Your cartridge numbers and prices don't match up. If you've got an HL-2040, the list price of the TN-350 is around $85 with a street price of $50 or less. Are you sure you're not talking about the drum unit? For a compatible refill, I wouldn't pay more than $35.
We moved to Brother printers a while back for all our cheap mono printing, and they've turned out to be unbreakable and supremely refillable (but the inkjets are utter dogs).