalize on this rare window of opportunity. So how can dealers maximize their margins with mailing equipment? That was the question at the June BTA panel moderated by Jim D’Emidio titled “Mailing Equipment Decertification & Its Opportunities,” with Phil Landriault of FP Mailing and Carrie Witham of GreatAmerica Financial Services.

Mailing equipment encompasses more than just postage meters. For example, closing a deal for ancillary equipment like a folder inserter machine can easily double or triple the value of a postage meter sale. Many of these customers may not even be aware that time-saving options like this are out there. Larger enterprise customers may also need “smart” parcel lockers similar to what Amazon uses on college campuses, weighing machines, or additional software products to support their mailing processes.

As with any office technology, selling mailing technology gets clients familiar with the dealer, opening the door to sales of other office technology solutions. Take this as a chance to start fresh with customers you might have not had luck with in the past. Talking mailing may not be more interesting to the average business than talking copiers or MFPs, but it’s at least a story and sales pitch they likely haven’t had to hear as much.

While mailing equipment margins are healthy, service revenue is where dealers have the most leeway to price maintenance support. Mailing machines generally require less visits from service technicians due to the mechanically simpler construction, so maintenance contracts can reflect excellent margins.

The current economic challenges many businesses are facing can also work in favor of a dealer. More and more customers are looking at more flexible financing options that let them spread out expenses – and a dealer’s guaranteed revenue – over longer periods of time, such as “skip the summer” options. These longer-term financing options are also an opportunity to add escalations or offer upgrades throughout the duration of the contract. Finally, as noted by GreatAmerica’s Witham, financing options for mailing equipment “have one of the best approval ratios for the customers and also one of the lowest delinquency and loss ratios.”

More and more dealers are getting wise to the opportunity created by adding a high-profit margin product like mailing equipment to their portfolio. With a business opportunity as rare as the upcoming postage meter decertification, acting fast will be critical since it may be years before the next decertification of postage meters.