A 20 percent discount for printer ink distributed Staples greatly limited its use, as the small print says it “excludes all toner, Epson ink and toner, HP ink and toner”.
Consumerist reported that a Staples customer had sent them the now expired coupon, saying “I’m guessing HP and Epson account for 85 percent of all printers out there”. The publication cited a 2013 report that estimated that the two OEMs had about 65 percent of the inkjet market.
It also said that “it’s a bit unfair to customers to have an ink sale that excludes ink for almost two-thirds of the products on the market.
“HP and Epson probably have agreements with retailers that explicitly keep their products out of sales like this. Those agreements are sort of why people dislike the ink and toner industry so much to begin with”.