THE TOP 5
THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE BUYING A
DIGITAL LEGAL FOR TRADE PRICE COMPUTING SCALE
Quite
often customers will contact us and ask questions about legal for
trade scales that they wish to use at a farmers market or to weigh
candy out by the pound. So we thought that it would be a really good
idea to compile a list of the top five things you should consider
before making the purchase.
NUMBER
5
Ok, number five on the list is the scale must be NTEP legal for
trade. In order for the scale to be legal for trade it needs to be
NTEP approved. When a scale is NTEP approved it will have a certificate
of conformance that is issued from NTEP. It is important to note that
you won't receive that certificate when you purchase the scale. But,
you will see the certificate number somewhere on the scale that you
purchase. Once you see that number, you can easily go the the NTEP
database and confirm if this scale is truly NTEP approved legal for
trade. You can click here for more in depth
info on the NTEP legal for trade CoC information.
NUMBER 4
Understand the capacity and the weighing units that you must have
is number four on our list of the top five things you need to know
when buying a price computing scale. We know it needs to be a digital
legal for trade scale but what about the maximum capacity, do you
need a 12 lb capacity or a 60 lb capacity? Do you need a scale that
displays weight in pounds only or do you use ounces too? Also, the
accuracy
difference of a 12 lb scale versus a 60 lb scale does matter over
time. There are situations where it makes financial sense to buy a
12 lb capacity scale AND a 60 lb capacity scale.
NUMBER 3
Do you need battery power or will just having standard AC power
work? If you need battery power, is a rechargeable battery the ideal
choice or would you rather have a scale that takes regular flashlight
batteries? It used to be very difficult to find a digital scale to
take to the farmers market with a rechargeable battery. However, these
days it is much easier to find retail scales with built in rechargeable
battery. But, sometimes it is just easier to use regular old "D"
cell batteries that you can easily replace at the local store instead
of trying to find some specfic 6 volt rechargeable battery or trying
to remember to plug the scale in to charge the night before the big
day at the market.
NUMBER 2
Are you going to be just weighing or do you plan on using some type
of receipt or record to give to the customer? If you need a print
out, then you will need to make sure you choose a digital retail scale
with a RS232 serial port or if you are really planning on dealing
with a lot of ingredients you could choose a label printing scale
with built in printer. However, for most folks in this market sector,
you won't be using a label printing scale. Your ideal choice would
be certain types of price computing scales that include a RS-232 serial
port and easy to connect label printers. Once again, this has gotten
easier over the years. Today there are several very good choices of
scales that can easily connect to certain label printers. Several
years ago it was quite expensive to do this.
NUMBER 1
And finally the number one thing to consider when buying a NTEP legal
for trade price computing scale is how much does it cost!
Wrong!
We figured you
would think cost but we know you're going to pay attention to the
cost. Actually the number one thing to think about is making sure
that you buy the right product for your needs. This is kind of a broad
answer to number one but it is very important that you don't just
settle on a product because it was $10 cheaper or offered free shipping.
Please consider all of the above concerns when you are making your
purchase. As always, we try to provide a great selection of retail
price computing scales that are legal for trade.