Is open box OK from NewEgg?

[Felecha]

I'm looking at this page for a 100GB Seagate notebook drive. I noticed that the cheapest is specified as

** This item is an open box item, and bears a limited 15-day return policy through Newegg.com

I suppose this means someone bought and returned it, so it's opened, but .... Newegg is willing to sell it ... ?? they seem to be a very good outfit, so it this just a very small risk and they will cover you if you find a problem real early? It's the same model as the one that is $20 more

Anyone do open box buys and have feedback?

 

[Auric]

Price comparison to the rescue... other mongers have it new for $10 less (shipped) in which case the potential savings on the open box unit is only $10. I have purchased open box viddy cards from them before sans issue but I would be more wary of a HDD due to the relative fragility. All that extra handling and futzing by god knows who plus shipping to 'n' fro could only hurt.

 

[cubby1223]

Seagate drives have a 5 year warranty.

I buy refurb hard drives from Newegg all the time. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, RMA gets me a new drive.

 

[Felecha]

thanks

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
Seagate drives have a 5 year warranty.

I buy refurb hard drives from Newegg all the time. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, RMA gets me a new drive.

Actually no, a warranty claim would get you a refurb except perchance in the rare event that one was not available. In any case, the shipping would cost you the same as the potential savings on the open box. Not worth it in my opine but hey whatever flizoats yer bizoat.

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: Auric

Originally posted by: cubby1223
Seagate drives have a 5 year warranty.

I buy refurb hard drives from Newegg all the time. If it works, it works. If it doesn't, RMA gets me a new drive.

Actually no, a warranty claim would get you a refurb except perchance in the rare event that one was not available. In any case, the shipping would cost you the same as the potential savings on the open box. Not worth it in my opine but hey whatever flizoats yer bizoat.

The replacement drive is new to me, and it works. Maybe it's not worth it to you, because you're under the impression that you'll be receiving a bad drive from Newegg. So I'll let you think that way - it's a better chance for me to get a great deal!

 

[Felecha]

Auric - that's one of my favorite lines, I've actually tried to use it as an example to my kids. Very powerful moment.

All -- thanks

 

[Okasa]

i agree, i mean you have 2 main scenarios by buying refurb on newegg:

1) arrives doa or dies soon thereafter - you pay shipping equal to or slightly less than the refurb % price drop. so you either save a little money or no equal and have a slight wait on shipping for an andanced rma.

2) arrives and is a fine drive - you save $$ on the new drive - woo

so basically you will either come out even on price or save a little money. wait, wheres option 3 where you have the possibility of loosing money?

3) someone steals ur credit card info when you do the rma - and you cry wondering why o why you bought that refurb....WHY!!!!?

 

[Auric]

Understand I am not trying to convince but just playing devil's advocate. I cannot imagine many cases where the need for added and reliable storage was ambivalent. A HDD is unique amongst other components because it stores all your data (duh) so is rather a hassle if it goes teats up. Thus if there is any chance of reliability being compromised, 'taint worth it but if $10 can certainly be saved (as opposed to a gamble) then sure. I suppose you've got to ask yourself a question: "Do I feel lucky?". Well do ya, punk?

Felecha, I don't quite follow you and am afeared I have been used as a "bad example" to your impressionable children!

 

[Felecha]

Auric -- the line from Thomas More, the quote at the bottom, "A Man For All Seasons"


meaning, be ready to at least consider that your view may not be right. I have kids that were born with a level of self-certainty that astonished me when they were young.

Along with Thoreau - "Two honest men may disagree."

 

[Auric]

Ah, so. Historically (as opposed to fictionally), the line is from a letter by Cromwell. That's a good Thoreau quote. Good luck whipping those kids into shape

 

[Budarow]

$10 savings would not be worth the risk of paying return shipping cost if DOA. IMO.

 

[cubby1223]

See, all of you are basis your opinions on the assumption that the open box drive will arrive doa. I have bought around 15 refurbished / open box drives from Newegg over the past two years and haven't had a problem with a single one. On the other hand, I have had to rma two drives that I bought new from Newegg, one was a Maxtor that went belly-up after a year, and the other a Seagate that was flakey from the start. In both those cases, I paid the extra money for new *and* paid the extra money for return shipping.

Your chances of receiving a bad hard drive from Newegg are no different between buying new versus buying refurbished. Other components do have a higher failure rate when buying refurbished, example video cards, memory, and optical drives. But not hard drives. I'm speaking from personal experience here, not just opinion.

 

[Auric]

Counterpoint: I would rather have it DOA than die sometime later while in use! The bizottom lizine is that an increase in uncertaintly does exist, however minute. Okay that wasn't really the bottom line 'cause I'm still rambling on here... maybe it's just me (doubt it) but there is always that "sword o' Damocles" hanging over one's head due to potential failure of a HDD and even with regular backups chances are some data will be lost at best and at worst it could require substantial time and effort to deal with.

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: Auric
Counterpoint: I would rather have it DOA than die sometime later while in use! The bizottom lizine is that an increase in uncertaintly does exist, however minute. Okay that wasn't really the bottom line 'cause I'm still rambling on here... maybe it's just me (doubt it) but there is always that "sword o' Damocles" hanging over one's head due to potential failure of a HDD and even with regular backups chances are some data will be lost at best and at worst it could require substantial time and effort to deal with.

What's your counterpoint? Look, just because this uncertainty exists in your mind does not make it exist in real life. New drives do fail, they go bad after time. I have worked with a lot of different hard drives in a lot of different computers. My personal experience says straight up, open box hard drives are of no differring quality than new hard drives. How much more clearer can I be? You can have whatever fears or worries you want - but don't push them onto others as truth.

If you have some actual experiences with some failed hard drives, sure I'd like to hear about them. Maybe you'd change my own opinions. But if you have never bought an open box hard drive, then how can you possibly provide the answer to the original question?

 

[Auric]

I'm hanging up my Devil's Advocate codpiece

 

[bob4432]

i have bought quite a bit of items off of newegg open box for tremendous savings. some hdds, some ram and some mbs. the only problem i have had was with the ram, but the manf rmaed it for me so i still saved ~60%

 

[Felecha]

Auric - no kidding! I didnt know that. I just remember the scene in the movie as a great moment, very dramatic. But perhaps I'm remembering the scene (More making his closing argument, after a prayer (Oh God, sharpen my wits ... or some such phrasing) and the quote is close but not actually what More said in the scene? Google confirms Cromwell, and now I found a webpage that has this

I can think of no better words than those given to Sir Thomas Moore by the author Robert Bolt in his play "A Man for All Seasons":
"I beseech you in Christ, consider that you may be wrong."

I bet that's what the wording was in the movie, it rang the bells of memory when I read it just now.