When did printer manufacturers decide to stop including the cord connecting the printer to the computer when you purchase a new printer?
I assume at some point a decision was made by one of the big players, maybe Dell, to stop including cords and everyone else followed suit. Perhaps manufacturers assumed that printers had reached a critical mass: cords conformed to an industry standard, with the majority of sales being repeat customers.
Following this logic, when someone buys a printer it is to replace an older one, meaning they can take the cord from their old printer and apply it to the new one – ultimately saving Dell big bucks.
At least that is the only rational I can come up with…
Otherwise, what other products do you buy which are not immediately operational? With the exception of certain electronics (requiring batteries) or things with disposable or preferential parts (coffee maker filters, video games for an Xbox), I can’t think of much.
Also, I wonder how much money it saves by having a standardized item you can stop including with your product at an advanced product lifecycle stage. Consumers should not be thrilled, as it is really Dell saying, “we are no longer innovating on printer power cords.”
And where does it stop?
Maybe next Dell will stop shipping laptop power cords, or maybe key pads. I could see car manufacturers doing the same for car stereos, especially with the popularity of Sirius and Xm. iPod could do it for headphones. Any other ideas?