I have previously purchased multiple EPSON products, but will NEVER buy another...and will share my recent negative experience with as many people as I can, giving them information they can weigh in their future purchasing considerations...
I have a 9-month old ET-4850 printer that a senior technician from EPSON diagnosed (over the phone) as having an hardware failure related to the ADF (Automatic Document Feeder).This should have been eligible for advance exchange (swap) with a new/replacement printer BUT... Since I use "ink" not manufactured by EPSON, "ALL" warranty is voided...not just ink-related failures, but image capture failures, mechanical failures, etc.
And, the warranty and/or operations manual states something to the effect that by using the EPSON product, you waive the right to take EPSON to court and instead agree to Arbitration. But, since they have that carefully worded disclaimer about third-party ink, an arbitrator would likely have no choice but to side with EPSON whereas a judge in a court of law could have more discretion since things such as a gear, a roller, an imaging lens/camera, etc. are not reasonably linked to "ink", they could potentially enforce product warranty coverage or liability.
So, I have a printer that retailed in an office products store for $499 that lasted only 9 months and EPSON has rejected any warranty coverage and is washing their hands of it.
To avoid any interpretation of slander, libel, or defamation of (corporate) character, I have been careful to do nothing here but simply recap my experience...and place it for public viewing/consumption.
Extremely unimpressed...and will NEVER buy another EPSON product.
I purchased my Epson xp1700 printer in October of 2019, and it has been working very well. I have seen many comments online by people who say never to upload their firmware update because they say they hide in it this incapacity to print without Epson brand cartridges. I just made the mistake of uploading it, and now my still pretty new printer is locked and won’t work unless I purchase the very expensive Epson cartridges.
I don’t believe Epson’s claim that other cartridges are harmful as I have always used the other brands with excellent results. I know when I purchased this printer in October 2019, the description said the printer is designed to work best with Epson cartridges, but it worked from the beginning fine with other ones. Now I have a useless printer unless I purchase their cartridges.
I feel very ripped off by Epson. Isn't this method of coercion to use only their brand of ink actually against the law? I have read that there are class action law suits against Epson for this. I would love to join one.
After an older Epson printer clogged, got a new one, which clogged before the original ink expired. I had bought new ink, though, b/c I was running low. Called Epson 4x and ran tests they asked me to run. During one of them my black ink ran out and an EPSON tech person told me to insert a new one. Problem not resolved so I returned the printer to Staples where I had purchased it, which kindly gave me credit.
I bought a different printer as I could not be w/o one in time it would take Epson to send a new one (Approx. 2-3 weeks). Plus, why would I want a product that failed twice?
Epson refuses to reimburse me for $60 worth of ink b/c I opened the package--at their behest! Customer service unhelpful, rude & have no TTY service for the hearing impaired. They had me open $60 worth of ink to prove that their product was defective and refuse to reimburse. Horrible experience & I can't imagine how they stay in business w/ such casual disregard for customers. Any retailer would have credited me in a flash. Not Epson.
I don't care how cheap their products appear, don't buy one or you'll regret it. I don't mind the money nearly as much as I am furious that such shabby business practices take place. Want the kicker? Epson said if I return the unopened ink they'd give me a $25 gift card for the Epson Store.
I should add that the Epson tech center--located in India--wanted me to give them my credit card # over the phone and they'd send me a new printer. Umm... no! They did not have a secure line and could not provide me with a secure site. Again, though, why would I want still a third Epson printer after two prior failures? (Epson ink used in printers.)
Epson is a joke, from their printers to the customer service. I will never spend another penny on any Epson product. BUYER BEWARE, they do not stand behind their printers and will try and make you feel like you did something wrong if there is any issues. I had 2 - XP410. I purchased one for my mother and I have one, both have the exact same problem. I wont be wasting anymore time on this. I wish I read the reviews before I purchased.
I wnated to tell the world there is nothing behid the best marketing and how i struggle with epson printer xp432, after 8 pport, its a days of pain, i took the printer and I broke it, i could not anymore. full of bugs, no support, it has been worst than a nightmare. i was robbed and alienated. epson I wish you the wrost in your life.
