Is there a future in Retail Inkjet Refilling?

[Shadrack]

Hi folks,
I have been contemplating purchasing an existing Inkjet refilling franchise. However, in my due diligence I have come across a great deal of data indicating that the ability to refill inkjet printer ink is being made more and more difficult (in many cases, impossible0)by the printer manufacturers.

I thought I would check whether any of you have any insight.... positive news...or strategies that are being employed to deal with what appears to be a game breaker?

I look forward to hearing from any of you

 

[Simon R.]

If you want to survive in the refilling business, you'll have to beat those Chinese manfacturers' prices, which in most cases is almost impossible if you want any profit

 

[InknMore]

It's not all doom and gloom for the refilling industry. I just opened my own retail ink refilling business last month and business has been great from day one. Granted, there is no one else around me that does this, but it has been profitable from day one.
I average about 15 refills a day and it costs me about $1 per cartridge in supplies(customer bringing in there own). I have been running a promotion for my first month $6.99 for black refills and $9.99 for color. The people love it. After Oct 15th my prices will be $10.99 for black and $14.99 for color.
I almost bought into a franchise myself but decided aganist it at the last minute. There were a lot of fees and hidden costs involved when I was doing my due dill.
Another great forum where you can pick up a lot of good information is www.imagerzone.com.

 

[jonjon315]

I've been in the industry for the past year. My business is doing great. I too charge 10 for black and white, 15 for color cartridges. I did not open up a franchise because it costs around 100K+. I bought the machine and put it to my store. The machine I bought is from Cartridge Express.
Their website is www.cartridgexpress.com

 

[alexandereci]

Sorry for the OT, but why are commercial refill machines like this? I mean, don't they do it like we do (drill holes and such)? How do refill machines do their thing? Do the machines do anything else besides refill?

 

[jonjon315]

It refills the ink from the print head for the back cartridges. No holes. For the color you need holes. Also it primes the automatically after it refills.
It also empties, and cleans the cartridge. I don't know about all the machines, this is what mine does. Hope I was helpful