One of the Myriad of ways you are Scammed by Corporate America

[tomhagen]

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Ouch

my 1994 laser printer, one color, is still operating on the lower half of the page which is just good enough for my usage.

guess I'll take my new unopened 2012 inkjet printer and wholesale it to an eBay drop-off

I know what he means though. I bought a PC in 1999, factory refurb from one of the new online marketing companies. It was a bid type, i think it was slightly shy of $600 which was about 52% of retail. It was a good deal. Within 6 weeks the PC manufacturer called me to try to sell me an extended 2 or 3 year warranty. The price? $619. Of course I passed it by. I thought it was a bogus offer so I reported it to the company. No, it was genuine. I told them I spent less than that for the computer. They didn't know, they don't know who sells their products or for what price.

Thanks for posting the video!

[tomhagen]

15. Now it shuts down if you run out of the blue but just want to print in black

[Equinox Moon]

2. OHMYGOSH! He speaks truth!

I now have a laser printer and the printing drama issues have been solved.

[They_Live]

3. Confirms what I suspected

for a long time.

[apkhgp]

4. Alright...

I am going to buy a color laser printer and throw this inkjet out.

[Dustlawyer]

5. Had to order ink today because the blue was out and made the printer stop printing.

It had been telling me it was low for a year, but I knew it couldn’t be so I kept using it to see how long. I bet it is still not empty.

[pansypoo53219]

6. i shitcanned the printer eons ago. i got a free one when i finally got a new imac. i never even go

i never even got close to low. i figured this out myself. but then i do not need hard copies.

[Alternative Facts]

7. If you are thinking about a color laser.....

If you are thinking about a color laser just watch the video and replace the word "ink" with "toner". Exact same scam no mater if you buy a ink or laser printer. However you are slightly less (just barely) F**ked with a laser if you do a lot of printing or do sporadic printing. Either way you are screwed unless you find a good solution to circumvent the DRM.

For example I just purchased a color laser multi function on sale for $310.44. Replacement 3k toner carts cost $387.54.

[bucolic_frolic]

17. Ouch 2

You really are paying up for one.

I use a very old and hardly clear mono laser. It has a clear area that prints USPS labels. Barely adequate. But because it's so old - 1994, the toner cartridges are dirt cheap. I replace one about every 5 years for $6. Delivered. From eBay sellers. They can't give them away.

Old parts for anything get very cheap because few units are still in service.

[bitterross]

8. I am an IT Tech - this is so accurate and so on they money (pun intended)

I cannot say how much I despise printers. They are demon beasts from hell.

They ARE always broken, they ARE always out of supplies! It's really quite maddening.

[rickford66]

9. Some printers are programmed to fail after a number of pages printed.

I thought it was fake news when I heard it, but one of the engineers I worked with did at one time work for a printer manufacturer and said it was true.

[Bob Loblaw]

10. I KNEW IT!

I'm now tallying the number of pages I'm getting out of my current cartridges so I can slam the mfr when it runs out after 40 pages.

[nolabels]

11. I have been there and done that

Most things in corporate America are scams.

I got me a Epson Expression ET-2750 EcoTank Wireless Color All-in-One Supertank Printer with Scanner and Copier from Amazon about a year ago it's working good so far and the ink level has hardly went anywhere. There are several models at different prices but I just got the Amazon choice model. The office box stores wanted from $100-$180 more so naturally went with Amazon

Mosty just medium duty use and only have had to clean the head once with the software so no real complaints so far

Probably paid double of what they could really sell it for if there was competition from other companies but what you going to do

[forgotmylogin]

12. Buy a laser printer!

Unless you really want to print color photos and pay for them (when there are myriad online and retail services who will do it a lot better), or have a specific reason where you need to make frequent color renderings, you will save so much money and hassle by using a black and white laser printer. Or at least back up your inkjet with an affordable laser printer and do your everyday printing on it so you don't burn through black liquid ink printing your income tax forms. Especially if you print out a lot of manuscripts or long documents, ditch inkjet.

The hardware cost for a consumer laser printer may be a little more, but there are way fewer moving parts to break. The drum/toner media may cost more but you will replace it way less often. In fact, both of the laser printers I've bought became obsolete and were replaced before the drum and toner that came with them in the box ran out. You can often find deals on good machines - I got a wireless Canon copier/printer/scanner for about $80 on a clearance at Best Buy, and I've not had to buy anything besides paper for it under normal household use in two years.

If you must use inkjet, it may be more cost-efficient to drop the money for a new, popular model with readily-available, cheap ink cartridges rather than sticking with your warhorse with hard-to-find, expensive cartridges. When my aunt was really into photo printing, I was paying ~$60 to replace both the black and color cartridges monthly. It was cheaper to buy a new $50 printer where replacing both ink cartridges cost $25.