My mother purchased an EPSON printer for my daughter for Christmas. The printer malfunctions and uses much more ink than advertised (that may be why they sell it dirt cheap, to force you to spend money on ink),
Here is Epsons response:
1) There has been no breach of warranty regarding the printer you described or any basis for an ongoing dispute between you and Epson. Epson has a liberal policy of attempting to resolve customer dissatisfaction. Epson's Customer Service Dept. responded to your complaints about the printer with two potential offers in the interests of resolving your dissatisfaction. First, Epson offered to replace the printer that you claim has been defective with a replacement printer and extra set of ink cartridges. Second, Epson made an alternative offer to reimburse the entire purchase price of $49.99 and any related costs. (I must note that the proof of purchase you submitted showed purchase by another person so Epson would have to confirm your current ownership.)
2) You have not expended $200 for any arbitration costs so you have no basis for claiming that amount. Even if you file an arbitration, each party to an arbitration generally bears its own costs.
3) Epson and similar companies cannot respond to threats of legal proceedings with cash payments because there would soon be a long line people seeking similar rewards for not filing frivolous actions.
The Epson customer service representative you spoke to reports that you said you are dissatisfied with the printer for various reasons, including that it did not print "as much as advertised." I do not believe you can point to any false claims about printer performance. Like all other inkjet manufacturers, Epson carefully bases cartridge yield representations only in accordance with the ISO standards for color inkjet printers that specify uniform conditions and patterns for ink cartridge yield testing. You can further review the ISO methodology on Epson's website.
Please consider that any legal proceedings are likely to be costly and time consuming for both parties and very unlikely to provide a better resolution than Epson's refund offer.
Epson intends its printers to be quite competitive in both performance and costs, but there are many other brands of ink jet and laser printers you can consider if you are still dissatisfied.
I own an Epson XP-300 All-In-One printer. I purchased this printer a couple years ago, and while not overly impressed with the image quality it produced, I was satisfied it was fair for the price. I mainly needed it for document printing and scanning, anyway. It handled both of these functions as expected. Until the first time it ran out of black ink.
In the past, I have owned color printers which offered a feature that allowed you to continue printing black and white documents in a sort of brown shade created by combining the color ink when the black ink ran out. The Epson XP-300 does not offer this option. When the black ink runs dry, you can’t print. I found this to be an annoyance, and certainly a disappointment, but I didn’t feel the need to replace the printer because of it. I found a workaround, printed in blue.
I replaced the black ink cartridge maybe a week later. I bought a two–pack of new Epson 200XL cartridges in black. The first new cartridge did not work. I did all the troubleshooting, nothing. The printer was functioning, but no black ink was flowing. So I tried the second new cartridge. Also a dud. At this point I was certain I had to be doing something wrong, because what were the chances of two cartridges being dry? I called support, did all the troubleshooting again. Nope. So, I went back to the store, bought a third 200XL cartridge, returned home, inserted it, and EUREKA! I had black ink again! However, somehow in all the troubleshooting I screwed up something on the printer, and my printer was suddenly producing a fuzzy “line” every few lines of print. I have to this day been unable to correct it, and it has ruined my ability to print photos. Oh well, I could print documents again, and that was the important thing. Although, I had certainly spent a lot of money to have the option to print photos.
Today, July 30th, 2015 I needed to print a job application which must be signed by hand. So, I attempted to print the black and white document. I knew that I had been running low on both the magenta and cyan ink levels for a while, but today I simply wanted to print in black, which I still have plenty of. I downloaded the document, I selected to print it, hit print… And I received a notification that I needed to replace an ink cartridge. Magenta finally ran out. A helpful little “Would you like to reorder now?” option popped up from Epson, and I asked it to remind me later. I then proceeded to search for an option to print in black only. I selected black and grayscale from the printer options menu, hit print again, and was again notified that I needed to replace the empty MAGENTA ink cartridge. So I searched again for a workaround, as every printer I have ever used in the history of color printing has allowed the option to print only in black if a color cartridge ran dry, but there was no workaround. Nothing. I mentioned before that I was once able to print in blue when the black ran out, but that work around no longer worked, either. I am guessing Epson discovered this little cheat, and one of the numerous updates Epson has pushed took care of it.
