Why Third-Party Ink Cartridges Cost So Much Less
- Why Third-Party Ink Cartridges Cost So Much Less
- 12 Apr, 2020
The price discrepancy between third-party compatible print cartridges and name-brand cartridges may be a little surprising, if not alarming, to the consumer. Usually offered at a fraction of the cost of the original (sometimes as much as 70% or more), it is perfectly reasonable to ask of these compatible cartridges -- "Do they work? How can the price be so low?"
Before answering that question, let's take a brief look at the printer industry. It's an industry that thrives off of a business concept known as the razor blade model. The razor blade model is the idea of selling an item at a low price that attracts the customer to buy, but charging a high price for consumables the item is dependent upon in order to function. For example, a hand-held razor cost little in comparison to the high-priced blade packs you need to purchase and repurchase to actually use the product. Similarly, by the time a printer's life has ended, the customer will usually have spent more money on print cartridges than they did on the printer. In fact, most printers are priced to break even or sell at a slight loss. Why? Because although print cartridges cost the manufacturers very little to produce, they can charge a higher amount because you need these cartridges in order to use the product. And once depleted of ink or toner, you'll have no choice but to buy again.
Although a clever concept for maximizing profits, not all customers want to pay so much for a consumable they know is priced unnecessarily high and will simply have to buy again soon. The developers of brand new, reverse-engineered compatible cartridges provide a generic alternative that gives the consumer similar results for a lower price. Since the resources needed to create print cartridges cost very little, the savings can be passed along directly to the customer without concern for covering the cost of expensively made printers.
Most aftermarket dealers usually offer re manufactured cartridges as well. These are printer-brand cartridges that have gone through at least one life cycle before being professionally re manufactured. Since many parts of the cartridge, including the plastic shell, are reused the savings can, again, be passed directly to the consumer. Re manufactured cartridges can provide comparable results to brand-name cartridges and do so while benefiting the environment at the same time. Every year, print cartridges are spared from landfills where their petroleum-based plastic can take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Re manufactured cartridges offer both a cost-effective and Eco-friendly solution to the printer-brand cartridge dilemma.
Hopefully this answered some questions you may have had regarding the aftermarket industry and its prices as compared to the printer manufacturer industry. It is important to remember, however, that not all dealers provide a reliable product or even a standard warranty. Buying from qsfortech.com guarantees you both. To learn more about our company, visit qsfortech.com