Is getting a fan with bare wires normal?

A

Aelfgeft

2[H]4U
Joined
Jun 8, 2005
Messages
2,343
Now, I've ordered fans from Newegg, Sidewinder Computers, SVC, CoolerGuys, and I know they're sold at other retailers. Every time I've ordered one, most of which have been panaflos, they came automatically with the standard 3-pin connector, or sometimes a molex.

I ordered an HR-05 with an 80MM fan as an additional option (out of the 30 or so checkboxes for various options) from FrozenCPU. I receive it, open it up, and the wires on the fan are bare. I send an email explaining this issue, and I receive the following response:

you neglected to buy a panaflo fan tail

they are on our website, you will need to buy one to use it


Mark Friga Jr.
Owner/CEO
FrozenCPU.com, Inc.
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...so not only was I expected to specifically request the fan be connectable to a motherboard, but they shipped one that wasn't without any question. On top of that, the CEO's response is that I was neglectful, and I need to make another purchase and pay more shipping for an item that any other retailer would have included without any action. Oh, and the minimum shipping costs a dollar more than the actual item, as long as I'm all right with 6-12 day shipping. Anything quicker, and it's insane.

Am I being unreasonable?
 
if it's not to your liking or you feel you are getting ripped off, return it.
 
I'll agree that it's a bit shady, but there's little you could do at this point. Long story short is they got you with the "fine print."

I checked FrozenCPU's site, and all of their Panaflo fans come with the options to add a fan tail for extra. Some (but not all) of the fans even include a caveat (under the item description) stating that the fan comes unsleeved. My guess is that, since you bought the fan as an "accessory," the "option" to add a fan tail wasn't made available to you. (Am I right?)

The reason why I say it's a bit shady is that they're charging extra for something that more-or-less is included automatically when you buy Panaflos from other retailers.
 
Zardoz said:
if it's not to your liking or you feel you are getting ripped off, return it.
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Minus the 20% restocking fee, as well the the shipping that they will not reimburse, it's barely worth it.

tiraides said:
I checked FrozenCPU's site, and all of their Panaflo fans come with the options to add a fan tail for extra. Some (but not all) of the fans even include a caveat (under the item description) stating that the fan comes unsleeved. My guess is that, since you bought the fan as an "accessory," the "option" to add a fan tail wasn't made available to you. (Am I right?)
Click to expand...

There were two options listed along with the regular fans (as if they were additional fans that could be purchased). The description of the fan had no indication that it was bare wire, unless I went into the specs and found it on a separate page. The fan tail's description did say that panaflos came bare wired, but as I assumed that a high-profile website included the same basic option as half a dozen other high-profile retailers, I did not bother to go into the description of what I expected to be included.

I admit that I should have been more scrutinizing, but as this had never happened in nearly 8 years of ordering fans, I found this rather striking. The fact that the knee-jerk response was "Your fault, buy more" added to the frustration. I've now placed an order with SVC.com, who is one of the many who default a 3-pin connector on a fan purchase, WITHOUT charging extra for it. Notable also is that you can get the same fan from SVC, Sidewinder, and other places for less than the bare-wire fan from FrozenCPU.
 
You'll get no argument from me... then again, I've never bought any Panaflos from FrozenCPU.
 
I feel the same way when etailers try and make you pay extra for the fan screws when you can get them included from others, granted its usually a nominal fee but it still doesn't sit well with me
 
this is a ridiculous policy.. I'll be sure to steer clear of FrozenCPU when I purchase my next heatsink/fan combo
 
That's incredibly poor service on their part. Was there a disclaimer when you bought the fan as an accessory that it came unsleeved and you had to buy the tail? If not, it's possible to fight back. Not that it's worth it for some cheap fan. I'd just never buy from them again.
 
ethraax said:
That's incredibly poor service on their part. Was there a disclaimer when you bought the fan as an accessory that it came unsleeved and you had to buy the tail? If not, it's possible to fight back. Not that it's worth it for some cheap fan. I'd just never buy from them again.
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There was some "disclaimers," but the OP didn't see them because he bought the fan as part of a "bundle" deal. Then again, the only way the OP could have seen those "disclaimers" were to actually buy the Panaflo fan(s) separately.
 
tiraides said:
There was some "disclaimers," but the OP didn't see them because he bought the fan as part of a "bundle" deal. Then again, the only way the OP could have seen those "disclaimers" were to actually buy the Panaflo fan(s) separately.
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They should make it more obvious though i do agree with ethraax it is poor service on their part i wouldnt buy from there not that i can anyway
 
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