You can find no shortage of absurdities at Walmart, but one woman from Lexington, Kentucky, came across something that seemed illogical and financially baffling. Apparently, Walmart is now drawing criticism for its printer ink pricing: buying an entire printer set—with ink included—can cost less than purchasing a replacement ink cartridge pack on its own.
The questionable pricing model was highlighted by TikTok user Julie Jensen, known as @life.styled.withjulie. In early December, Jensen visited Walmart to buy replacement cartridges for her Canon printer, only to discover that the ink pack, which once cost $40, had nearly doubled to $79. Even more surprising, the printer itself—complete with ink—was priced at just $64. Understandably, Julie seemed reluctant to buy an entirely new printer simply to refill the ink in her existing one.
“This is crazy… this is the ink I use, and the last time I bought it, it was around $40. Now it’s $79 for this ink, okay?” Jensen says. She then walks to the aisle where the exact Canon printer she owns is displayed and points out, “This whole printer is $64, so it’s cheaper to buy the printer than just buy the ink.” The most surprising part? Walmart’s online price for the same ink is just $33.
“This does not make sense to me,” Jensen added. Although she tried to get Walmart customer service to match the online price for the ink, they refused. Apparently, Walmart expected her to purchase the ink online rather than in-store, despite the steep markup of roughly 240 percent. “Mind-blowing. So now I’m gonna buy a whole printer to get some ink and save $8. This makes no sense to me. America’s crazy, we’re all crazy,” ended Jensen with her rant.
Kentucky Customers Are Sick of High Prices
It turns out Jensen’s concerns about how printer companies and their retail partners operate have been a common frustration for decades. More often than not, buying ink refills costs more than purchasing an entirely new printer that already includes ink. And on Reddit, users couldn’t help but share their thoughts:
“This has been a common experience for years. It has never made sense. A lot of printers end up in the trash because of this.”
Planned obsolescence is certainly a business model, and it is especially common in the printer industry. It has even been steadily creeping into the smartphone market. However, another commenter explained that it may simply be cheaper for Walmart to sell ink online than to transport it to stores and dedicate valuable shelf space to it—especially when the online ink costs only about half as much as a brand-new printer.
Regardless, some of Jensen’s viewers suggested that two can play that game. Several even advised her to buy the printer, use only the starter ink set, and then return it.
“Buy the printer for the ink and return it, saying it didn’t come with the ink 😂.”
“Should be illegal!”
In the end, people believe Walmart should change their prices.
