The reason this is so cheap is because it is a last years model. It is still 'current' but it was released last year. Very good printer, but not really photo quality at all. All of sony's dye-subs print at 403dpi...which is reallllllly low. That makes their max output 3.8 megapixels at the largest print size of 4x6". It even says so on the box of the unit. I sold quite a few of these, it prints out the CYMG pictures from a ribbon onto the special paper, and then laminates it with either a glossy or textured finish (not quite matte). It is VERY impressive for the price, however keep in mind it will downsample any pictures larger than 3.8 megapixels. I print from the EX-55 every day, which has identical output as this unit, which i used to print from last year as well. Lots of pixelization, however 99% of people won't care. If you hold it up to a real 4x6, you can tell that the quality is worse, remember 403 dpi isnt all that great. The way it melts the ink to the paper makes it kinda blur a bit, which results in a smoother picture, which is kinda cool, but if i print from any of my cameras (Olympus C-5050, Canon EOS-10D) it will result in jaggies that don't occur when i print from my canon i950. Also, you can only print 4x6. One of the biggest advantages of these dye-sub printers is that the final coat after the CYMG is the clearcoat laminate, which results in the ink never smearing, and lasting ~100 years. If you want simple, 90 second 4x6 or wallet photos that will last a life time, this is the printer for you. Best Buy sells the cartridges/paper for for 16.99 off the shelf. If you want 5x7, 8x10, photo-realistic photos, go with a photo ink-jet from Epson, HP, or Canon. My preference is the old S900 or i950, but to each their own.
For 99$ ar this is certainly a steal, considering the EX-55 costs 199$ now, and the SV55 used to cost about $400 a year ago.