![[H]ard|Forum](/styles/hardforum/xenforo/logo_dark.png){kind=logo}
Stay away from OCZ storage products
- Thread starter houkouonchi
- Start date
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
This thread has taught me maybe if I'm gonna buy an SSD I should go with GSkill
lol, you could, but OCZ is fine and has very good performance and quality, imo.
The OP just didn't read into the warranty good enough.
Blazestorm
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2007
- Messages
- 6,940
Yep, I have 2 OCZ SSD's although one I bought used off ebay, I got a good deal on it and it's still running... $60 for a 30GB drive back when they were still $100-120...
I think the point of the thread is to tell people to check their warranties and talk to the company first.
I think the point of the thread is to tell people to check their warranties and talk to the company first.
Old Hippie
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2005
- Messages
- 6,013
Doesn't really matter....neither company would service the drive.
BTW, I just bought two OCZ Vertex2 drives yesterday.
BababooeyHTJ
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2009
- Messages
- 6,951
I have had noting but good experiences with OCZ support. From what I have seen it's among the best in the business. I recently had to RMA a SSD that had tons of issues from a bad firmware. I told them that I was expecting a new drive because of the degredation from all of the unnessesary writes on the drive due to the firmware, troubleshooting, and bad advice on their forums from their staff. The sent me a new, sealed, drive.
What I don't like about OCZ is the quality of their products. Now if they didn't put out drives with different flash under the same model number all of the time do you think that firmware issues would be as common? Because of these practices I wouldn't trust any benches of OCZ drives since odds are you are buying a different version of the drive than is used in reviews.
I had a simmilar issue with some of their ram. I had a kit of 2x2GB PC8500 reapers. It was just a middle of the road kit of PC8500 ram. I wanted to upgrade to *GB so I picked up a second kit of the same model number. The kit that I received needed more voltage 2.2v vs 2.1v on the older kit and was binned entirely differently. Caused me issues on two motherboards. Another case of get the good product out for reviews then start shipping crap.
I replaced both of those with some G.Skill PC8500 and my rig ran great.
May want to check their forums and see all of the firmware issues. Might be hard when they lock threads. You could see Tony telling people that FW1.6 cured the issues people were having with data corruption on FW 1.5, I can't find a single claim to back his statement up. I can however find a few on the contrary.
What I don't like about OCZ is the quality of their products. Now if they didn't put out drives with different flash under the same model number all of the time do you think that firmware issues would be as common? Because of these practices I wouldn't trust any benches of OCZ drives since odds are you are buying a different version of the drive than is used in reviews.
I had a simmilar issue with some of their ram. I had a kit of 2x2GB PC8500 reapers. It was just a middle of the road kit of PC8500 ram. I wanted to upgrade to *GB so I picked up a second kit of the same model number. The kit that I received needed more voltage 2.2v vs 2.1v on the older kit and was binned entirely differently. Caused me issues on two motherboards. Another case of get the good product out for reviews then start shipping crap.
I replaced both of those with some G.Skill PC8500 and my rig ran great.
lol, you could, but OCZ is fine and has very good performance and quality, imo.
The OP just didn't read into the warranty good enough.
May want to check their forums and see all of the firmware issues. Might be hard when they lock threads. You could see Tony telling people that FW1.6 cured the issues people were having with data corruption on FW 1.5, I can't find a single claim to back his statement up. I can however find a few on the contrary.
1. OCZ probably has no way to tell if they are one of their drives.
2. Ebay is a flea market, and can not be trusted at the same level as a retail store.
I don't think that ocz creates designs or manufactures SSDs. They just slap their label on other company's tech. They may be agressive, about finding it, but they still just slap their label on it and support it. Heck, if they hadn't listened to anandtech, their first indilnx drive would have performed just like most other ssd's had at the time. They aren't writing firmware for these things, indilnx is.
If another company creates, designs, manufactures and packages your product, you don't have much control. You're just a reseller. There is nothing stopping the manufacturer from making authentic indilnx drives, slapping your label on it, then selling them directly though other channels. All the while, you are on the hook for it, since it's your name on the label.
Even a serial number wouldn't matter. There could be four drives created, for every legit serial number... This isn't tinfoil hat stuff. Just about every company that has outsourced manufacturing to certain countries, has had their tech stolen, copied, or had "extras" made on the third shift.
