Products:* Cartridge World remanufactured HP 60 black cartridge: $12.99 at a store, $15.32 online* Cartridge World remanufactured HP 60 tricolor cartridge: $15.99 at a store, $18.55 onlineVendor URL: Worth trying? YesHassle factor: LowPrint quality compared with OEM ink: Satisfactory, but not as good as OEMYield (mixed set of samples): 156 pagesCost per page: 19 cents (OEM: 27 cents)

I drove to my nearest Cartridge World store to buy two remanufactured HP 60 ink cartridges for my Photosmart e-All-in-One printer. I paid $12.99 for the black ink cartridge (model number CWH-60K) and $15.99 for the tricolor unit (CWH-60Tri). The sales clerk tried to upsell me to the high-capacity cartridges, which, she said, "cost twice as much but print three times as many pages" as the standard tanks. I declined. Total cost excluding sales tax: $28.98.

When I got home, I compared Cartridge World's brick-and-mortar prices with those on its Website. Weird: The online prices were significantly higher than what I paid. The black cartridge was $15.32, and the tricolor was $18.55. Add $1.99 for shipping, and that comes to $35.86.

Why the discrepancy? According to Sharon Kinkade, director of marketing for Cartridge World North America, store franchisees can set their own pricing. So you may pay more or less at a Cartridge World in your area than I did at mine in Los Angeles, and your store's price may be lower--or higher--than the price you'll find on the Web. If you ever needed a compelling reason to shop around, here it is.