Reliable source for HP 5000 toner cartridges

I have an HP 5000N. I see that Office Depot and Office Max have toner
cartridges for sale for about $166. There are a number of online
dealers selling "compatible" cartridges for $85-$100. These include:

Infinity Imaging
Inkers.biz
Colortoner.com
4 any printer

Are any of these reliable? Are these "compatible" cartridges really
compatible?

Thanks

 

Ooopps. I meant to add that there are a lot of vendors on eBay selling
what they claim are "New, in the original box" C4129X toner cartridges
for as low as $50. Can this be true? Some of these vendors have
thousands of sales with customer ratings around 99.9%.

I also see "kits" to refill it myself for as low as $15. I'm guessing
that this would be a messy disaster.

Thanks

 

First of all stay away from drill & fill refill kits for the 29X. Your
asking for big trouble. The compatible toner cartridges work great but you
have to ask the seller if he puts a new drum, PCR, mag roller and wiper in
each cartridge. A reputable remanufacter will replace all of these. If you
can get an OEM (new in box) for $50.00, its a steal. Pete

 

An original 29x is most likely to be counterfeit...

 

I go through five to ten carts a month for my 5Si and 8000 printers.
HP carts cost about $150. Best I can do directly from remanufacturers
is about $95. But I can get remans on eBay for $25-35, including
shipping. Every once in a while I get a bad one, but in the long run
I'm way ahead. When it comes to toner carts, eBay is the place.

There are a couple caveats, however. Be sure to watch the seller's
feedback rating. Under 98% and I don't bid, unless it is a newbie.
Also watch out for poor descriptions. Most people are not good at
expressing themselves and fail to tell you everything about the
merchandise. I've had people list carts as "new, not remanufactured"
and then it turns out that they really are remanufactured. (Actually,
even genuine HP carts are at least partially remanufactured.)

Forget the kits. To redo a cartridge properly you need lots of other
new parts. You might be able to drill and fill once and get away with
it, but even that is chancy.