SHI International
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a large organization, school, or government buying hardware, licensing, or IT services at scale . breadth and pricing earn SHI a 4.7/5 on G2.
Comparison
SHI International vs Firstbase
SHI International and Firstbase both land on Depends.
Firstbase
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you're a remote-heavy company around 50+ seats shipping, provisioning, and retrieving laptops globally.
| Compare | SHI International | Firstbase |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Enterprise hardware and licensing procurement | Remote-first teams shipping gear globally |
| Who it's not for | Anyone buying one laptop . go retail | Co-located teams under ~20 people |
| Privacy | 2022 coordinated malware attack disrupted SHI for about a week; class action followed.⁷ | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | Mixed; return pushback documented by admins | Comparison posts call support its strong suit |
| Public sentiment | G2 buyers praise pricing and breadth, while Reddit IT admins report return friction and uneven experiences.¹ | G2 users praise easy device management and support, while Reddit and Trustpilot are dominated by refund complaints . largely aimed at the similarly named incorporation arm. |
| Biggest gotcha | 2022 malware attack paused operations roughly a week; class action filed afterward⁷ | Double-check domains: is LLC formation; is devices. Wrong product, wrong reviews. |
Pick SHI International when
- Enterprise hardware and licensing procurement
- Schools and government buyers
- Multi-vendor IT consolidation
- Teams wanting hands-on vendor management
When SHI International is not a fit
- Anyone buying one laptop . go retail
- Small teams wanting transparent self-serve pricing
- Buyers needing fast, hassle-free returns
- MSPs seeking deep resale margins
Pick Firstbase when
- Remote-first teams shipping gear globally
- Scale-ups adding headcount fast
- IT teams without logistics infrastructure
- Teams pairing logistics with an existing MDM
When Firstbase is not a fit
- Co-located teams under ~20 people
- Buyers wanting US LLC formation . wrong Firstbase
- Teams needing self-serve published pricing
- Anyone expecting it to replace their MDM
Sources
review
review
- Anyone have any issues with SHI.com?reddit.comreview
- SHI, CDW - are they good for resellers?reddit.comreview
- SHI International Corp - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.orgnews
security
security
security
official
- SHI Direct | Shop discount IT hardware onlineshidirect.comofficial
- SHI supplier page - OMNIA Partnersomniapartners.comofficial
- SHI International Corp - Crunchbasecrunchbase.comnews
- Firstbase homepagefirstbase.comofficial
- Firstbase pricingfirstbase.comofficial
- AppDirect acquires Firstbaseappdirect.comnews
- TechCrunch: $50M Series Btechcrunch.comnews