For an issue like the Old Hippie had, where the (intel) drive was bought from Dell, I agree that it's shitty. But from ebay, there are just too many unknowns.
Beyond tracing the drive by a serial number, through an authorized distributor, to a retailer, to a sale date and a receipt... If you don't "make" the stuff, how can you be sure that it's even your stuff?
2. Ebay is a flea market, and can not be trusted at the same level as a retail store.
I don't think that ocz creates designs or manufactures SSDs. They just slap their label on other company's tech. They may be agressive, about finding it, but they still just slap their label on it and support it. Heck, if they hadn't listened to anandtech, their first indilnx drive would have performed just like most other ssd's had at the time. They aren't writing firmware for these things, indilnx is.
If another company creates, designs, manufactures and packages your product, you don't have much control. You're just a reseller. There is nothing stopping the manufacturer from making authentic indilnx drives, slapping your label on it, then selling them directly though other channels. All the while, you are on the hook for it, since it's your name on the label.
Even a serial number wouldn't matter. There could be four drives created, for every legit serial number... This isn't tinfoil hat stuff. Just about every company that has outsourced manufacturing to certain countries, has had their tech stolen, copied, or had "extras" made on the third shift.
For an issue like the Old Hippie had, where the (intel) drive was bought from Dell, I agree that it's shitty. But from ebay, there are just too many unknowns.
Beyond tracing the drive by a serial number, through an authorized distributor, to a retailer, to a sale date and a receipt... If you don't "make" the stuff, how can you be sure that it's even your stuff?
The title of this thread is disingenuous and should be changed to:
"I bought random crap from Ebay and got burned".
You bought a high tech piece of equipment from a place where people sell used panties.
You talk about NIB ( new in box ) like it's some kind of holy grail ( you can buy a product, open it, use it and use a shrink wrapping machine to re-wrap it and return it to the store ). Was it "NIB - certified by God?"
You sound like the kind of guy who ends up buying a box full of bricks:
http://www.igniq.com/2005/12/man-pays-800-for-empty-xbox-360-box-on.html
http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2006/12/17/occasionally-good-ebay-sellers-go-bad/
When looking for Micro SD memory for a Nintendo DS flash cart, I found that fake copies of brand name memory was being sold and higher capacities that didn't exist were being sold ( ie. Ebay is a shit hole, do some research ):
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&s...+sd+ebay+scam&aq=f&aqi=g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
Since fake CPUs were slipped into Newegg's inventory, what hope do you have of getting genuine stuff on ebay?
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&s...q=newegg+fake+cpu&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
What are your outs, when shit goes south? Ebay doesn't care about you:
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&s...q=ebay+not+liable&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
Your drive could have "Made in China" stamped on the bottom, for all we know.
I recently ordered and built a 2,600 CDN dollar, gaming rig from an online retailer. Here's a hint: it wasn't Ebay, it was ( unsurprisingly ) listed as a premier partner ( NCIX.com ):
http://www.ocztechnology.com/where-to-buy/resellers/canada.html
I found out about NCIX through Premier Computer Canada ( unsurprisingly, also listed as an authorized dealer ).
Someone spending $2 k on Ebay electronics just has fail written all over it and I'm glad that it was a personal purchase ( rather than a company purchase ie. Donald Trump "You're fired!" ). If your company signs off on Ebay purchases then I would avoid them.
OCZ would be gracious to accept you paying shipping and labour for an analysis.
"I bought random crap from Ebay and got burned".
You bought a high tech piece of equipment from a place where people sell used panties.
You talk about NIB ( new in box ) like it's some kind of holy grail ( you can buy a product, open it, use it and use a shrink wrapping machine to re-wrap it and return it to the store ). Was it "NIB - certified by God?"
You sound like the kind of guy who ends up buying a box full of bricks:
http://www.igniq.com/2005/12/man-pays-800-for-empty-xbox-360-box-on.html
http://www.mightybargainhunter.com/2006/12/17/occasionally-good-ebay-sellers-go-bad/
When looking for Micro SD memory for a Nintendo DS flash cart, I found that fake copies of brand name memory was being sold and higher capacities that didn't exist were being sold ( ie. Ebay is a shit hole, do some research ):
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&s...+sd+ebay+scam&aq=f&aqi=g-m1&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
Since fake CPUs were slipped into Newegg's inventory, what hope do you have of getting genuine stuff on ebay?
