My last two posts on HP’s settlement (HP Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, HP Settlement) have received quite a bit of attention. Put best . . . HP, your loyal customers are not happy.

I use the term loyal because I was quite surprised a the number of times the word was used by individuals leaving their comments. From their descriptions, these individuals currently own more than one HP printer. They have also purchased many HP printers over the years. I’d call that loyal, and a $5-$8 e-credit is not making them feel any better about what HP has done to them. One comment pointed to the fact that HP is “engaging in stupid tricks to outsmart their loyal customers.”

Many “commenters” also reminded me of Epson’s 2006 class action settlement. Like HP, Epson issued e-credits to customers with certain printers. Epson irritated a lot of customers with their settlement response to the law suite that claimed that a substantial amount of ink was left inside cartridges when the printer indicated that the cartridge was empty. Sounds familiar, huh? A lot of the Epson printer owners switched to HP printers when they received their e-credits. Even more switched when their e-credit codes were not accepted by Epson. HP printer owners are hoping they won’t see the same thing happen when they get a chance to redeem their e-credits.

HP customers are seeing this settlement as an out for HP against future lawsuits. Still others see it as a winfall for two parties . . . the lawyers and HP. How? Well we all can guess that these lawyers had to be paid pretty well to make this all go away for HP (who were they representing again?). Even the best intentioned of lawyers comes out a winner as he/she is paid to do his job. They get a great hourly rate.

HP wins because they are issuing you a credit for $5-$8 to use to spend at their online store where you will have to spend at least $9.99 to get a cartridge. Their most inexpensive cartridge is $9.99, but a customers commented that their cartridge cost $30-$40 at the HP web site. This process is costing HP just about nothing, but could in turn reap them some huge revenues. The settlement is for $5 million. If each customer gets a $5 e-credit, then 1 million purchases will be made at HP’s store (assuming everyone buys). Let’s say after the e-credit is applied, the average customer spends $20. That’s $20 million in revenue for HP. Not a bad turn of events.

My favorite comment . . . One “commenter” provided a new definition for ISP, which typically stands for “Internet Service Provider”. He decided we should reapply the term to our printer. ISP now stands for “Ink Sucking Pig”

Keep the comments coming. I want to hear what you all area thinking. I’m reading them all. Thanks!