Comments on: Does Anything Come With Electronics Nowadays?

By: tehnyit

tehnyit — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 23:10:46 +0000

I believe that they actually sell the core product at a lost and recover it via the supporting products. This is especially true for items like ink cartridges for ink-jet printers. I have heard of guys that when they run out of ink, they just purchase a new printer that comes with ink cartridges. It cost about the same, and sometimes cheaper than the inks.

By: MoneyNing

MoneyNing — Sat, 18 Aug 2007 21:41:06 +0000

Actually, it is quite a big deal because almost all inkjets don’t supply those USB cables. To make the matter worst, buying a USB cable at the same store usually cost something like $14.99.

It’s a big hassle to buy it online for $3+shipping.

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 12:56:28 +0000

I used to do a lot of printer installs at my last job and I noticed about mid 2002 they quit supplying cables to connect printers. The real scam, however, is trying to buy a USB cable at a Bestbuy or OfficeDepot/Max where they usually charge 10x over market.

By: David

David — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 06:15:47 +0000

I am glad most new printers don’t come with USB cables, I seem to have 4 or 5 laying around the house and I certainly don’t need another one…

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 23:03:49 +0000

Good points Patrick. What free DVD would come with a DVD player though? What if you didn’t like the movie they chose? Most people already had batteries around and if you buy something for $400 today it comes with batteries for the remote.

The only thing that’s comparable is the tape recorder and I’m not sure about that one. I’m not sure they cost $400 at any point. Also tape recording answer machines came with a tape.

By: Patrick

Patrick — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:52:26 +0000

C’mon Lazy Man, if you buy a DVD player do you get a free DVD? How about a tape recorder way back in the day? Or VCRs, mP3 players, stero systems, etc. Heck, half the things you buy don’t even come with batteries! ;)

Sarcasm aside, if you aren’t happy with your Sony cam, eBay is a mouse click away! :)

By: Dennis

Dennis — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 22:45:36 +0000

I think companies make the MOST money from required peripherals that they don’t include with the actual product. This way, they can make a large electronic product (like your printer) look like a good value with an awesome price… and then hit your hard with the stuff you need… printer cable.. etc. Companies will squeeze every dollar they can…

By: Harm

Harm — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 19:05:17 +0000

Electronics should come ready to
work out of the box….when I come
across something that doesn’t, I
realize that the manufacturer doesn’t
really care about my business, and like Lazy man, decide to look somewhere
else in the future, or decide I just
don’t NEED a certain item. (Not worth
the hassle)

By: MillionDollarJourney.com

MillionDollarJourney.com — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 15:41:44 +0000

I’m surprised that the printer included the usb cable. When you shop at commissioned electronics shops, the usb cables are one of their highest margin products. Thus the reason why they only sell printers that don’t include the cable.

By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 16 Aug 2007 14:30:23 +0000

The reason that your printer specifically highlighted that it had the USB included is because back before USB printers (10 years or so ago) most printers did not included a cable. Cables were probably a little more expensive back then so it makes a little more sense. Also, there were ‘high speed’ cables, so people had a choice to make (some printers required it, but it was optional for most). Also, I’ve gone thru probably 3 or 4 printers in my days. I’d rather not have an extra $5 or $10 tacked on to the price of my printer when I am able to use my old cable.