How is Seagate/samsungs RMA procedures?

[mcveigh]

I have a dying Samsung hd204ui I need to RMA.

Will Seagate ship a replacement drive first? I've been all over their site and forums and haven't seen a clear answer. As this was my HTPC drive I have tons of stuff recorded and ripped on it. I'd really like to not have to buy another drive first to save what I can

edit:
Well after much waiting on hold with Seagate. I found out that at present they will NOT ship Samsung drives first. Seagate drives they'll ship just fine. They apologized but said they were still getting them into the system, what ever that means.

 

[pederson_76]

Look at #7-ii

It looks like they can ship replacement drive 1st for a fee of $9.95
Also includes a prepaid shipping label to ship the defective drive back to them.

 

[Zap]

It looks like they can ship replacement drive 1st for a fee of $9.95
Also includes a prepaid shipping label to ship the defective drive back to them.

That actually might be worth it. You get an "approved" shipping container (HDD manufacturers can and will void warranty if they decide you didn't protect the drive enough) and return shipping. Probably will cost at least the same to ship the drive at your local UPS Store or FedEx/Kinkos.

 

[pederson_76]

That actually might be worth it. You get an "approved" shipping container (HDD manufacturers can and will void warranty if they decide you didn't protect the drive enough) and return shipping. Probably will cost at least the same to ship the drive at your local UPS Store or FedEx/Kinkos.

+1 on that, I think its worth it. You're really not paying much (if any) extra because of the free shipping back to them.

 

[mcveigh]

Look at #7-ii

It looks like they can ship replacement drive 1st for a fee of $9.95
Also includes a prepaid shipping label to ship the defective drive back to them.

thank you sir!

And yes if anyone hasn't RMA'd a drive before it's awesome when you can just reuse the shipping material and you know they can't complain about what you used.

BTW anyone remember the IBM 75GXP "deathstars"

 

[Zap]

BTW anyone remember the IBM 75GXP "deathstars"

:|

 

[pederson_76]

thank you sir!

And yes if anyone hasn't RMA'd a drive before it's awesome when you can just reuse the shipping material and you know they can't complain about what you used.

BTW anyone remember the IBM 75GXP "deathstars"

Hey no problem. happy to help

 

[mcveigh]

Well after much waiting on hold with Seagate. I found out that at present they will NOT ship Samsung drives first. Seagate drives they'll ship just fine. They apologized but said they were still getting them into the system, what ever that means.
Now the lady I spoke with could confirm they have my model drive in stock but no, they can't ship me one till I send my old drive back.

I'm really pissed about this. So to save my data, I have to spend $100-200 to get a drive big enough to save what I can. Then I'll have an extra drive when this is over with....

 

[corkyg]

...So to save my data, I have to spend $100-200 to get a drive big enough to save what I can. Then I'll have an extra drive when this is over with....

That's not all bad. You should always have a backup drive on hand.

 

[ctk1981]

Had three of the 60GXP deathstars....they all died a horrible death.

 

[Elixer]

That actually might be worth it. You get an "approved" shipping container (HDD manufacturers can and will void warranty if they decide you didn't protect the drive enough) and return shipping. Probably will cost at least the same to ship the drive at your local UPS Store or FedEx/Kinkos.

It is worth it, and it shows that they don't do the 2" foam packing like they used to do before. Now it is just a smallish box with the bookend type flimsy plastic things that suspend the drive in the middle of the box.

The odd part of doing RMAs is, that each time I have received the drive from them, and on the same day, sent back the drive, I always get a e-mail stating that they haven't received the drive yet, and if they don't get it in the next 7 days, they will charge the CC.

 

[zerogear]

Sorry to dig out this old topic, but do Seagate replace the Samsung drives with Seagate ones or Samsung models?

 

[mcveigh]

Sorry to dig out this old topic, but do Seagate replace the Samsung drives with Seagate ones or Samsung models?

I still haven't rma'd mine
I bought a drive on FSFT from someone who had a 2TB drive back from RMA.
in his case he sent them a seagate and they aent him a samsung drive...BUT it had a seagate label with a samsung part number.

I'm guessing they are interchanging them.

 

[zerogear]

Thanks, I guess I'll give it a try. Hopefully I get back a Samsung Drive.. I dislike Seagate drives lately

 

[Laminator]

I'm currently in the middle of an RMA.

I bought a 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 (HD103SJ) in last August and it started to fail a few months later (random restarts, failing S.M.A.R.T. checks, etc.). I decided to exercise the warranty yesterday night and filled out the order form for an RMA on Seagate's website. I was somewhat annoyed by what I thought were somewhat draconian packing instructions, however, so I did some searching on Google and found this thread where I learned about the "Advanced Replacement" feature mentioned by pederson_76. I found a customer support form somewhere on Seagate's technical support website and asked them if I could add that feature to my order even though I'd already submitted the RMA form.

This morning, I received a reply telling me that it would be possible and to call a toll-free support number. They informed me over the phone that Samsung RMA's are normally not eligible for Advanced Replacements but they would allow one in this case. They also waived the usual $9.95 fee (!) and told me that I would be getting the same model back, as they were in stock. Everything was done really quickly, despite one transfer.

TL;DR - Started to RMA Samsung HDD; asked Seagate on separate question form if Advanced Replacement would be okay, after the fact. Seagate grants it and waives $10 fee. Thanks a lot, Seagate!

Needless to say, I had a great customer service experience from Seagate. Note that your ("your" referring to anyone else who is RMA'ing a Samsung drive) experience may be different, though, as Advanced Replacements on Samsung drives are apparently not a standard option.

Regarding shipping - their instructions regarding how to package your drive are here:

http://www.seagate.com/support/service/pdf/pack.pdf

I do have anti-static bags and plastic "SeaShell"/clamshell cases but I don't have cardboard boxes lined with molded 2" foam nor thermoformed plastic endcaps. It looks like some other users (http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1687443) have been able to get away with the antistatic-bag/bubble-wrap/USPS-box combination, but I didn't want to take that risk. I feel like the advanced return option is a no-brainer for those RMA'ing Seagate drives as $10 isn't much more than just the cost of shipping a drive back to Seagate, anyway.