MIKE ROSS wrote in a message to George White:

 MR> "George White" wrote to "Roy J. Tellason" (03
May 03  10:23:36) 
 MR> --- on the topic of "Printer Cartridges (was UNKNOWN IC [1/2])" 

 RJT> It makes you wonder why the manufacturers are doing it that
 RJT> way...

 GW> Because they make far more profit selling cartridges than they do
 GW> printers, (in the UK a set of cartridges for the entry level printers
 GW> costs more than the printer!)

 MR> Some greedy companies will nickle and dime their customers to
 MR> death. I remember in the early PC days one who took this axiom to
 MR> the n'th degree ie Radio Shack would sell you a 6ft printer cable
 MR> for $60.

Oh yeah,  I remember some of those absurd prices.  Over a hundred bucks for
a surge protector,  too.  There was some outfit that had a whole line of
them named after different fruits,  that I can recall.  They had whole back
covers of a number of different magazines,  and I guess they had to pay for
that advertising.

But yeah,  some of the early prices on stuff was absurd.  How about $595.00
for a c64?  :-)

 MR> The best business in the world however is one where customers send
 MR> you money on a regular basis. For example the telephone company,
 MR> electric company, cable, etc.

Especially if that company is in bed with state government
("regulated") and don't have to worry about such mundane things
as competition.

 MR> One local alarm company has this completely figured out. They will
 MR> actually give you their equipment with installation absolutely free
 MR> then charge you $24.95 monthly for the monitoring service. Hey
 MR> works for them! Many cell phone companies have figured it out too
 MR> and will also give you a free phone with sign up.

Right,  except that you pay a "shipping" or "handling"
fee that probably actually covers the cost of the phone.  What else gets me
is how all those cell phone companies seem to want to lock you into a
2-year "agreement" with a hefty penalty if you don't stick with
them.  What other business can get away with this kind of crap?

 MR> Now to get my ISP to give me a free PC! 

Hey,  if you're willing to pay $59.95 a month I'm sure that one can be found!

:-)

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