It's like razors and razor blades - research the cost of the disposable media and take that into account.

[Honeycombe8]

20. I've always used laser printers. You can also get generic toner for them.

Although I use my printer so rarely that I sprung for the name brand toner.

[TheBlackAdder]

13. You know it's a scam if Lexmark was making profits selling XL Black cartridges for $5 each.

[Nitram]

14. I've noticed every single one of the issues he brings up, but I am so naive it never occcurred to me

that it was all an intentional scam. Recently I ran out of one color (probably cyan), and the printer wouldn't let me print a B&W document until I inserted a new cartridge of the missing ink. I'll have to try that re-set suggestion next time (if the companies haven't designed that out already).

[Honeycombe8]

21. You've heard the expression they don't make things the way they used to?

That really is true in many instances. And it's intentional. Washers & dryers, fridges, etc. Many products are designed to break and require either repair or replacement.

That's one reason I keep my 30 year old Oster blender.

A few years ago my beautiful Cuisinart mirror finish chrome toaster has a toasting element quit working. It was the inner element, which has one side facing one slot and the other side facing the other slot (so both pieces of toast will toast on only one side). The toaster was only a year old and had been pricey.

I thought I'd replace the heating element. But turns out that part is not made. You have to replace the toaster. So I didn't replace it. I don't toast a LOT of bread, so I chose just to toast twice; I insert hte bread and toast, then pop it out, turn it around, and toast the other side.

[Nitram]

27. Planned obsolescence has been a thing for 50 years or more, but the printer manufacturers

have taken it to a whole new level. We got a Cuisinart toaster 20 years ago and it's still toasting away. We got it because it was the only black toaster at Bed, Bath and Beyond. I grew up with an Osterizer, and my parents still had it when they passed away in their 90s.

[randr]

16. Got a new HP Office Jet two years ago after a dozen similar experiences

Bought into the HP Instant Ink program where they send me ink when I am low. Cost is $10/mo. I was replacing ink and printers at a far more expensive rate. This gives me 300 pages per month, black and/or full color. The cartridges seem to last forever as I only receive new ones every 3 months or so. Plus, I get to keep my roll over pages I don't use.
I am sure I spent more in the past and would not care if it only cost the same since I never have to think about it. Also when I have tech issue with printer such as wifi connections etal, they are fixed via chat repair asap.
I would recommend this to any one who has had similar problems or just wants to get a better deal.

[tomhagen]

18. You can send documents digitally now. Printers are on the way out. Time for the Sledgehammer.

[Honeycombe8]

19. Well, that's discouraging. I will never by an ink printer, now. I have a laser printer.

I imagine laser printers have their own issues, but I've been pretty lucky with mine.

Computers are designed for obsolescence, too. The software becomes slow, then unusable. Then you can't use generic versions of it. Then the laptop that still works fine at a year old, suddenly breaks a simple part, like the plugin port...that turns out to be too expensive to replace so might as well buy a new computer.

It's all a scam. Sometimes it makes me want to throw all the 21st century stuff out the window and return to a simpler way of life. But I don't.

[aggiesal]

22. I take my cartridges to CostCo ...

They only cost about $7 maybe, I'll have to check, to refill each cartridge.
I think I paid around $35 to refill the 3 color cartridges
and the double black cartridge.
I use the manufacturer ink cartridge, but get this,
when I insert the original cartridge with the CostCo Ink
refill, the printer says, that the cartridge is not a
manufacturer cartridge and should I continue?

Of course it was a manufactured cartridge, but I hate the
extra question every time I try to print.

I'll look into the reset button, I never knew about.

[Merlot]

23. You can refill ink cartridges at Costco? I had no idea.

[aggiesal]

24. Now you know. ...

It is in their photo center.
Take your ink cartridges and they will refill them.
Sometimes it takes some hours, but I usually drop them
off at lunch and pick them up after work.

Here is their webpage:
http://costcoinkjetrefill.com/

Also, sometimes they may not be able to refill certain cartridges.
When I tried to get my double black refilled the first time, they
told me they couldn't do it, because I they didn't have the housing
for the double black. They now have it.

[Merlot]

25. Thanks for the link, I can't wait to try it!

[aggiesal]

26. You're welcome ...

I don't see any problems with the ink itself.
My printer continues to produce the colors I'm looking for,
whether it's just the specific ink cartridge, or if it has to
mix multiple cartridges to create a different color.

It looks good.

[Puzzler]

28. K&R

-Puzzler