Brag:
SwiftInk!
I've just, today, gotten my ink in the mail and this time it worked out.
A fellow by the name of Aziz helped me with my initial problem and continued to help me all the way through to today.
I would post the e-mail tag we played, but basically I screwed up an order because of a problem on the website where the Epson CX5400 black ink was placed beside three color inks that had the same image and I assumed they were for the Epson CX5400. Well, I ordered and got my stuff in the mail, at a discount, from Anandtech discount codes, and was not pleased.
I used the black ink and it smelled like a permanent marker, you know the smell, stinks up the whole room shortly after taking off the marker cap. Well, the black ink smell alone was enough to kill me and to top it off, the ink didn't print very well.
The colored cartridges didn't work at all, as they turned out to be for a different printer. It was my mistake, but the cartridges were placed just below the black cartridge and there were no other similar appearing cartridges on the page(Turns out, there was a second page I didn't know was there, which was where the color ink cartridges for my printer were.).
I returned them, requesting a refund and Aziz promptly told me that I could have a refund, but because my order was so unsatisfactory, I could opt to recieve a new brand of ink and the proper cartridges for my printers(got ink for an HP printer, too, but it was alright, I just wanted to get my refund easier, so I sent it -all- back.). Well, I said that'd be fine and I asked to be sure of the deal, specified exactly what I would be getting and asked if I would still be allowed to return the items if they still weren't satisfactory. Keep in mind, I was very prolite, except in my first e-mail, where I was just frustrated for having spent $120 for nothing, but never bad-mouthed anyone. I just said I was very displeased and wouldn't do business with them again.
He responded, said that it was an easy error to fix, he would send my things ASAP and refund $40 to my account as a sign of good faith that I would do business with them again, being that I would be satisfied with the results this time.
Well, I think that all happened(began) about two or three weeks ago, mostly due to the e-mail tag we played. I recieved my ink today and tested it out and am very pleased. It prints perfectly, never had a problem, had to clean my heads few times, but eventually it worked perfect.
Now, having added the costs up and the number of cartridges, I have come to a total of $4.40 for each of 12(3black, 3red, 3blue, 3yellow) my Epson CX5400 cartridges, and my 2 black and 2 color HP psc 1210 cartridges.
Normally, I would have paid $210.84 for the twelve Epson CX5400 ink cartridges, but I only paid $36.72.
The HP ink cartridges would have cost me $110.00, for the four cartridges. Instead, it cost me $33.80.
Original prices:
CX5400 Black - $33.24 x 3 = $99.72
CX5400 Cyan - $12.34 x 3 = $37.02
CX5400 Magenta - $12.34 x 3 = $37.02
CX5400 Yellow - $12.34 x 3 = $37.02
HP 1210 Black - $19.99 x 2 = 39.98
HP 1210 Color - $34.99 x 2 = 69.98
Total Original Price: $320.74
SwiftInk prices:
CX5400 Black - $4.70 x 3 = $14.11
CX5400 Cyan - $4.70 x 3 = $14.11
CX5400 Magenta - $4.70 x 3 = $14.11
CX5400 Yellow - $4.70 x 3 = $14.11
Discount for 3-6 cartridges: $56.44 - 10% = $50.80
Discount from AnandTech Coupon Code: $50.80 - 20% = $40.64
HP 1210 Black - $15.95 x 2 = $31.90
HP 1210 Color - $20.95 x 2 = $41.90
Discount from AnandTech Coupon Code: $73.80 - 15% = $62.73
Total SwiftInk Price: $103.37 - $40, because Aziz was nice, = $63.37 for 12 CX5400 cartridges and 4 HP PSC 1210 cartridges.
Basically, the results I recieved are a tad off and I cannot seem to replicate exactly what happened penny for penny, but the savings is still there.
I saved around $250 for the ink and, the batch I have now, is nearly exactly the same in quality, if it isn't actually the same ink as what Epson uses.
Moan:
Bought a new CRT monitor, Samsung 997 19" Flatscreen, for $200 online, $50 for shipping. Box was beat to hell, but I figured it might be alright, and initially it was, as far as shiny new things go. Not long after I began adjusting the screen I noticed a curve at the top right and top left of the screen. It would -not- go away, so a square image was not possible. It wouldn't produce anything higher than 1024x768 @ 100hz, it could only produce 1600x1200 @ 56hz. Believe me, I've been using a CRT for the better part of my LIFE and I've never had a problem with eye strain. This one hurt my eyes bad and gave me continual headaches.
As if that wasn't bad enough, after the first week of having it, the monitor started making this horrible shrill noise similar to the sound a tv makes when it first turns on. However, the tv noise would die off or fade into the background, this monitor noise got louder and generally remained until I turned the monitor off.
Uninstalling it wasn't any easier, since my old monitor had problems being reinstalled on my computer, even though it's a Plug'n'play. Feh. I had to unbox the damn thing four times because I tried adjusting my old monitor to a viewable size and res, but it just kicked over to a black screen and wouldn't display.
I just dropped it off, after having a paid shipping label sent to me by Buy.com because it's generally unsatisfactory and, for the most part, one of the worst buys I've ever made for my computer.
I'll be buying a Viewsonic VX922, hoping I won't get more than 0 dead pixels, but seeing my luck so far, that'll be pushing it. And if it comes in and has a single dead pixel, you can bet I'm sending that bastard back, saying I just don't think it's the right monitor. Heh. Anything to keep from losing too much more money on crappy investments.