Hello Selfhosted - I’m writing to y’all asking for recommendations for a retailer that will properly pack spinning platter HDDs for shipping. These devices are sensitive to impacts, and since I’m intending to use them for critical data archiving, they need to be packed with appropriate padding! Newegg is apparently incapable of understanding this.
In particular I am looking for WD Red Plus drives, 2x of them, 10TB apiece.
To name and shame Newegg, I have now gotten two shipments of these from them, around $400 each time, and they have botched the packaging so badly on both that I would never accept and trust these drives. The first RMA I requested included notes about exactly how their packing failed, and about how these devices need to be treated better, which were entirely disregarded when they packed the second round.
Who can I buy from that will take their clients’ purchases seriously?!
No I don’t think I will, I think I’ll blame the shoddy packing which is very unlikely to successfully protect the goods, due to the well-known challenges of shipping products and especially delicate products that you’re describing, and which indeed did fail 2x in a row to protect said goods, but you do you!
I owned my own tech firm for 10 years or so. I setup any number of backup solutions with enterprise level HDDs. I’ve seen HDDs packaged impeccably. I’ve seen them come in a cardboard box with absolutely no protection and it’s an absolute crap shoot no matter what. As a matter of fact, there’s a HDD connected to a NAS attached to the computer I’m typing this out on that’s been working for over 8 years non-stop and it was one that just came direct in a cardboard box. Didn’t have a lick of paper or bubble-warp in it.
I’m not telling you not to be critical of retailers who don’t properly protect the things you buy. I’m telling you to measure your response because at the end of the day they’re incredibly fragile no matter how they’re packaged. Properly packaging doesn’t mean you’re going to get a 100% success rate. If you’re that worried about it, then find a local retailer and don’t buy them online.
Okay that is truly a useful perspective and I appreciate it. I don’t understand why asking a community dedicated to passionate enthusiasts for retailers they specifically like should be contentious, it seems like precisely the point of these communities. I will keep your perspective in mind, but I don’t intend to just accept whatever even a plurality of retailers think I should be willing to accept. I’m going to hunt down ones I like giving my business to, especially in this day and age, and I think we’d all be better off if we each did the same.
I’m not saying its contentious. I’m saying if you’re gonna be mad, be mad at the right people. And in this specific case, the retailer is probably not the only issue, so switching to another retailer really won’t help you.
I might sound like a dick, but I’m trying to help you out–telling you that even if you switch retailers, if whomever is delivering your mail is a dick, you’re not going to experience a better situation.
I’ve been through a tremendous number of hard drives over my career. I shudder to think how many.
Thanks for your input.