Street Ink
Small carts carried by young boys and men can been seen in plenty in and around MIDC, Andheri East area. Just carry your empty printer cartridge to them and they shall re-fill the same – for less than half the price of an original new cartridge.
For example : Re-filling HP cartridge for PSC 2410 would cost, only Rs. 200/-, where as an original piece is around Rs. 1200/-.
These guys earn round about, Rs. 500/- to Rs. 800/- a day depending if they are lucky enough to get away from the local cops, who end-up taking their entire earnings. Obviously, there is always a possibility of your printer getting screwed up because of the use of fake ink. But not many small-scale offices seemed to be bothered by this fact.
Most of these carts are actually leased out by stationary stores, who in turn either pays a fixed salary or commission to the guys handling the cart.
Amazing, isn’t it! To see different means and methods local people use in order to survive everyday on the streets of Mumbai city.
Should we be glad at the ingenious adaptability of these battle hardened souls and their survival instincts or punish them for foisting fakes camouflaged as the real.
One thing is certain..as long as our indifference remains, there will always be relevance for the maxim ‘caveat emptor.’
Its a point to ponder.
Shashikant – I agree, there always two sides of a coin. Similarly here, its upon you to decide whether these guys are criminals or just poor souls making a living. On the other hand, these guys also provide inks for ancient printers, which have been dis-continued by their respective companies. So all is all the bad here, is it ?