Refurbished Ink Cartridge Question...is this for real?

[fewcherstar]

Heres my story:

I purchased refurbed ink cartridges (black and color) from priceless-inkjet.com. (Cost me 45 bucks USD BTW - man that stuff's expensive). So I get them and pop them in my Lexmark x4270 All-In-One printer and go to print a test page....meanwhile, I notice that the new printer cartridges are both only reading half full!!

Angered and feeling cheated by this, I call the company and get someone who can barely speak English and explain my dilemma. She sounds surprised that I am calling with this issue and puts me on hold to find out why this would be. After a minute she comes back and says that it's because it's refurbished and even though it is full, your printer will only read it as half full.

My question is: Is this for real or am I being cheated? I have never heard of this before and I have bought refurbed cartridges before (though not for this particular printer). Is there a way I can check the ink level without having to open the cartridge?

Any answer and possible explanation as to why this happens is MUCH appreciated.

Thanks.

[glc]

How much are you really saving by not buying new genuine cartridges?

[juppy]

I don't know if this is what's happening to yours, but yeah, some cartridges can be showing the wrong ink level in the printer properties. My brother's all-in-one HP does that. If you put a refurbed cartridge in or refill one yourself, it'll still show it as being empty or only maybe a third full. With his, there are sites that say there's a way around it, but it involves alot of putting tape over this connector, inserting, taking it out again, taping over another connector, inserting again......just a bunch of hubbub that's too much of a pain in the keester to bother with just so the meter will say "full". He's gotten to where he just buys the new cartridges so he doesn't have to mess with it.

[bailey]

they have some type of chip inside the cartridge that is not resetable, that is why the reading is incorrect, just ignore it unless it stops printing.

[fewcherstar]

Originally Posted by glc How much are you really saving by not buying new genuine cartridges?

this is not really on topic but FYI, here is one retailers price:

http://www.databazaar.com/Inkjet_Car...EX15M2328.html

So I saved 30 bucks.

[glc]

Actually it is on topic - whether you agree with their tactics or not, printer manufacturers are doing everything they can to force you to buy new cartridges at a substantial profit, because they do not make any money on the printers themselves. They are simply trying to maximize profits (what business doesn't?) and still remain competitive with other manufacturers. They ALL do this. Sure, you can save money by buying refilled cartridges, but will they work right? This is a crapshoot. If you want to save by beating the system, you will have to deal with issues like this. I've done an extensive Google search, and the only "chip resetters" I can find are for Epsons.

[fewcherstar]

Originally Posted by glc Actually it is on topic

Actually, it isn't. The question had to do with whether or not the supposedly 'full' print cartridge could be READ as 'half-full' by the printer. By the sounds of it, it can. Good enough for me...I don't need the printer to read 'full' for any aesthetic purposes...just wanted to know if the cust. svc. rep was feeding me a line of bull. Now if I had asked 'Should I buy brand new or refurbished' then your question/reply would apply. But I didn't so it doesn't. Question answered, thread dead. Thanks.

Originally Posted by glc whether you agree with their tactics or not, printer manufacturers are doing everything they can to force you to buy new cartridges at a substantial profit, because they do not make any money on the printers themselves. They are simply trying to maximize profits (what business doesn't?) and still remain competitive with other manufacturers. They ALL do this.

I am well aware of the tactics used. This is why I buy refurbished. If I wanted to spend $75 on print cartridges, I'd just buy a new printer with them included.

Originally Posted by glc Sure, you can save money by buying refilled cartridges, but will they work right? This is a crapshoot. If you want to save by beating the system, you will have to deal with issues like this.

I thought I WAS dealing with it by asking the question in a tech forum.

Originally Posted by glc I've done an extensive Google search, and the only "chip resetters" I can find are for Epsons.

I don't need this 'chip resetter'. Just wanted to know if I got ripped off.

[glc]

Fine. I'm not looking for an argument. I'll close the thread.

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