If you're planning to sell unused cartridges, this is the distinction that decides whether you have something worth money or a box destined for recycling. It takes about ten seconds to check once you know what you're looking at.
What OEM Actually Means
OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer. An OEM cartridge is made by the company that made your printer — an HP cartridge in an HP box, a Brother cartridge in a Brother box. It carries that manufacturer's part number, packaging, and security features.
Everything else falls into two groups. Compatible cartridges are new units built by a third party to fit a given printer. Remanufactured cartridges are used OEM shells that have been cleaned and refilled. Both are legitimate products to print with. Neither has meaningful resale value.
How to Tell Them Apart
| Look at | Genuine OEM | Compatible or remanufactured |
|---|---|---|
| Brand on the box | The printer manufacturer's own logo | A brand you've never heard of, or none |
| Wording | Just the part number | "Compatible with", "replacement for", "fits" |
| Hologram | Security hologram that shifts when tilted | Usually absent |
| Part number | Matches the printer maker's format exactly | Often the OEM number with a suffix |
| Where you bought it | Office supplier, printer maker, authorised reseller | Marketplace listing, often several for one price |
The wording is the quickest tell. Manufacturers don't need to say their cartridge is compatible with their own printer, so a box that advertises compatibility is announcing it isn't OEM.
Not sure which you've got?
Send a photo of the box. We'll tell you what it is, no obligation either way.
Send a Photo →Why We Only Buy OEM
We're not making a quality judgement. Plenty of compatible cartridges print perfectly well. The issue is purely the secondary market: buyers of surplus cartridges want genuine ones, because that's the whole point of buying surplus rather than new-compatible. There isn't enough demand for used compatibles to cover what it costs to ship and handle them, so we'd be paying you to take something we can't move.
Remanufactured cartridges have an additional problem. Because they're built on used OEM shells, they can look convincingly like the real thing until you check the seal and hologram closely.
A Word on "OEM-Equivalent"
Some sellers use phrases like "OEM-equivalent", "OEM-compatible", or "genuine quality". These all mean compatible. If the box doesn't carry the printer manufacturer's own branding, it isn't OEM, regardless of the adjective in front of the word.
What If You Have Both?
Very common, especially after an office clear-out. Submit the whole lot. We'll sort it, price the OEM cartridges, and tell you plainly which ones we can't take — and we won't charge you for the sorting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Very little on the resale market. If they fit a printer you still own, using them yourself is the best value you'll get from them.
Tilt the box under a light. A real security hologram shifts colour or pattern as the angle changes. A printed imitation stays flat.
No. They're built on used OEM shells and have no resale market at a price that covers handling and shipping.
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