Gartner: Printer Ink Costs More Than Perfume

from the premium-price-leading-to-competition dept

theodp writes “HP has taken umbrage with a Gartner analyst who pointed out that at $2,145 per liter, printer ink is more expensive per drop than Chanel No.5 or a good bottle of whiskey. HP hit back with a prepared email statement, saying the premium pricing just reflects their investment in R&D.” This isn’t new, of course. We’ve had a few stories in the past about how ink costs more than vintage champagne and how filling a swimming pool with ink would cost nearly $6 billion. Still, anyone who claims that they can price things so high because of the sunk costs that went into development is just screaming out for competition.


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Comments on “Gartner: Printer Ink Costs More Than Perfume”

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17 Comments
Oliver Wendell Jones (profile) says:

Yeah, but...

I work in a similar industry, we spend millions of dollars to develop a product that is *very cheap* to manufacture, yet we sell it at a premium price.

We also produce hardware that uses our cheap disposable product and give this away for far less than they cost to manufacture. Why? To entice people to use our premium priced product.

The reason is that everyone else in this field uses the same business model. Everyone would love to not give away the hardware, but like with HP, Lexmark, etc., noone wants to be the first to try and sell a $500 entry-level inkjet printer with $5 ink cartridges.

I’d venture to say that more than 95% of consumers do not consider the total cost of ownership when they purchase most products, they look at the features and the base cost and never once go to look at the cost of the expendable/disposable parts. Those 95% sure bitch when they run out of ink the first time, though…

sue (user link) says:

yes OEMs ink are expensive

I used to hate so much to buy the cartridges once those run out as the originals are too expensive. But my found my cheapest option was to replace with remanufactured ink cartridges. It’s still quite good according to the printing quality and cut down the cost. I think its all about finding the quality seller. Try this site, it may help you too. Goodluck! http://www.my-printer-ink.com

Mr. A (user link) says:

Beauty care

Thanks for this post, nice idea in this blog, I read this post and it is interesting article, thanks! I?ve subscribed to your website post. Our goal at Uh Supply is to offer you an outstanding shopping experience. We carry an extensive selection of high quality beauty, spa, cosmetics and salon products and equipment at competitive prices, with fast shipping and friendly, knowledgeable service. More details >>> Fragrances, fragrance, fragrance

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