help needed on Brother MFC-290C

Got a Brother MFC-290C running off of Win XP.

No matter what I do, I can't get it printing worth a hoot. Printing is so
fine it's illegible on the paper.

What I did was increase the brightness, and tone. No soap. I also used
inkjet paper. No soap.

I did order black, blue, yellow, and red containers off Ebay.

Is Ebay ink that bad for printers? Or, do I have something else simple I'm
overlooking?

I'd sure like for it to be something simple I'm missing. Please advise