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It's like safety razors and razorblades. At this point, if they brought up the price to reflect production costs, their competitors would eat their lunch becau
by mc32 3y ago
It's like safety razors and razorblades. At this point, if they brought up the price to reflect production costs, their competitors would eat their lunch because most people would gravitate to the loss leader.
Only people who do TCO would buy the long-run cheaper option, just like most people buy cheap clothing rather than something that will last.
- kevincox 3y agoWe have energy labels on major appliances that help people estimate the long-term cost of ownership. Maybe this needs to be extended to printers and razors.
- AlbertCory 3y agoPeople are assuming the printers (or razors) are actually unprofitable, just by themselves. That's possible, and there are "loss leaders" in industries and in retail, but I'd like to see the proof. Maybe the printer refills make it a great business and the printers alone are merely a good business?