- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- technology@beehaw.org
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I don’t get why HP continues selling in the consumer market if they are struggling so much to make a profit.It seems like they are trying to force a business model on the wider market that doesn’t work.
The subscription model makes more sense in the B2B world where companies just want fixed costs without doing too much shopping around (for things like printer cartridges anyway).
Because this is the HP that’s focused on consumers, that’s their business. The enterprise segment was spun off in to Hewlett Packard Enterprise. They do have commercial printers, but it’s not that much larger of a business for them than home printer, from what I can gather.
Maybe they think there’s a large untapped market for home businesses, but I don’t think there are a lot that need to print frequently
Maybe take it as a sign that your product sucks?
Too much subsidized by accessories and usables*
Hp just trying to save the environment by making home printing as painful as possible. It really is a 4d chess move
Investments? Do customers cost you money? That’s now how any of this is supposed to work. I’m not sure the CEO of HP knows anything about business. Dude, the customers are supposed to give YOU the money.
Yes. They are investments. It’s a very common business model across several industries. To sell the initial machine for net cost or even at a loss, if it means customers will have to come back to you for additional supplies. Because that’s where the money is.
I’m extremely confident that the CEO of the very profitable company HP. Knows more about business than you do.
Oh, okay.
So HPs shitty business practices are at fault here. Glad it isn’t ignorance from the CEO. Phew.
When you say “at fault” what exactly do you mean? “At fault” for what? Making profits?
They’re not here to make your life easier. They’re here to make money for themselves.
At fault for making customers the world over hate their company and products. What do you think I meant?
I have the displeasure of telling you I have owned a half dozen printers from this shit-hole company from the last 20+ years. If an asteroid hit earth tomorrow I would use my last moments to cheer on the burning of their corporate HQ.
I’m sure they can wipe their tears with the bills people keep giving them despite being hated.
You do realize that the article being discussed here is precisely about how the model is not making people give them too many bills, right? Like, that’s what the CEO is complaining about, that they aren’t rolling in money and profits are not as high as they want them to be, so he is compelling the company to be more aggressive and abusive towards customers to correct what he perceives as a flaw. They are literally being sued for their anti-competitive practice that they insist on despite not being profitable unless they break the law. A battle they have lost several times on other jurisdictions, this business model has costed HP penalty fees before.
“You do realize” they made $3b in profit 2023.
Cool, this comment adds a lot to the conversation
As opposed to your story of how you’ve bought HP printers? Very illuminating
Nah I get it. Calling your customer an investment was just a little too naked for me, so I made a joke.
I mean, yeah. Cost of acquisition is a thing. I’m hardly an exec, but basically it’s amortizing total cost of acquisition efforts over net new subs.
In no way do I intend to defend the shitshow that is HP. Just pointing out it’s a valid metric.
He’s not wrong. They are bad for their product as a subscription model.
Just like anyone who still buys HP. If you buy HP, you deserve their absolute garbage products.
Prime example that for a publicly traded company the people buying the products are not customers for whom to create value, but a resource to extract value from.
Shareholders are the real customers for whom they create value.
“Every time a customer buys a printer, it’s an investment for us. We are investing in that customer, and if that customer doesn’t print enough or doesn’t use our supplies, it’s a bad investment.”
You hit the nail right on the head. They don’t see their customers as people buying their products, where they typically would be incentivized to deliver a good product at a good price. Instead, they see their customers as people being trapped into some sort of shitty subscription with them, like a cable or cell phone provider.
The entire point of maximizing profit is charging the most while expending the least.
It’s a game of seeing how low people’s standards are and trying to lower them even further.
As customers, the secret is to have higher standards. Unfortunately, this generation prides itself on avoiding conflict at all costs so they just take it up the ass and beg for more.
I have a Canon Color LaserJet scanner/copier/printer for documents, and a large format Canon inkjet photo printer. Aftermarket toner, aftermarket ink, and they work flawlessly. I did a ton of research for both. I would never buy an HP printer.
Aftermarket toner, aftermarket ink, and they work flawlessly. I did a ton of research for both. I would never buy an HP printer.
I did the same when I purchased my Samsung color laser. I specifically excluded HP…then Samsung went and sold their entire damn printer division to HP. I refuse to use the Samsung drivers now because I suspect HP would push firmware into the unit blocked non-HP owned toner.
No regrets on my Brother laser printer! Didn’t even consider HP, they’ve been trash for ages.
Brother has gone pretty down hill over the past 5-10 years.
Executives lately are going full James Bond villain. They should evil laugh more.
TIL Customers aren’t customers. Customers are investments.
You say that like it’s a bad thing?
When I buy a jar of peanut butter, if I have a good experience eating it I’m going to buy that brand again. “Investing” in your customers is business speak for making sure your customers have a good experience.
The disconnect here is HP doesn’t seem themselves as being in the “printer” business. They see themselves as being in the ink/paper/repairs business… and they advertise their printers as costing 8.6 cents per page. If you’re happy to pay that much, then I’d argue HP probably is a good choice.
Personally I use a basic Brother laser printer, with cheap paper and cheap toner it comes in at around 1 cent per page. When I need higher quality, I get it printed by a professional printer - those cost quite a bit more than HP’s pricing but I don’t do it often and it’s much higher quality than any (affordable) HP printer.
Investing in customers is not necessarily the same as customers being investments.
I would argue that HP made bad investments in their customers and their customers not being bad investments.
Kind of like their stock bud dum tssss
if the customer does not print enough
Meaning all home users are a bad investment for HP.
That explains the ink cartridges malfunctioning before giving enough prints. That’s been engineered into them.
Exhibit B on CEOs not being worth the obscene money they make. This dude made $20 million in 2022.
I don’t want you to invest in me HP.
HP: why can’t we be together? Me: It’s not you, it’s me.
An HP Printer is a bad investment.
