I should have known better, yet I did it anyway....I went to my local Staples (and only office…read moresupply store within a 90 mile radius) to buy a new printer. I had been waiting for my old, cumbersome, HP 4620 printer to die, as it had caused me nothing but trouble since I bought it. I had a printing project come up, and after running every diagnostic and troubleshooting test on my HP, I concluded it was dead.
So, I did what I ALWAYS do before I buy products - consult with Consumer Reports. I matched the ratings on printers from Consumer Reports, with the features I wanted most, and compared them to the "pick up in 1 hour" printers I found on my local Staples store. Armed with my information, I went down to buy an HP 5549. Typically, I did not find any on the shelf. One Staples associate came up to me and when I explained that I had looked on Consumer Reports and knew what I wanted....he looked lost. I tried explaining but it was clear that he would be unable to help me, so I continued looking on my own.
A few minutes later, the General Manager, Ian, approached me and I explained that I knew what I wanted, based on my prior research. We were standing in directly in front of where the 5549 printers would be, and I expressed my dismay that they were out of the printers. As I had more "no's" on my list, and very little "yesses" (as is typical for our store, for some reason, they only carry "older" or "soon-to-be-outdated" models), I had no idea what kind of printer to buy.
Ian directed me over to the HP 6968 model and explained the differences between the model I wanted, the 5549, and the 6968. Convinced, I bought the 6968, extra ink, and the extra warranty (because printers don't last very long anymore - that's why they are so cheap, I was told.)
I loaded everything into my car, then as usually happens, I ran back in because I had forgotten stamps. IMAGINE! my surprise, when I went back in, to find an entire endcap of the HP 5549 model I had originally came to buy - ON SALE! I thought about getting the 6968 out of the car and coming back in to get the printer I HAD WANTED IN THE FIRST PLACE. However, I was tired as it was at the end of my errands and I wanted to get started on my printing project, so I decided to give the 6968 a try as it had been so highly recommended by Ian, the General Manager.
I went home, set up my new printer, and went to work on my printing project. Immediately, I knew I had made a mistake. The 6968 had every troublesome aspect as my old printer. It was cumbersome, loud, the paper got stuck, I was constantly having to go over and "check" something on the printer. I hated it and cursed myself for not exchanging it the day before. Then, a phrase popped into my head: BAIT AND SWITCH.
I'll be contacting the Better Business Bureau, and if advised, then my lawyer.