I now have two emails from HP Customer Care telling me that the inks shipped with my B8850 are "starter packs" and not intended for normal use. Not sure if I believe them, as the part numbers on the original inks and replacement inks are the same. But for the sake of argument, if they are correct, then it appears that this is an actionable problem, as nowhere in the HP published product specs or in the install documentation is there any mention that the printer is shipped with non-standard inks which will need to be immediately replaced (as stated in HP's last email).
I'm normally not a one to run to the lawyers, but if HP is correct, then the real price of the printer is actually 8x$36 higher than the published price, a more than 50% increase.
I'd be happy to email anyone interested copies of the emails from HP. If you are a class action person and want to contact me, please feel free to PM me. I'll gladly retract all the skidmark jokes I've told.
Dan