Is This Considered Reasonable Packaging When Shipping HDDs?

LLawagetas on 13/04/2022 - 20:03
Last edited 15/04/2022 - 15:41

UPDATE-
The retailer has agreed to exchange them for another set, with the replacements to be shipped in a protective sleeve.

I think this falls in line with what most commenters have mentioned: There is way too much space in the box and they HDDs are bouncing around hitting each other during shipping. I see this is a completely avoidable risk, and from a computer store I really do expect a lot better.

I've probably bought 40-50 HDDs in the last decade and have never been shipped drives this poorly packaged before.
I think a bunch of you guys are way too used to Amazon's packaging haha.

Thanks all for your comments and help!

ORIGINAL POST-

Hi all,

Looking to gauge people's opinions here.

Is this considered reasonable packaging for HDDs?

I bought 4 x WD Red Pro 16TB @ ~$2800 total.

This is how they were shipped to me. They bounced very freely around inside the box when I picked it up. The photo is deceptive but the box is actually a bit deeper.
https://i.imgur.com/YEbDIAx.jpeg

I’ll go into more detail and my experience so far if this ends up being big enough

Poll Options expired

  • 43
    Yes
  • 29
    No
  • 5
    Oh HELL NAW
Computing

Related Stores

Mwave Australia
Mwave Australia

Comments

  • Keplaffintech on 13/04/2022 - 20:07
    +1

    Are the hard drives undamaged? Do they work?

  • spackbace on 13/04/2022 - 20:11
    +17

    I bought 4 x WD Red Pro 16TB @ ~$2800 total.

    $700 for a 16TB?! That's the real crime here. Wow

    $447.16 Shipped = $1788.64 shipped for 4…

    • Lawagetas on 13/04/2022 - 20:15
      +2

      I already feel like crap, mate. Can you please stop making me feel more crap? haha

      • foxmulder on 13/04/2022 - 20:39
        +3

        The guide was every 1tb is $25. Ok I'll stop now :)

      • garetz on 13/04/2022 - 21:26
        +4

        That is the purpose of ozbargain to get the best possible price available. You feeling like crap is just a side benefit for your learning not to do it again.

        Out of all the hdds ive bought and got delivered in the last 20 years i have never seen such poor packaging.
        I would return them immediately for a full refund, any idiot knows that hard disks are very sensitive to being jostled, putting them in bubble wrap would do absolutely nothing to protect them.

        Not only are they hitting the container, they are hitting each other which is much worse.

        • Lawagetas on 13/04/2022 - 23:06

          Yes! I've have never see HDDs packaged so poorly either. It seems doubly worse given how much dearer they are.

          I contacted them the moment I opened the box over a week ago but they've been excruciatingly slow to respond. Depending on how they resolve I will likely share my experience here.

          I saw your other comment and you're right. They would be repeatedly hitting each other. Especially when the box is rotated, or dropped onto a conveyor belt, or loaded off a truck.

          • garetz on 13/04/2022 - 23:20
            +1

            @Lawagetas: Ive only had one warranty return experience with mwave, it took 6 weeks to get a refund for a $95 item.

            I would insist on returning the disks and getting a full refund, you can never trust data on those disks, it might work for a few weeks or even a few months, but they are eventually going to fail sooner rather than later.

            • Indomietable on 14/04/2022 - 18:42

              @garetz:

              I would insist on returning the disks

              Nah, dont bother. Disk will fail even if you treat 'em like a pregnant princess.

              you can never trust data on those disks

              You can never trust data on any disk - disk failure is simply inevitable.

              it might work for a few weeks or even a few months they are eventually going to fail sooner rather than later.

              Yessss!!!!

              If you insist on returning the disk now you will have hard time getting refund. You are just wasting your time.

              Just use the disk and I think you are in better position to PLAN since you know the disk will fail one day.

              • garetz on 14/04/2022 - 19:17
                +1

                @Indomietable: All disks fail, its just a matter of time, the problem here is the culpability of the store to make sure they are sent in a manner that you can expect them to arrive undamaged. Their lifespan should be on average the mtbf which for these disks is 5 years, that is why you pay a premium for these disks to begin with.

                It is the responsibility of the store to make sure any item sent is packaged correctly, and by correctly i would follow the Seagate or western digital RMA packaging requirements.

                https://www.westerndigital.com/en-au/support/store/packaging…

                For bare hard disk drives, enclose in an anti-static electrostatic discharge (ESD) bag. (Excludes External Hard Disk Drives)
                Use 2 inch thick foam cushioning to secure the product on all sides during the shipment. When shipping more than one product, ensure that the products do not touch and are >cushioned individually
                DO NOT use foam peanuts, cloth, paper or newspaper or padded envelopes

                • Indomietable on 14/04/2022 - 20:37

                  @garetz: The link provided is on how to return damaged item to claim warranty, it does not say anything about how item should be shipped.

