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» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Community   » Film-Yak   » Printer toners/scammers (Page 1)

 
This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2   
Author Topic: Printer toners/scammers
Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-07-2001 03:42 PM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
I just got burned by the fine folks at Sam's Wholesale...well, sort of. A few months back I visited the Sam's in south Denver and purchased a few toner cartridges for my printer and used two of them. Just today I opened up a new one right out of the box and noticed the black wrapping was torn. Taking the cartridge out of the black wrapper ended up covering my hands in ink. The pull catch was also removed. I thought to myself, "ok some moron purchased the wrong cartridge and realized it wouldn't fit into his machine and returned it". HARDLY! Upon trying it in my printer, the cartridge had been drained completely of ink! Taking an extra close look at the box I realized that there was TWO pieces of packing tape sealing the box.

Clearly this customer bought the toner, put his dead one back in the box and returned it to Sam's for a refund. Whoever this was effectively took me, a complete stranger, for about $65.

What is the matter with people?

(From now on I will always open up my toner boxes at the checkout stand and inspect for a sealed bag.)


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Leo Enticknap
Film God

Posts: 7474
From: Loma Linda, CA
Registered: Jul 2000

- posted 05-07-2001 03:58 PM      Profile for Leo Enticknap   Author's Homepage   Email Leo Enticknap   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
And also, what is the matter with Sams for not checking this out before handing over the refund? Or even if they couldn't do that, checking the thing over before putting it back on the shelf and selling it to someone else. Sounds like someone's brain wasn't in gear to me.

I had exactly the opposite problem a few months ago. I bought a printer cartridge which did about five pages and then totally died. I took it back to the shop for a replacement, which the manager flatly refused to give me, insisting that I'd used the cartridge up and that it was empty. Hewlett Packard inkjet cartridges have a transparent shell, i.e. you can clearly see when there's ink in it and when there isn't. I explained this to her and showed her the ink reservoir but she wouldn't have it. In the end I sent the cartridge straight to HP and they sent me three replacements (all of which worked fine) with a very apologetic letter. But the experience has certainly put me off ever using that shop (or any other branches in the same chain) again.

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Jerry Chase
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1068
From: Margate, FL, USA
Registered: Nov 2000

- posted 05-07-2001 04:13 PM      Profile for Jerry Chase   Author's Homepage     Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Take it back, Brad. You paid with a credit card, right?

This type of problem is huge. The home depot type stores have the worst of it, since customers will open boxes and remove parts. You have to be very careful when purchasing at any who^H^Harehouse type store.

You might try checking prices for carts at www.pricewatch.com

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-07-2001 04:23 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Yikes! That really sucks. It is a good idea to check right away. I bought a couple of toner cartridges a while back when my printer (HP Deskjet 970Cse) said that it was getting low on ink. That was about 4 months ago. I have made hundreds of printouts since then and still have not run out of ink. So therefore I still have not even opened the new cartridge boxes yet... hope everything is OK. I think my 90 days has run out for a return.

My HP cartridges are not transparent.


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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-07-2001 04:44 PM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
I think I paid with a company check. Sams does not take credit cards. Only cash or company checks. Regardless, that was 1000 miles away and I highly doubt that a manager of a Dallas Sams would take it back. If I was the manager on duty and someone came to me with the above list of events, I would be thinking in the back of my mind that it was THIS GUY who was doing the scamming.

I just don't think it would accomplish anything other than to release some anger on the manager who had absolutely nothing to do with it. $65 isn't the end of the world, it just irks me that someone would do such a thing. (Incidentally, I just got back from OfficeMax where I purchased some new cartridges for $48 each. They were new.)


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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-07-2001 05:13 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Sams will only accept Discover credit cards, for some odd reason.

What type of printer do you have, Brad? $48 each is a lot to pay. Doesn't the B&W cart cost less than that? The color ones are expensive. I paid $35 for the color and $30 for the B&W (high capacity) at Best Buy.


