Printer price: Almost 6 years ago I bought a Brother MFC-J985DW printer for $169. I see it on Amazon for $700-$900. What's so special about this printer??? Anyone have thoughts about...

Huggins36

Almost 6 years ago I bought a Brother MFC-J985DW printer for $169. I see it on Amazon for $700-$900. What's so special about this printer??? Anyone have thoughts about the huge price difference?? Thanks

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

Might be out of production and a third party, not Amazon, is trying to cash in!

henryp Loc: New York, NY

The Brother MFC-J985DW All-in-One Inkjet Printer is no longer available.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1246543-REG/brother_mfc_j985dw_all_in_one_inkjet_printer.html

Huggins36

Hello bsprague-Thanks for your quick response. I checked Amazon, of the 7 sellers (price range $600-$800) one was Amazon and still in production.

terryMc Loc: Arizona's White Mountains

Huggins36 wrote:

Hello bsprague-Thanks for your quick response. I checked Amazon, of the 7 sellers (price range $600-$800) one was Amazon and still in production.

This one? https://www.amazon.com/Brother-Wireless-MFC-J895DW-Multi-function-Replenishment/dp/B07CCDVN8W/ref=sr_1_8?crid=2Y7FXAIHOW4CS&keywords=Brother%2BMFC-J985DW%2BAll-in-One%2BInkjet%2BPrinter&qid=1694539054&sprefix=brother%2Bmfc-j985dw%2Ball-in-one%2Binkjet%2Bprinter%2Caps%2C460&sr=8-8&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.ac2169a1-b668-44b9-8bd0-5ec63b24bcb5&th=1

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

bsprague wrote:

Might be out of production and a third party, not Amazon, is trying to cash in!

Exactly, and that's not uncommon. I doubt that many people would pay a high price for a cheap printer.

niteman3d Loc: South Central Pennsylvania, USA

Brother says discontinued:
https://www.brother-usa.com/business/printers/products/discontinued#sort=%40productcatalogsku%20descending

frankraney Loc: Clovis, Ca.

Huggins36 wrote:

Almost 6 years ago I bought a Brother MFC-J985DW printer for $169. I see it on Amazon for $700-$900. What's so special about this printer??? Anyone have thoughts about the huge price difference?? Thanks

It's called inflation! And our demand.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

niteman3d wrote:

Brother says discontinued:
https://www.brother-usa.com/business/printers/products/discontinued#sort=%40productcatalogsku%20descending

Yeah, discontinued items can be ridiculously expensive. The seller figures that because it's no longer available through normal channels, you'll pay dearly if you really want this particular (old) model.

leftj Loc: Texas

Huggins36 wrote:

Almost 6 years ago I bought a Brother MFC-J985DW printer for $169. I see it on Amazon for $700-$900. What's so special about this printer??? Anyone have thoughts about the huge price difference?? Thanks

You're saying this is the exact same printer with the exact same model #? I don't think so.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

leftj wrote:

You're saying this is the exact same printer with the exact same model #? I don't think so.

It is. The seller knows the psychological impact of the word, ‘discontinued,’ when combined with a popular product that has repeat customers. Cha-Ching!

If someone found a truckload of Canon PIXMA Pro-100 printers today, they would sell like hotcakes for double their last retail price.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

burkphoto wrote:

It is. The seller knows the psychological impact of the word, ‘discontinued,’ when combined with a popular product that has repeat customers. Cha-Ching!

If someone found a truckload of Canon PIXMA Pro-100 printers today, they would sell like hotcakes for double their last retail price.

Canon paid me to buy a PIXMA Pro-100. Their promo included a full (not trial) set of ink, a box of full sized paper and a debit card. When I added the price of the ink and paper to the debit card it was higher than the retail price.

They are getting some of it back as I continue to buy their ink as needed.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

leftj wrote:

You're saying this is the exact same printer with the exact same model #? I don't think so.

https://www.amazon.com/Brother-MFC-J985DW-Connectivity-Cost-Effective-Replenishment/dp/B01D8O2VKQ/ref=sr_1_3?hvadid=664939016864&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=1023362&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4813332245652262451&hvtargid=kwd-228470225598&hydadcr=10856_13633794&keywords=brother%2Bprinter%2Bmfc%2Bj985dw&qid=1694615749&sr=8-3&th=1

Fredrick Loc: Former NYC, now San Francisco Bay Area

leftj wrote:

You're saying this is the exact same printer with the exact same model #? I don't think so.

This does happen. It’s happened to me with an HP All-in-one ink jet photo printer I bought about 10 years ago for around $300. Eight years later I went to buy the same model and Amazon and eBay were selling selling it for $799! Same model number.

I bought an Epson EcoTank printer instead and couldn’t be happier. Those printers are amazing.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

bsprague wrote:

Canon paid me to buy a PIXMA Pro-100. Their promo included a full (not trial) set of ink, a box of full sized paper and a debit card. When I added the price of the ink and paper to the debit card it was higher than the retail price.

They are getting some of it back as I continue to buy their ink as needed.

I watched their offerings as they phased it out and introduced the Pro-200. The price jumped about double once the stock in the retail pipeline was all that was left. When they discontinued the printer, they discontinued all those great promos. Dealers were making windfall profits as heavy users bought spares.

Amazon is littered with sellers who do this. They buy a lot of a distributor's stock when a popular product is discontinued. Then they put ridiculous prices on it.

There is a certain not-very-large segment of the market that buys things on HIGH price — "Oh, it's expensive! It must be good! The new one costs less, so it must be inferior!"