>third-party pod refills that often retail for 5-25% less than what Keurig charges
How expensive are these pods? I certainly understand going generic to save 25% but a K-cup machine strikes me as a premium product. Maybe I'm missing something, but I'd think the people willing/able to pay extra for a high end coffee maker wouldn't waste time experimenting with generics to save 5% (what, a couple cents a cup at most?).
It's about convenience. Also consider that many workplaces provide the Keurig machine in common areas (kitchens, cafeterias) for employees to use their own k-cups with. One of my former employers actually had a contract with their vending machine provider where the Keurig machines were provided for free, but they were required to purchase a minimum monthly k-cup amount from the vendor.
The reasoning was that "a lot of coffee is being thrown out in the afternoon", so they wanted to cut waste by using the Keurig machine in the afternoon when fewer people were making coffee. When you actually do the math, an entire pot of coffee (10 cups) cost the same as a single Keurig cup. The logic didn't seem very sound to me, and I suspect it had more to do with the convenience of making a single cup and not having to clean up after yourself.
The k-cups cost about 30 to 50 cents each, unless you buy thousands of them.
How expensive are these pods? I certainly understand going generic to save 25% but a K-cup machine strikes me as a premium product. Maybe I'm missing something, but I'd think the people willing/able to pay extra for a high end coffee maker wouldn't waste time experimenting with generics to save 5% (what, a couple cents a cup at most?).