Our printer ran out of ink quite a while ago and I must admit that during that time if I really needed to print out anything I would use the printer at work. At the moment I am still home bound with due to my ruptured Achilles tendon. And what do you know, a time comes around when I really need to print some stuff out.
This brought on the need for ink so I called a couple of places for prices and that left me scratching my head. I haven’t been in the cartridge market for a while and was a bit surprised at how expensive new ink cartridges have become. So, with me being one to always try and look for a bargain or cheaper way of getting what I need, I came across Cartridge World where I didn’t buy new ink cartridges but got the old ones refilled and that worked out a lot cheaper than getting new ones.
For the particular type of cartridges I needed I would have had to pay a total of $109.98 (that’s New Zealand Dollars by the way) compared to the $54 it cost to get them refilled at Cartridge World. That is an almost 50% saving of $55.98 and in my books that is pretty significant.
Whilst I was searching around for deals on cartridges I did come across a couple of people selling refill kits on TradeMe (also available on the likes of eBay – Ink Refill Kits on eBay) and it looks like DIY refills would be an even cheaper option. There are a lot of videos on YouTube that show how to do the refills yourself and it doesn’t look hard at all. That being the case, that is what I will probably do next time around.
So, next time you run out of ink you should look around to see if there is anyone close to you who can refill your cartridges for a fraction of the cost of new ones of just get a kit and do it yourself.
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HP 74 CB335WN 74XL BLACK INK CARTRIDGE REFILL KIT US $0.99 Auction Ends: Thursday Sep-02-2010 14:23:11 PDT | Watch this Item |
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Lexmark 32 34 BLACK INK CARTRIDGE REFILL KIT US $1.65 Auction Ends: Thursday Sep-02-2010 14:23:11 PDT | Watch this Item |
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23. September 2009 at 10:27 pm
Good advise that saves money. I remember shopping around for ink catridges recently, I ended up buying compatable catridges since they were cheaper and have more ink than the original Hp catridges.
The print quality is good as well. But refill catridges will be even cheaper and I will try that next time.
27. September 2009 at 6:15 pm
It’s always good to try and find a way of getting things cheaper without compromising on quality. The refilled cartridges are working out just fine for me.
24. September 2009 at 7:18 am
Very nice advice. I often buy cheaper products on ebay, or site that offer competitive discount.
27. September 2009 at 6:17 pm
Are there any particular sites that you regularly visit or does it depend on what you are looking for?
28. September 2009 at 9:07 am
It all depends on what I’m looking for. I often visit ebay first (But I’m mad at them since I have hard time entering the Ebay Partner Network with one of my other site…)
28. September 2009 at 11:48 am
Well that must be a bummer that you are having a bit of trouble getting accepted to the eBay Partner Network. Have you read Wade Wells’ post How to Get Approved by eBay Partner Network?
24. September 2009 at 7:43 am
ehm..nice idea. I usually do that.
27. September 2009 at 2:40 pm
It sounds like a great idea although I envision a mess of ink going every where. But I am certainly going to look into it and see if it is easy enough to do without ink going everywhere. Thanks for the tips always good to find a way to save some money. Hope that ankle heals soon.
27. September 2009 at 6:23 pm
You are right, it could get a little messy but it is well worth a try. And thanks about the wishes for my Achilles. I will be in a cast for six more weeks and I am back at work tomorrow. I will be stuck at my desk for the rest of the year and will only be let back into the labs at the start of next year.
9. October 2009 at 12:20 am
Hey!
That’s a good & money-saving idea! But a tech-geek friend of mine suggests that it ain’t a good idea to refill ink all the time as it does damage a printer. Have you heard of it?
What would you suggest, if that’s the case?
9. October 2009 at 6:04 am
Hi Chris,
I wasn’t aware that refilling ink all the time damages a printer. I will have a look into that. Thanks for the info.