My apologies, the fallacy used was ad hominem. By casting doubt on my comment by saying that I have Stockholm Syndrome he is overtly attacking my character by p

My apologies, the fallacy used was ad hominem. By casting doubt on my comment by saying that I have Stockholm Syndrome he is overtly attacking my character by pointing out a psychological issue he perceives that I have, comparing my time with HP to, evidently, kidnapping and being a hostage. That's a poor argument. I should have made it more obvious. They actually charge exactly the same for all of their ink per ounce (with the variable being the type of ink not the method of distribution), and frankly it is quite a lot more than even what was pointed out in the npr reference you show. A number of their inks make more per ounce than just about anything you can imagine. The reason the off-brand ink refilling cost is less than a new cartridge from a display has to do with packaging and distribution. HP has not figured out any magical way to get away from market forces. When they sell the authorized refill supplies, it is just ink, syringes, and instructions. No cartridge, no packaging, no marketing, no shipping. Also, I don't believe I made myself clear enough. HP isn't trying to protect consumers. They are attempting to protect themselves from consumers. Remember I said "The cost of the customer service to deal with that alone is so massive for HP it makes one of the main budget line items at all of the board meetings." This isn't some argument to try to protect consumers. HP is out for their bottom line, plain and simple. That is not surprising to me. Your car argument is interesting. The car maintenance industry is absolutely giant. I don't know about your car, but if I pick the wrong oil, the wrong filter, the wrong fluids in general, or the wrong part, my car stops working. And if I pick the wrong thing in a number of categories my warranty also stops working and if I take it back to the manufacturer, they don't fix it. I can use state of the art ratings systems, that is true, to decide if my purchase will, on the whole, be a good one. That is true.