Brand new with ink for $59 from Epson direct

I bought a supposedly "refurbished" Epson Stylus C88 from the Epson store for $59 to replace an HP inkjet that mechanically died in 1 year and 4 days. No sales tax on the Epson and the shipping was free. Out of the box it looked factory brand new complete with see thru protective film over the lid and what looked like original factory shipping tape. The only thing lacking in the box was a usb printer cable or a parallel printer cable. No biggie since most of us already have printer cables. The Epson setup went perfectly by following the Epson "Start Here" flyer. Basically the setup is install the drivers BEFORE hooking up the printer. The included four ink cartridges alone are worth almost as much as the cost of the printer. The included Epson software appears to be nearly the same as my Epson all-in-one software and includes the really valuable "Web-To-Page" software for printing web pages without losing the right side of the page.

I can DOS print from my main computer's LPT1 port to this printer and I can print using my usb cable from my laptop, all connected to the C88 printer at the same time.

The Epson web site for the C88 claims "Fast Black Text printing - up to 23 ppm, Prints borderfree photos (4x6, 5x7, 8x10, and 8.5x11), Up to 5760 x 1440 optimized dpi.

The printer ink is the archival Epson DuraBrite Ultra which will have a longer life than I will if used on acid free paper. Unfortunately the black ink cartridge for this printer is not the double sized one that more expensive Epson printers will accept.

Street price for this printer in my town is $89.99 plus sales tax less $3 credit for a used printer cartridge. No thank you. $59 is all I'll pay. In a couple of years when this one clogs, and it will clog since it's an Epson, I'll just trash can it and buy another "refurbished" brand new one.