My 2 Cents...

I was roaming around one of those new meglo-shopping marts in an urban part of the city in which I live, and was amused to see some Lexmark printers available for sale. In a grocery store no less, and for the incredibly low price of $39.99?! As I did a double take, I inched closer to the deal, expecting to be captured by some 'deal sucker promo thing'. I checked what I believed at the time to be the proverbial 'small print'. "They don't have ink cartridges right?" Wrong. They included two cartridges, full of course, one color and one black.

I couldn't believe it. The black cartridge retails in supply stores around here for $35.99, the color a whopping $54.95. More expensive than the printer itself. Yes, and what an incredibly efficient way to fill up our landfills Lexmark - thank you! Forget recycling cartridges, we'll be remanufacturing printers before long...

It begged the question; Are the other printer manufacturer's doing this as well? A little research found that with the exception of a few of the higher end models, all manufacturer's including Epson, Canon, HP and Lexmark all had sticker prices (most after rebate) that equaled to or were less than a set of new cartridges. Looks like a whole new world of disposable printers. As if we didn't have enough environmental worries, it's not tiny little cartridges anymore - but much larger printers.

Suckered in by great photo quality, fantastic features and "almost free" pricing, the typical inkjet user begins printing away, so very satisfied with the wonderful pictures and efficiency of the fantastic machine before them. "Blink-Blink" "Ink low" lights are flashing. If that is not painful enough, how about the realization that you have been duped. A trip to the local supply store reveals the scam. And the warnings, oh those very well worded warnings scare most users into buying and using the far more expensive oem cartridges. Before long you have run out of ink again and have already spent more than the printer cost itself.

And that is when it really hits you. You think about it, you are convinced that this is a scam. You have figured it all out - oh those poor suckers out there buying new printers - man if only they knew what I do... Now...

It is tantamount to misleading the consumer. Tantamount to a lot of things really. To quote one of my favourite examples:

"Imagine a Dell computer that would work only with Dell monitors, or a General Motors car that wouldn't move if you installed tires, filters or even headlight bulbs lacking the GM brand," pondered Henry Norr, a business columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle. Likewise, a businessman in the Midwest told a Chicago newspaper that the repercussions could be severe nationwide: "What industry will follow suit? Will Ford Motor Co. say, 'You can only use our brake pads, you can't go to Midas?'" (Aftermarket Business, June, 2003, by James E. Guyette)

Or what if the cost of a new car was the same as a tank of gas.

"What if the car manufacturer's suddenly changed their business model, bought up all the gas stations - gave the cars away but charged $200 per gallon at the pump." Oh yes, and threatened to void the vehicle's warranty if you tried to put anything else in...

The take away, and my 2 cents, is that we have two opportunities here. One, is that the very functional and often impressive inkjet technology is dirt cheap. Second, there is an aftermarket out there that not only recycles used manufacturer supplies, but offers quality products and great prices without sacrificing quality. Taking advantage of falling prices in technology does not mean you have to eat it on the other end. Find a reliable, qualitative company who stands behind their products. Make sure they are compatible and / or remanufactured products. And make sure you, as the consumer, get the best deal.

2 cents. Don't you wish?