                  The seller has the right to reject your warranty claim if no defective goods found

                  • garetz on 14/04/2022 - 20:40
                    +1

                    @Indomietable: If that kind of care is taken for an item being returned for a replacement, then what kind of care should be taken for a brand new working item.

                    Your objection makes 0 sense. It sais Packaging for All Products towards the bottom of page.

                    You want a brand new item to be received in pristine condition, the least being the kind of packaging i would want the same as for an rma.

                    • Indomietable on 14/04/2022 - 22:52

                      @garetz: Manufacturers want to dismiss your warranty claim as cheap as possible.

                      They can void warranty claims easily if certain procedures not being followed.

                      The same reason manufacturers won't accept return if the drive is functioning.

                      Manufacturers could attach shock indicators if they really care about how their item get shipped but they don't. They know items get tossed around and they are OK with it.

  • Untameable on 13/04/2022 - 20:20
    +2

    What company sold it?

    • Lawagetas on 13/04/2022 - 20:22
      +1

      Mwave in Sydney

  • MS Paint on 13/04/2022 - 20:25
    +1

    Perfect if it was Amazon

    Fail for anyone else.

    • Lawagetas on 13/04/2022 - 20:45

      Not Amazon :(

  • scrimshaw on 13/04/2022 - 20:27
    +5

    The heads are parked when it's off, so it should be fine. Hard drives have a 200G tolerance when powered off. And No that packaging method is incorrect, the box is too large so the contents of the box will move around when it's shaken. Ideally you should not be able to feel the contents moving around when the box is shaken.

    If they work when powered then it's fine, the moment you hear something off though then you have issues.

    I've actually seen worse from Amazon US. https://i.imgur.com/AaSKOcq.jpg

    • foxmulder on 13/04/2022 - 20:29
      +1

      The seller does do good job in even bubble wrapped every single drives. If they reduce the box height and padding any spaces it will be perfect.

    • Lawagetas on 13/04/2022 - 20:45
      +1

      Cheers mate. that was my thought.
      That table is really good actually but I think it's just reinforced my concern. At 10cm drop, it's already above the 200G on foam.
      So in typical freight companies, it's probably tossed around a lot more (I was just thinking of that couriersplease guy filming himself inside the depot) and there's so much movement inside this box :(

    • garetz on 13/04/2022 - 21:29
      +2

      Those tolerance levels only apply when they are dropped onto a hard surface in a linear direction ie gravity, in transport they would be jostled continuously and hit each other, that figure is irrelevant in these circumstances.

      even if the figures were relevant, 12.7 mm is 1.27 cm is 387G force, i am assuming the granite number because the disks are made of stainless steel which i would assume is similar hardness, if 1 hard disk hits another at 1.27 cm, you double the force, which is 774G which is far greater than the 200Gs it is rated for, now imagine that happened over and over again throughout the transport period of 24-48 hours.

  • Lord Fart Bucket on 13/04/2022 - 20:52
    +1

    Bit too much bubble plastic. Bad for the environment.

  • theSav on 13/04/2022 - 21:13
    +3

    They need to be in anti-static bags, as well as bubble wrap etc. - bit hard to tell if that’s the case here?
    But yes, far too much dead space in that box.

    Run some drive check/stress utilities on each drive before using them, to check for failures. If ANYTHING isn’t perfect, I’d be sending them straight back.

    $700 for a 16TB NAS drive is off the chain though - that’s nearly double what you should/could be paying - I just paid $396 for my shucked drives… Search ozbargain for WD 16TB and you’ll see the deal.

  • ozbs25 on 13/04/2022 - 22:26

    I do see some anti-static bags but can't be sure. I think if the drives are still inside their anti-static bags inside the bubble wrap then they should be OK. There's a lot of bubble wrap there, some directly around the drives, the rest surrounding the lot of them. I would be testing them before using them even if they were packaged perfectly. 4 drives could take a while.

  • ShannonN on 14/04/2022 - 11:18
    +1

    poorly packaged in the sense they will slam about, if mwave had've taped all drives together after wrapping, into abundle it would be ok. Maybe the "storeman" needs some serious training.

    I would chase return an refund and even allow a 10 % restocking fee to save 40 % by then buying from cheaper source

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