Wednesday, December 19, 2007
HP Sued Over Ink Selling Practices
Posted by Chris Gohlke in "HARDWARE" @ 04:00 AM
"A Boston man has filed a class-action lawsuit accusing hardware maker HP and office supply retailer Staples of colluding to inflate the price of printer ink cartridges in violation of federal antitrust law. According to the suit, HP allegedly paid Staples $100 million to refrain from selling inexpensive third-party ink cartridges, although the suit doesn't make it clear how plaintiff Ranjit Bedi arrived at that figure. For most printer companies, ink is the bread and butter of their business. The price of ink for HP ink-jet printers can be as much as $8,000 per gallon, a figure that makes gas-pump price gouging look tame. HP is currently the dominant company in the printing market, and a considerable portion of the company's profits come from ink."
$8,000/gallon! For that price I expect them to be hand milking the ink from free range octopi. I am curious how a $100 million bribe got through the legal department, it seems both sides should have know you can't hide that kind of money and that it probably would come back to bite them.
$8,000/gallon! For that price I expect them to be hand milking the ink from free range octopi. I am curious how a $100 million bribe got through the legal department, it seems both sides should have know you can't hide that kind of money and that it probably would come back to bite them.
