I bought the 5 pack combo set about a year ago in May 2008. The individual cartridge packaging was quite dusty, so the cartridges must have been in a warehouse/storage for quite some time. Out of the 5 cartridges, only 2 were valid. The other 3 cartridges were dried up and a complete waste. I kept the cartridges in their original packaging until I needed them, so they weren't out in the open. I guess that since two were usable, I got my money's worth. It was still quite a disappointment.