If you’re looking for cheap ink cartridges out on the web, a lot of the websites that you’ll find can end up looking a bit tacky, which makes them difficult to trust with your money. That isn't the case at all when it comes to Inkcartridges though - it has an excellent website that looks great and is most importantly, easy to use.
The prices aren’t the lowest we’ve seen out there, but they’re still very competitive with other sellers, and the free shipping policy is absolutely fantastic. There is no minimum spend to qualify for free shipping on Inkcartridges, and it’s the only site we reviewed to offer this service, which makes it ideal for small orders.
We think that Inkcartridges is one of the top choices when you're looking for the best discount ink cartridges.
Inkcartridges: Service quality
When we evaluated the cost of ink cartridges used in some of the best all-in-one inkjets and other popular printers, we found Inkcartridges’ prices to be a bit high - they're still competitive, but you can definitely find cheaper cartridges elsewhere.
When we calculated the per-page print cost for Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) ink cartridges on Inkcartridges, we found it charges about 1 cent more than our top pick, 4inkJets. For remanufactured cartridges, it charges about 3/10 of a cent more. Prices do vary on these sites, and the higher average price may not be a big deal considering the company offers free standard shipping.
When we looked at inventory, we considered the number of ink brands the store carries, as well as the other types of printing supplies it stocks, like paper or cables – having a large selection of cartridges and being able to buy everything from one sites makes stocking your office simple. Inkcartridges sells the same number of remanufactured and OEM cartridge brands as 4inkjets, our top pick. It also had 60 percent of the cartridge models we looked for in stock, which is more than many sites.
The store has a two-year satisfaction guarantee. While it exchanges products for store credit in that time, you can only get a full refund during the first year, and it doesn’t return shipping costs you initially paid. Because you get bigger discounts when you place large orders, Inkcartridges’ willingness to refund your money for a full year is good; some companies have 30- or 90-day return policies, which make it a bit risky to buy in bulk.
Like most other discount ink cartridge sites, its return policy is different for OEM cartridges, which are those that come directly from the printer manufacturer. You only have 15 days to return OEM cartridges, which is not very much time. However, we didn’t see anything better on other ink cartridge sites.
Inkcartridges: Shipping
Inkcartridges’ most attractive feature is its free shipping on standard orders sent within the contiguous United States – most other companies require you reach a minimum purchase total to qualify for free shipping, usually around $50. However, on the high end, sites like Inkgrabber require you purchase $75 worth of products to qualify for free shipping. Some companies charge a flat shipping fee of between $3 and $5, and others weigh your package before giving you a price for shipping.
It can ship orders to Canada, as well as U.S. territories, but since these packages require additional screenings, Inkcartridges doesn’t offer free shipping on them. The store lists a two- or three-day shipping option on its checkout page; however, you can’t select overnight shipping on the site as you check out. You can place your order over the phone and request overnight shipping, but other companies let you select it online, which requires less work from you.
Inkcartridges: Payment options and support
You can’t pay using social media, but that is the only payment option Inkcartridges is missing. It accepts all the other standard methods of payment, including credit cards, PayPal, money orders and checks.
Like most of our top picks, Inkcartridges doesn’t have online troubleshooting resources; other sites, including 123 Inkjets, have information about how to install ink cartridges and troubleshoot problems with remanufactured ones, which we found very useful. There are a lot of ways to get in touch with customer support, including a live chat, email, and phone during normal business hours and most of the day Saturday.
Should you use Inkcartridges?
While the prices may be higher on average than some of the other ink cartridge sellers out there, we still feel like Inkcartridges offers excellent value - especially on smaller orders which still get free shipping without needing to meet a threshold.
Combine that with the two-year guarantee for added insurance should something go wrong, and the wonderfully laid out website, and we think Inkcartridges is an excellent choice if you’re looking for cheap ink cartridges.