I am not currently in a financial position to replace ink cartridges, I do not even have the gas to spare to drive into town to print at the library. So, I called Epson technical support. My call, even though it was dialed to a U.S. number (562-276-4382) was routed to the Philippines. I spoke with a technician who insisted on repeating that Epson printers will not print if any of the four cartridges run dry until I asked to be transferred to a supervisor. The supervisor also insisted on repeating this useless bit of information until I asked to speak with someone capable of listening to and understanding what I was saying – which was, in a nutshell, this: I understand that this printer is not going to print until I replace the cartridge, however nowhere in any of the reading material that came with the printer was it described that this would be an issue. If it had been, I would not have purchased this printer as I expect that a printer should be able to complete its most basic function – print a black and white document – so long as black ink is available, and I would have instead went with a product that would meet that expectation. So now I have a printer that will not do what I had every reason to expect it would do, and I do not want it anymore. I spent my money that I earned on this product and I have a right to satisfaction. How will Epson make this right?
The supervisor transferred me to a customer support specialist, who happened to actually be located in the states, and he reiterated the product’s shortcomings, and apologized that I was dissatisfied. He claims he has filed a report detailing my complaints, and offered me a discount should I choose to order the ink cartridges from Epson. I explained, again, that I have NO MEANS OF PURCHASING REPLACMENT CARTRIDGES, I explained again that the printer’s inability to actually print makes it useless to me and that I would not have purchased it had I known that it would not print in black when a color cartridge ran out. I also explained the issues that resulted from my first experience replacing ink cartridges, and his response was this – Epson’s website has an FAQ section that explains this bizarre printer feature. Not the product description, the FAQ section. As in Frequently Asked Questions. As in, customers who bought this product had to ask, frequently, why the printer would not print, because they expected that it should and there was no explanation of this feature in the product manual.
I will not be able to recoup my financial loss purchasing this useless item. I can, however, make sure that anyone who takes a moment to research Epson products before making a purchase is made aware of this “feature.” I will not purchase Epson again.
Epson America, Inc. Reviews
I have previously purchased multiple EPSON products, but will NEVER buy another...and will share my recent negative experience with as many people as I can, giving them information they can weigh in their future purchasing considerations...
I have a 9-month old ET-4850 printer that a senior technician from EPSON diagnosed (over the phone) as having an hardware failure related to the ADF (Automatic Document Feeder).This should have been eligible for advance exchange (swap) with a new/replacement printer BUT... Since I use "ink" not manufactured by EPSON, "ALL" warranty is voided...not just ink-related failures, but image capture failures, mechanical failures, etc.
And, the warranty and/or operations manual states something to the effect that by using the EPSON product, you waive the right to take EPSON to court and instead agree to Arbitration. But, since they have that carefully worded disclaimer about third-party ink, an arbitrator would likely have no choice but to side with EPSON whereas a judge in a court of law could have more discretion since things such as a gear, a roller, an imaging lens/camera, etc. are not reasonably linked to "ink", they could potentially enforce product warranty coverage or liability.
So, I have a printer that retailed in an office products store for $499 that lasted only 9 months and EPSON has rejected any warranty coverage and is washing their hands of it.
To avoid any interpretation of slander, libel, or defamation of (corporate) character, I have been careful to do nothing here but simply recap my experience...and place it for public viewing/consumption.
Extremely unimpressed...and will NEVER buy another EPSON product.
I purchased my Epson xp1700 printer in October of 2019, and it has been working very well. I have seen many comments online by people who say never to upload their firmware update because they say they hide in it this incapacity to print without Epson brand cartridges. I just made the mistake of uploading it, and now my still pretty new printer is locked and won’t work unless I purchase the very expensive Epson cartridges.
I don’t believe Epson’s claim that other cartridges are harmful as I have always used the other brands with excellent results. I know when I purchased this printer in October 2019, the description said the printer is designed to work best with Epson cartridges, but it worked from the beginning fine with other ones. Now I have a useless printer unless I purchase their cartridges.
I feel very ripped off by Epson. Isn't this method of coercion to use only their brand of ink actually against the law? I have read that there are class action law suits against Epson for this. I would love to join one.