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Bruce McGee
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1776
From: Asheville, NC USA... Nowhere in Particular.
Registered: Aug 1999

- posted 05-07-2001 05:17 PM      Profile for Bruce McGee   Email Bruce McGee   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I bought a carton of DGH lamps years ago from a fine audio-vsual dealer in Nashville, TN. The box was undamaged, and I opened the original seals. The top row of 12 lamps was fine. I never checked the bottom row. Many years later, I got to the 2nd layer. They were all bad. The filaments were destroyed. There was a 90 day guarantee on the things.

I discovered this problem in November, 2000.

Anybody want to buy some defective lamps?- All GE's..

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Brad Miller
Administrator

Posts: 17775
From: Plano, TX (36.2 miles NW of Rockwall)
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-07-2001 05:29 PM      Profile for Brad Miller   Author's Homepage   Email Brad Miller       Edit/Delete Post 
Joe, I don't use a color machine for business work. This is a laser unit that only prints in black and white. They may sound expensive, but I can print thousands and thousands of pages on one cartridge.


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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-07-2001 05:57 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Cool! I have an old Apple Laser printer that I got for free about a thousand years ago. Still on the original cartridge and is only now starting to fade. And it wasn't new to begin with. The cartridge is HUGE!


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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 05-07-2001 07:04 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
$48 for a laser toner cart is a good price. I have two HP laser printers (IIp+ and 5p) and toner for those damn things runs about $90 to $100 per cart.

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Ken Layton
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1452
From: Olympia, Wash. USA
Registered: Sep 1999

- posted 05-07-2001 08:33 PM      Profile for Ken Layton   Email Ken Layton   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I just started refilling my own HP 51654a inkjet (black) cartridges myself for only $15 at Office Max. I got tired of paying $30 for the new replacements that don't seem to last very long. My last refill cartridge lasted twice the life over a new HP cartridge.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-07-2001 09:13 PM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
That's because when you buy them new they are never filled completely. That way they get you to run out and buy more cartridges more often. Beware when you refill the color catrs, though. They switch the red and blue around so you end up putting the wrong color in the wrong spot.

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Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99

- posted 05-07-2001 10:59 PM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Yea, I can't believe that Brad and Joe do not refill their own. I do my own black cartridges and have done so for years. Gord was the one that get me going on it. For color I just buy em for my Buddy Ebson Photo whatever printer. The color cartridge in this thing has 6 colors in it and is the cheaper of the two fortunately. It also runs out the fastest as the ink chambers are quite small.
Mark @ GTS

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

- posted 05-08-2001 12:59 AM      Profile for Joe Redifer   Author's Homepage   Email Joe Redifer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
How do you refill a laser cartridge? Just buy a bucket of lasers? Hold it up to the light to collect photons to be converted into lasers? NO! You must buy new laser cartridges!

(Just kidding by the way! I'm not that dumb. Well, not quite anyway.)

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Barry Floyd
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1079
From: Lebanon, Tennessee, USA
Registered: Mar 2000

- posted 05-08-2001 09:52 AM      Profile for Barry Floyd   Author's Homepage   Email Barry Floyd   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I've got a Brother HL-630 Laser printer that I use for my business stuff and the whole printer was only $175.00 NEW! The toner cartridges last for about 3000 sheets and run about $28.00 for a replacement. They last me about 6-8 months.

The "gotcha" factor on laser printer's is the "Drum Kit". The replacement drum kit for my $175.00 printer cost $159.00!! Tell me how that makes sense? In the 6 years that I've had the printer, I've only had to replace the drum kit once.

At the engineering office I work at during the day, we once had an IBM1040 Laser Printer whose toner cartridges cost more to replace than we could buy a new HP LaserJet printer for. Why would you spend $239.00 for a toner cartridge when a new HP printer was only $60.00 more?

------------------
Barry Floyd
Floyd Entertainment Group
Nashville, Tennessee
(Drive-In Theatre - Start-Up)

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