Bought a unused toner cartridge that appears to be REALLY old, should I send it back?

Bought a unused toner cartridge that appears to be REALLY old, should I send it back?

Last week I took a gamble and ordered a pair of toners for my Color Laserjet from an online company that I had never heard of before, Adorama Camera, because the prices were good for genuine HP toners and I was looking to save some cash.

The toners arrived today and both toner boxes look really old and beat to hell. Each toner box is in the older artwork style that HP was using on their toner boxes like four years ago. One toner box had been opened and retaped back together, so this is the box I decided to open. Inside of the box the toner is still sealed in the plastic bag, and the plastic strip is still connected, I don't believe the toner has been used but I am concerned about the age.

I've had ink cartridges dry up and lose their usefulness after sitting on the shelf for a couple of years, do laser toner cartridges do the same thing?

Thanks in advance.

No they don't. Toner is fine powder so it should be just fine. I store spare imaging drums and carts for my old QMS colorlaser for a year+ and they're fine. Just shake them side to side prior to install to re-distribute the toner and all should be fine.

A few years ago I had an HP Laserjet II, from the late '80s, and when I got it it came with a spare toner cartridge of similar vintage... worked fine, ran many pages through it without any problems, even though it was over 10 years old at that point.

As long as the box was unopened, there's no reason it shouldn't work as well as any other new cartridge.

they should have an expiration date on them i beleive.

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