Is buying ink cartridges online the right choice for your business?
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If you’ve never bought ink online before, you may be wondering if it’s time to make the switch and change your business plan a little. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages and disadvantages to buying ink cartridges online.
One of the most popular reasons for buying ink online is taking advantage of better prices. Most online locations don’t have storefronts and sales employees that are helping to run a building, which cuts down significantly on the costs of storing and displaying any particular item. That means that items don’t have to be at a higher threshold in order to allow the company to make a profit, and in turn, these savings can be passed to you as a way of helping the business compete more effectively. For some people, regardless of other considerations, this alone makes it worth switching to online ordering.
Another advantage to buying ink cartridges online is that the best online locations tend to offer a very generous return period for products. Businesses print at very different rates, and locations that move through ink slowly might not see a problem develop until months after they started using a particular cartridge. For most businesses, this could be well past the point at which returns are allowed…Or, worse, past the warranty period offered by the manufacturer, which can happen for businesses that continue to use an older printer and an increasingly out-of-stock set of cartridges. Generous return policies, with plenty of time to discover problems, can be surprisingly helpful for some locations.
One item that some are on the fence about is shipping times. If you buy ink cartridges in person, then getting a replacement cartridge is often as quick and easy as driving down to the store and picking one up, which is about as fast as the replacements can possibly go in a cost-effective manner. If you’ve run into a surprisingly rapid point of ink usage, then this might be your best choice. Online ordering does offer some alternatives, though. With the lower prices for buying online, homes and businesses can stock up on ink cartridges and have one or two in reserve against unexpectedly busy times (more, of course, for businesses that print a lot as it is). This can cover the business until the next shipment can arrive. Under normal conditions, simply making another order the next time ink stocks fall below a certain level can help ensure that a steady stream of cartridges are delivered in a timely manner.
As you can see, there are many advantages to buying ink online. The disadvantages, while they do exist, are mostly situational and easily avoided with a little bit of planning. Just be sure to know exactly which cartridge you’re looking for so you don’t accidentally end up ordering something you didn’t intend to get. If you’re still unsure about whether ordering online is right for you or not, try making your next two orders online as a low-cost, low-risk experiment with no need for a commitment.Subscribe to our newsletter and get exclusive coupons and discounts.