I don't have any problem wasting ink when it costs roughly 1/12 the cost of SG, nor do I care about "sticking it" to SG. But you're right, sometimes the small guy suffers, and sometimes the small guy deals with it by going around the big guy. I don't like getting bent over the barrel, especially when the claims of SG quality ring hollow. But, the biggest reason I am not using SG inks (other than the fact that they are vastly overpriced) is because I don't want to be left without a spare ink cartridge when I need it, don't want to pay shipping on two ink carts at the last minute and don't want to stock carts that have a relatively short shelf life. Ink in the bottle is good for much longer and I can refill whenever I need.
In any case, the ink in SG cartridges is exactly identical to the vast majority of the inks on the market, hence their licensing of, at last check, 11 different ink manufacturers, from South Korea, China and the US.
I am basically just dipping my toe in the water right now, and have done it for less than 1/4 the cost of a "startup kit" from Conde.
