Cost of new ink cart vs new printer...??

[Impmon]

It seems buying a new printer with included ink carts are cheaper than
just buying the ink carts separately. If everyone did that, printer
companies would start losing lots of money as their profits are on ink
carts only and selling printer cheaply, often below cost of
manufacture.

I already do this, on my 4th printer in 6 months. When the ink carts
run out I get a new one, list an used printer with empty carts on eBay
and get a fair amount of money, almost making the new printer free.

If only more people realized this and bought only the printer and not
the ink carts.

 

[Kevin]

Not new news. Yes, you can now actually purchase a brand new, ink jet
printer for about the cost of replacing the cartridges by themselves. This
is based on the business model first tried by the Gillette company, which
marketed the first commercially viable safety razor and blades. You bought
the razor with a starter pack of blades for a couple of dollars. New packs
of blades then cost about the same as what you paid for the razor and blades
originally. Gotcha!

Trust me, if we all started buying new printers every couple of months, you
would see the retail price on printers skyrocket, and fast! This
price-fixing scam by the major printer manufacturers will continue until a
new technology is found that can replace liquid inks for consumer oriented
printing tasks.

 

[Ron Stewart]

Your thesis is not going to work. When you sell the printer with empty carts
the new owner goes out and buys 2 to 3 new carts. Now the printer company
has a new ink cart customer.

 

[Arthur Entlich]

Maybe you have discovered the Achilles heal of the computer printer
industry. ;-) The only problem is, if enough people began doing this,
the value for used printers without ink cartridges on ebay would
collapse, as who would buy all those printers, when they could do the
same thing you do? It's almost like a pyramid scheme, it works until
enough people figure it out and then it collapses under its own weight.

A better solution would be if the cost of continual inking systems,
became cheap enough so everyone who wished to could switch over to bulk
inking systems.

Art

 

[Ivor Floppy]

Your thesis is not going to work. When you sell the printer with empty
carts the new owner goes out and buys 2 to 3 new carts. Now the printer
company has a new ink cart customer.

Who says they would by OEM ink carts?

 

[measekite]

I agree. It seems highly plausible that the type of individual who buys
an empty printer on eBay that is used would be a prime candidate for 3rd
party ink, and usually the cheapest they could find.

 

[jason.mangiafico]

quoting:

Not new news. Yes, you can now actually purchase a brand new, ink jet
printer for about the cost of replacing the cartridges by themselves. This
is based on the business model first tried by the Gillette company, which
marketed the first commercially viable safety razor and blades. You bought
the razor with a starter pack of blades for a couple of dollars. New packs
of blades then cost about the same as what you paid for the razor and blades
originally. Gotcha!

Thank goodness for alternatives.

razors: better generics like "Personna".

inkjet: refill kits.

Yet millions of people fall for this scam every year.

Trust me, if we all started buying new printers every couple of months, you
would see the retail price on printers skyrocket, and fast! This
price-fixing scam by the major printer manufacturers will continue until a
new technology is found that can replace liquid inks for consumer oriented
printing tasks.

It will probably be color laser. They will be getting smaller,
quieter, cheaper. Though I'm sure they'll do they're best to raise the
cost on toner. Then there are generics and refill kits for those with
a brain.