Is a used compact printer actually worth it?

It feels like we’re constantly needing to print something random at home—stuff like a Black Friday coupon or a hotel reservation. It happens at least once a month, which usually leads to a frantic trip to a local print shop where they charge me $1-$0.67 just to run a single page off a USB drive.
I want to end this cycle by picking up a small printer, though we don't have much space to spare. Given how little I'd actually use it, I've been thinking about grabbing something used. Is that a smart move? Or am I better off just buying a new one in the $300 - $133 range from brands like Canon, HP, or Xerox?

The requirements for this little thing are pretty basic: it needs to be compact, maybe have a scanner, and—this is the big one—the ink shouldn't clog up if it sits idle for a while. Ink costs matter too; I'd definitely prefer something that works well with third-party cartridges.

James Rogers53 said:Every few weeks, we find ourselves needing to print something totally trivial—like a Black Friday coupon or a hotel reservation. It happens at least once a month, and then it's a frantic run to the local FedEx Office just to pay 1-$$0.67 per page to print from a USB drive.
I want to end this cycle by picking up a small printer, though space is tight. Given how little we'd actually use it, I'm thinking about buying something used. Is that even a smart move? Or am I better off spending $300 - $133 on one of the newer models from Canon, HP, or Xerox?

The requirements for this little home setup are simple: it needs to be compact, ideally have a scanner, and the ink shouldn't clog up if it sits idle for a while. Ink cost is also a factor; I'd definitely prefer using third-party replacements.

Look for an Epson with refillable tanks. You can usually find them for around $400 - $167
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If you go the route of something similar but brand new, here’s how the math breaks down:

An HP ENVY 6055e or whatever == $200
Plus the extra ink bottles (4 * 100ml) == $100
But if you grab some third-party refills, you're looking at maybe $15 - $6.75 per 100ml == $667 for the same result.

Basically, for $167, you get what you would have paid for $867 brand new. The only catch is whether you'll ever actually finish those 100ml bottles. If you're using decent ink in a tank system, though, it's not really an issue.

If you’re only printing a few pages a month, just hit up a FedEx Office 😬 At that volume, you’ll end up spending more on ink just to keep the nozzles from clogging—which usually ends with you tossing the whole machine in the trash—than you actually will on useful prints. In the long run, any other option is just burning money compared to those few cents per page 🤷

Plus, at a print shop, you don't even have to lug around a thumb drive. You can just email them the files and swing by to pick them up whenever it fits your schedule...

Look for a cheap, compact printer with a scanner that runs on budget replacement cartridges that won't dry up and kill the unit... Not financial advice, but "it is what it is..." 😬