Why Most People Pay Double for Laser Toner Cartridges

If you own a laser printer, you already know the most expensive part of ownership is purchasing laser toner cartridges. A normal laser printer has a life expectancy of five years. However, many laser printers will last longer than five years.

Did you know that over that five-year period, most people pay seven times as much for toner cartridges as they did for their printer? If your printer lasts longer than five years, you will pay even more.


Many major printer manufacturers use a marketing model similar to TiVo and Gillette razors.  The basic idea is this… they sell you the printer at or near cost. Once you’ve purchased their printer, you will buy their printer supplies. Hence, the huge mark up on the price of the toner cartridges. In many cases, the cost of a brand name cartridge is more than twice what it should be.

The companies then spend a lot of money trying to convince you that you must buy their toner cartridges or you can expect to have real problems. This simply isn’t true.

I have exclusively used compatible toner cartridges for over fifteen years. Here’s what I have learned.

At first, I was very reluctant to try a compatible toner cartridge. I really didn’t understand much about them. A compatible toner cartridge is a new toner cartridge made to the specific OEM specifications of the printer manufacturer. They include the same parts and toner required for your laser printer. However, they do not have the “brand name” on the label.

These compatible toner cartridges are guaranteed to be as good as your original OEM cartridge. That means you will get the same quality of print. You will get the same quantity of print.

I have saved literally thousands of dollars in cost by using compatible toner cartridges. Over the years, I only had one instance where a compatible toner cartridge did not live up to my high expectations. I called the company and they sent me a new compatible toner cartridge the very next day… no questions, no hassle. Besides this one instance, I have always had outstanding print quality. I’ve never been shorted on the number of pages I’ve printed.

When you deal with a reputable online company, you save three ways. First, they stand behind their toner cartridges one hundred percent. How many companies have you dealt with that sent you a new replacement product the next day without a major hassle?

Second, these online toner companies do not have the cost of maintaining a storefront. They can pass the savings in overhead along to you.

Third, they are not trying to make up for minimal profit from the sale of a laser printer. If the major manufacturers made a reasonable profit on their printer sale, there would be no need for such a high mark up on their toner cartridges.

So, if you need a new laser toner cartridge and want to cut way back on your printer budget, try a compatible toner cartridge today.