Avanet Shop - Switch to gross prices and project notification

It’s time again to summarize a few innovations in the further development of our website for you. The first point concerns an important change in the purchasing process that we had to adapt due to Sophos. The other innovations are intended to make shopping from other countries with different currencies and tax rates easier. For all those who have an account with us, the recently introduced “Inventory” provides a better overview of previously purchased items.

Content

Important change from July 1, 2019
Switch to gross prices
Country Switcher
Stock
New menu item: Inventory

Important change from July 1, 2019

Our mission has always been to make purchasing Sophos products as easy as possible, to guarantee fast delivery, and all this at an irresistible price. However, Sophos has now changed the ordering process somewhat from July 1, 2019, which will affect the delivery time of certain products. We will look at which products are affected in the next section.

Categorization of products

Previously, it made no difference to Sophos whether we ordered an XG 115 or an XG 310 for a customer. However, Sophos now differentiates between products that fall into the small segment and those that are intended for larger environments.

I have listed here which products in our shop fall into the small or large segment for Sophos:

Category 1: Small Segment:

XG 86 to XG 135
SG 105 to SG 135
SFOS Software: 1 CPU 2GB RAM & 2 CPU 4GB RAM
UTM Software: 10 - 50 User
All RED, AP, APX models
Sophos Central per User: 1 - 49 User
Sophos Central Server: 1 - 9 User
Sophos Central Wireless: All products

Category 2: Large Segment:

XG 210 - 750
SG 210 - 650
SFOS Software: 4 CPU 6GB RAM to Unlimited CPU / GB RAM
UTM Software: 75 - Unlimited
Sophos Central per User: 49 - 5000+ User
Sophos Central Server: 10 - 1000+ User

If you order products from us that fall into the first category (small segment), everything remains the same for you.

Project notification

The changes to the new ordering process are based on a new project reporting model. Should we receive orders in the future that include products from the second category, Sophos requests that we first report these as a project.

For our business model, which is very strongly designed for automation and speed, such a step is of course absolute nonsense! However, Sophos apparently did not consider at this point that there are also partners who want to bring Sophos products to their customers as efficiently as possible. 🤔

An intermediate step through a manual project notification to Sophos will probably delay the delivery process by about 24 hours.

Sophos still gives us the choice of whether or not to report a project, but that’s only half the truth. Because only those who report an order from the second category get a better price for it!

Project reporting bonus

So, in theory, we could continue as before without having to report a project. However, we would then forgo the project reporting bonus, which would guarantee our customers a better price.

So, in the end, we had the choice of whether these adjustments should have a negative impact on the delivery time or the price for our online business.

Since we have always been of the opinion that the price is decisive, we will register orders from the second category as a project in the future.

Price guarantee with conditions!

With the new pricing for all products in the second category, we assumed that we would register the orders with Sophos. Only then do we receive the project reporting bonus and can offer our customers an attractive price.

Sophos only grants the bonus for a project notification if the project has not yet been reported by any other partner!

So, if you place an order with us from July 1, 2019, that contains a product from the second category, we can only guarantee the price if no other partner has reported the project to us before you.

This rule naturally applies to all Sophos partners. So, if you are looking for a quote from several partners in the future, only one will be able to offer you the best price, namely the lucky one who was the first to report the project to Sophos. I don’t need to mention here that you will only get the best price from a Platinum Partner…

If we do not receive the bonus after an order, we will automatically contact you. If you order from us without having spoken to another partner about it beforehand, you can always assume that we will receive the bonus for you. 😎

Impact on delivery time

Due to the manual project notification to Sophos, we expect a delay in the ordering process of approximately 24 hours. We received this value directly from Sophos in response to our inquiry. After a few weeks of practical experience, we will be able to better assess how much time is actually lost due to the project notification to Sophos.

Unfortunately, this makes it unavoidable that products from the second category can no longer be delivered on the next working day. However, we do not see such a great need for urgency here. We are already very relieved that all Access Points and REDs have landed in the first category and can therefore still be shipped quickly.

Switch to gross prices

Since we now also sell Sophos hardware in Germany, we must comply with the Price Indication Ordinance (PAngV). This states that as soon as one contributes to B2C trade, the total price actually to be paid must always be stated. Since we sell products to both companies and private individuals, we were legally obliged to make this adjustment. The large bold prices on our product pages are therefore immediately understood to include the statutory sales tax.

In implementing the new price display, we have, of course, tried to do justice to companies as well. The net price will continue to be shown below the gross price for B2B trade.

Country Switcher

The new Country Switcher in the navigation will ensure more transparency in price display in the future. Previously, all prices on the product pages and in the shopping cart were displayed by default with the Swiss VAT. Only in the last step of the checkout process was an automatic adjustment made for customers from other countries – for example, from Germany – to the corresponding country-specific sales tax rate.

This procedure has not always been clearly understandable for buyers outside Switzerland until now. The Country Switcher is now intended to make it clear from the outset which prices include which taxes.

With the new Country Switcher, you now have the option at any time to adjust the price to the desired delivery country and to have the total price, including statutory taxes, displayed in advance. When you visit our website, we even try to automatically select the ideal combination of country and currency for you. 👏

Inventory

Since the last update, we have also added the stock level to the product pages. This information should help you to estimate the approximate delivery time.

Everyone who has created an account with us will find a new menu item “Inventory” in their account. Since June 1, 2019, all products you have purchased from us are listed there.

For now, we collect useful data here, such as the serial number of your devices or the license numbers and the expiration date of your licenses. We will certainly expand this area in the future. For example, filtering between devices, licenses, and end customers, as well as the direct download of Sophos license certificates, are planned.