It may not be legally the same as "bait and switch" but morally it is.
Right now Walmart is selling a printer for $28 which includes an ink cartridge, the cartridge by itself sells for more than that.
It's simply the business model that they chose. What is unsupportable is that when they found out their business model couldn't survive the free market, they used the DMCA cudgel to try to support it with.
The rub CAN be that the cart in the printer when you buy it might not be FULL. Some here have reported this scheme.
I've got to say that my experiences with "generic" ink carts hasn't been zackly sterling. I bought two black carts for the same price as one Epson cart. Each cart lasted half as long as the Epson. Perhaps it was the supplier, and that WAS a couple of years back.
Anyone have really good luck with generic carts? Where did you get them?
Michael
Totally legal, and the idea is as old as the hills. It's called the "Gillette Model", because they invented it: Sell the razor at cost, at a loss, or even give it away free, because it will guarantee you a permanent customer for your expensive blades.
Well not quite, because the ink cartridges that come with the printer are only like 1/4 full.