After an older Epson printer clogged, got a new one, which clogged before the original ink expired. I had bought new ink, though, b/c I was running low. Called Epson 4x and ran tests they asked me to run. During one of them my black ink ran out and an EPSON tech person told me to insert a new one. Problem not resolved so I returned the printer to Staples where I had purchased it, which kindly gave me credit.
I bought a different printer as I could not be w/o one in time it would take Epson to send a new one (Approx. 2-3 weeks). Plus, why would I want a product that failed twice?
Epson refuses to reimburse me for $60 worth of ink b/c I opened the package--at their behest! Customer service unhelpful, rude & have no TTY service for the hearing impaired. They had me open $60 worth of ink to prove that their product was defective and refuse to reimburse. Horrible experience & I can't imagine how they stay in business w/ such casual disregard for customers. Any retailer would have credited me in a flash. Not Epson.
I don't care how cheap their products appear, don't buy one or you'll regret it. I don't mind the money nearly as much as I am furious that such shabby business practices take place. Want the kicker? Epson said if I return the unopened ink they'd give me a $25 gift card for the Epson Store.
I should add that the Epson tech center--located in India--wanted me to give them my credit card # over the phone and they'd send me a new printer. Umm... no! They did not have a secure line and could not provide me with a secure site. Again, though, why would I want still a third Epson printer after two prior failures? (Epson ink used in printers.)
Epson is a joke, from their printers to the customer service. I will never spend another penny on any Epson product. BUYER BEWARE, they do not stand behind their printers and will try and make you feel like you did something wrong if there is any issues. I had 2 - XP410. I purchased one for my mother and I have one, both have the exact same problem. I wont be wasting anymore time on this. I wish I read the reviews before I purchased.
I wnated to tell the world there is nothing behid the best marketing and how i struggle with epson printer xp432, after 8 pport, its a days of pain, i took the printer and I broke it, i could not anymore. full of bugs, no support, it has been worst than a nightmare. i was robbed and alienated. epson I wish you the wrost in your life.
My mother purchased an EPSON printer for my daughter for Christmas. The printer malfunctions and uses much more ink than advertised (that may be why they sell it dirt cheap, to force you to spend money on ink),
Here is Epsons response:
1) There has been no breach of warranty regarding the printer you described or any basis for an ongoing dispute between you and Epson. Epson has a liberal policy of attempting to resolve customer dissatisfaction. Epson's Customer Service Dept. responded to your complaints about the printer with two potential offers in the interests of resolving your dissatisfaction. First, Epson offered to replace the printer that you claim has been defective with a replacement printer and extra set of ink cartridges. Second, Epson made an alternative offer to reimburse the entire purchase price of $49.99 and any related costs. (I must note that the proof of purchase you submitted showed purchase by another person so Epson would have to confirm your current ownership.)
2) You have not expended $200 for any arbitration costs so you have no basis for claiming that amount. Even if you file an arbitration, each party to an arbitration generally bears its own costs.
3) Epson and similar companies cannot respond to threats of legal proceedings with cash payments because there would soon be a long line people seeking similar rewards for not filing frivolous actions.
The Epson customer service representative you spoke to reports that you said you are dissatisfied with the printer for various reasons, including that it did not print "as much as advertised." I do not believe you can point to any false claims about printer performance. Like all other inkjet manufacturers, Epson carefully bases cartridge yield representations only in accordance with the ISO standards for color inkjet printers that specify uniform conditions and patterns for ink cartridge yield testing. You can further review the ISO methodology on Epson's website.
Please consider that any legal proceedings are likely to be costly and time consuming for both parties and very unlikely to provide a better resolution than Epson's refund offer.
Epson intends its printers to be quite competitive in both performance and costs, but there are many other brands of ink jet and laser printers you can consider if you are still dissatisfied.
I own an Epson XP-300 All-In-One printer. I purchased this printer a couple years ago, and while not overly impressed with the image quality it produced, I was satisfied it was fair for the price. I mainly needed it for document printing and scanning, anyway. It handled both of these functions as expected. Until the first time it ran out of black ink.
