Buying Hard Drives Online - Reliability?

Lkhell on 26/09/2017 - 00:09
Last edited 26/09/2017 - 00:10

As part of the eBay 18% off sitewide sale I bought a WD Red 4TB drive from this mob and it was DoA. I am hardly surprised as it was wrapped in bubble wrap, then placed in a larger box with no cushioning, allowing it to roll from side-to-side and absorb a lot of vibrations/impacts in transit. I'm pretty sure that's what killed it.

I'm hesitant to buy another drive online now - how good are other sellers' packaging? Obviously I won't be able to score another 4TB WD Red for $169, but with Futu Online I can still get one for $188 before Cashrewards. Is it worth the hassle of potentially another DoA claim? Should I just stop by MSY and pick one up for $199 on the way to work tomorrow? What are your experiences regarding reliability for hard drives purchased online?

Poll Options

  • 12
    Buy from MSY for $199
  • 0
    Risk it with Futu Online for $188
Computing

Comments

  • garetz on 26/09/2017 - 00:29
    +1

    Buying a hard drive through the mail is always a risk, it can be packaged amazingly well, and still die due to transport drops.

  • Diji1 on 26/09/2017 - 01:39

    Why not just get a new one from teh original seller? They have a high rating and transaction scores, look reputable enough to do a return.

    • khell on 26/09/2017 - 01:52

      I don't want a repeat of their bad packaging, so I'm asking for a refund.

      • scrimshaw on 26/09/2017 - 10:53
        +1

        Futu_online has always had good packaging. I have bought HDD's and misc parts from them and they don't skimp on the airbags and cushioning.

        Though, no amount of cushioning will save a HDD from being roughly handled by a clumsy deliveryman.

  • nickxau on 26/09/2017 - 08:11

    Dodgy practices aside, I ordered the exact same drive online from another retailer and it came in a big brown padded envelope stuffed in a box.

    All HDDs come from overseas so they are all subjected to some form of mistreatment. Your drive might've been DOA from the factory and even the seller doesn't know?

    You have two more options:

    1 - now would be a good time to test the seller's after sales service. If you haven't left them any feedback yet, even better as you'll now have a bargaining chip ;)

    2 - get it RMAed with WD directly

    Let us know how you go…

    • khell on 27/09/2017 - 15:14

      Yeah, it may very well have already been dead, but I think their dodgy packaging is worth shaming. I'm on the side of DoA should be up to the retailer to replace, not wasting time with the manufacturer RMA, so I'm asking for a refund. So far my eBay dispute has been unanswered for 2 days, so their responsiveness is already looking pretty shoddy.

    • khell on 04/10/2017 - 02:27

      Following up on this - DO NOT buy from this seller. I opened a dispute on the day of receipt for DoA on eBay requesting a return and a refund, and this dodgy seller has completely ignored the request. I was finally able to escalate it to eBay after they exceeded the acceptable time limit for not responding.

      • khell on 13/10/2017 - 12:04

        Refund finally came through. eBay paid for return postage (they sent me a postage label), it was delivered to the seller and I had to call them to rule in my favour as it had been 2 days and the seller never manually acknowledged the item had been received by them.

        Seller contacted me and apologised for "missing" the dispute after I escalated it to eBay. I'll take that as a grain of salt but mentioning it here in all fairness. :)

  • myusername on 26/09/2017 - 09:42
    +2

    years ago i worked at australian air express out at the airport.

    i was so amazed at how roughly treated the mail packages were.

    just being thrown around the area dropped on the floor knocked off shelves.

    i once found a toyota windscreen in it's box absolutely shattered, showed it to the foreman and he told me to put it on a truck and that it wasn't damaged when it was here.

    for expensive electronic items i would purchases locally honeslty

    • khell on 27/09/2017 - 15:16

      Yeah, I've heard about that and it doesn't surprise me. I think hard drives excepted, buying most components online is fine (because they don't have any fragile moving parts), but hard drives best to buy with PayPal so you can be covered for at least $45 return shipping if there's anything wrong - like this case.

  • SPCTRE on 26/09/2017 - 12:33
    +1

    I wouldn't buy at MSY because their after sale service is complete crap.
    Will have resistant from them for refunds and warranty work.
    They didn't get in trouble with ACCC twice for the same reason for nothing.
    I would say go to centrecom instead and they will to price match MSY.
    At least with them they have a better after sale service and a lot more helpful.

    • khell on 27/09/2017 - 15:19

      Too late, already bought from them aha. I didn't know about the Centrecom price match… would've been useful when I went there because MSY was closed a few months ago. Thanks for the advice!

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