I bought a 902xl print cartridge for my HP 6950 in the US the salesman said it would work in my prin

[Jdubs11]

I bought a set of four 902xl print cartridges for my HP 6950 in the USA.  The original cartridges are labeled 903xl.  The printer was purchased overseas. 

The salesman said it would work in my printer but my printer says it is not a valid head.

[banhien]

@Jdubs11 

No, HP 902 and 902XL ink cartridges won't work on your  HP OfficeJet 6950 All-in-One Printer which I believe you bought in  Europe, Middle East, or Africa.

Please read the following instructions then contact HP in the US and ask them how to reset your printer

    http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c02558798

Regards.

[Jdubs11]

Thank you.  Will try your recommendation.

[Jdubs11]

It is now clear to me that there is no way to use the print cartridges that I bought (902XL in my 6950 Officejet).  This is the first time that I have found a computer company does not allow parts to be used interchangeably in its products and consciously disables functionality.  I asked this specific question about compatibility to the salesman at Staples who said the cartridge would fit my printer and they do, in fact, fit they just don't work.

This raises some serious questions:
If I move to another country, would I have to try to "regionalize" the printer each time?  Otherwise it would be worthless since it won't work with "local" print cartridges?

To which other products does "regionalization" apply in the HP line?  

If I buy an HP scanner, will parts bought in another country work or will I have to trash the system? 

Likewise, I would have second thoughts about buying an EliteBook for fear that a battery purchased abroad won't work in my laptop.