In the past, I have owned color printers which offered a feature that allowed you to continue printing black and white documents in a sort of brown shade created by combining the color ink when the black ink ran out. The Epson XP-300 does not offer this option. When the black ink runs dry, you can’t print. I found this to be an annoyance, and certainly a disappointment, but I didn’t feel the need to replace the printer because of it. I found a workaround, printed in blue.
I replaced the black ink cartridge maybe a week later. I bought a two–pack of new Epson 200XL cartridges in black. The first new cartridge did not work. I did all the troubleshooting, nothing. The printer was functioning, but no black ink was flowing. So I tried the second new cartridge. Also a dud. At this point I was certain I had to be doing something wrong, because what were the chances of two cartridges being dry? I called support, did all the troubleshooting again. Nope. So, I went back to the store, bought a third 200XL cartridge, returned home, inserted it, and EUREKA! I had black ink again! However, somehow in all the troubleshooting I screwed up something on the printer, and my printer was suddenly producing a fuzzy “line” every few lines of print. I have to this day been unable to correct it, and it has ruined my ability to print photos. Oh well, I could print documents again, and that was the important thing. Although, I had certainly spent a lot of money to have the option to print photos.
Today, July 30th, 2015 I needed to print a job application which must be signed by hand. So, I attempted to print the black and white document. I knew that I had been running low on both the magenta and cyan ink levels for a while, but today I simply wanted to print in black, which I still have plenty of. I downloaded the document, I selected to print it, hit print… And I received a notification that I needed to replace an ink cartridge. Magenta finally ran out. A helpful little “Would you like to reorder now?” option popped up from Epson, and I asked it to remind me later. I then proceeded to search for an option to print in black only. I selected black and grayscale from the printer options menu, hit print again, and was again notified that I needed to replace the empty MAGENTA ink cartridge. So I searched again for a workaround, as every printer I have ever used in the history of color printing has allowed the option to print only in black if a color cartridge ran dry, but there was no workaround. Nothing. I mentioned before that I was once able to print in blue when the black ran out, but that work around no longer worked, either. I am guessing Epson discovered this little cheat, and one of the numerous updates Epson has pushed took care of it.
I am not currently in a financial position to replace ink cartridges, I do not even have the gas to spare to drive into town to print at the library. So, I called Epson technical support. My call, even though it was dialed to a U.S. number (562-276-4382) was routed to the Philippines. I spoke with a technician who insisted on repeating that Epson printers will not print if any of the four cartridges run dry until I asked to be transferred to a supervisor. The supervisor also insisted on repeating this useless bit of information until I asked to speak with someone capable of listening to and understanding what I was saying – which was, in a nutshell, this: I understand that this printer is not going to print until I replace the cartridge, however nowhere in any of the reading material that came with the printer was it described that this would be an issue. If it had been, I would not have purchased this printer as I expect that a printer should be able to complete its most basic function – print a black and white document – so long as black ink is available, and I would have instead went with a product that would meet that expectation. So now I have a printer that will not do what I had every reason to expect it would do, and I do not want it anymore. I spent my money that I earned on this product and I have a right to satisfaction. How will Epson make this right?
The supervisor transferred me to a customer support specialist, who happened to actually be located in the states, and he reiterated the product’s shortcomings, and apologized that I was dissatisfied. He claims he has filed a report detailing my complaints, and offered me a discount should I choose to order the ink cartridges from Epson. I explained, again, that I have NO MEANS OF PURCHASING REPLACMENT CARTRIDGES, I explained again that the printer’s inability to actually print makes it useless to me and that I would not have purchased it had I known that it would not print in black when a color cartridge ran out. I also explained the issues that resulted from my first experience replacing ink cartridges, and his response was this – Epson’s website has an FAQ section that explains this bizarre printer feature. Not the product description, the FAQ section. As in Frequently Asked Questions. As in, customers who bought this product had to ask, frequently, why the printer would not print, because they expected that it should and there was no explanation of this feature in the product manual.
I will not be able to recoup my financial loss purchasing this useless item. I can, however, make sure that anyone who takes a moment to research Epson products before making a purchase is made aware of this “feature.” I will not purchase Epson again.