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&s...q=newegg+fake+cpu&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
What are your outs, when shit goes south? Ebay doesn't care about you:
http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&s...q=ebay+not+liable&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=
Your drive could have "Made in China" stamped on the bottom, for all we know.
I recently ordered and built a 2,600 CDN dollar, gaming rig from an online retailer. Here's a hint: it wasn't Ebay, it was ( unsurprisingly ) listed as a premier partner ( NCIX.com ):
http://www.ocztechnology.com/where-to-buy/resellers/canada.html
I found out about NCIX through Premier Computer Canada ( unsurprisingly, also listed as an authorized dealer ).
Someone spending $2 k on Ebay electronics just has fail written all over it and I'm glad that it was a personal purchase ( rather than a company purchase ie. Donald Trump "You're fired!" ). If your company signs off on Ebay purchases then I would avoid them.
OCZ would be gracious to accept you paying shipping and labour for an analysis.
PICS?
Last edited:
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
+1
Yeah, I think the OP has learned his lesson, or at least I hope so.
Since he hasn't responded in over a week, I'd say he's done.
This thread should really be locked though before it turns into a flame fest.
I guess he has. I have, too. The lesson is to not buy OCZ products.
what is this OCZ hate?
while i'm not a fanboi of OCZ i have had 2 vertex 30g ssd's for a little over a year in raid0 and the speed has been awesome. I do not believe any company other than ocz even comes close to the support that ocz forums offers for all their ssd's with new firmware every few months and moderators that check this and check that and when a flash goes bad the mods ask the user to send it back for a new one.
while i'm not a fanboi of OCZ i have had 2 vertex 30g ssd's for a little over a year in raid0 and the speed has been awesome. I do not believe any company other than ocz even comes close to the support that ocz forums offers for all their ssd's with new firmware every few months and moderators that check this and check that and when a flash goes bad the mods ask the user to send it back for a new one.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
The hell are you talking about? I'm no OCZ fanboy, but their warranty has always been very good comparable to other brands.
The OP fucked up by buying $2000 worth of hardware from an unauthorized dealer on ebay. (why anyone would spend that kind of money on ebay w/out checking the warranty is a mystery to me)
This was not in any way, shape, or form OCZ's fault at all.
But if that's your choice, it's your choice. Just make sure it's for other reasons than the OP's.
It is my choice, and it IS for the same reason as the original poster. OCZ manufactured defective products, it was their fault, and they are refusing to fix it. While they may be acting legally, it is not the right and moral thing to do. At a minimum, they should accept the failed parts back in RMA and analyze them to determine the cause of failure, but apparently they refused to do even that. So, the lesson is to avoid OCZ products.
The lesson is to buy ANY product from authorized dealers.
some other person will come along soon enough whining that another manufacturer isnt providing warranty because they bought something from a garage sale, as sure as im setting here.
some other person will come along soon enough whining that another manufacturer isnt providing warranty because they bought something from a garage sale, as sure as im setting here.
Last edited:
If that manufacturer is at fault because they made a defective product and then refused to honor the warranty, then I will avoid their products as well.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
Well, if all companies did the "moral" thing, they would be broke. It was stated in their warranty, they do not have to cover "used parts", unopened or not, hence unauthorized reseller. Not OCZ's fault. Any other company would do the same thing.
It was the OP's fault for buying their products from an unauthorized reseller. Also, it was on ebay, that was stupid as hell regardless of the outcome. How is this OCZ's fault?
OCZ manufactured a defective product.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
So if you're saying I went out and bought a used SSD from someone at a yard sale, and it didn't work, even though it was "new", it would be OCZs fault? That makes no sense.
The ebay person the OP bought those SSDs from was not authorized. Meaning, he bought them from someone like newegg, then decided to sell them at a different (probably higher) price. Thus, making the item used. OCZ does not in any way have to back those drives, whether it is their product or not.
But yeah, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I will give you this, morally, OCZ is in the wrong and it would be cool of them to back their products (EVGA and BFGTech have done this) in this situation. However, legally, they don't have to and in the end, it is customer support who has to say no, or I should say, the guy on the phone. Even if he/she is sympathetic, they could be fired or have consequences for backing a product that was not sold by an unauthorized seller. Really, this is just OCZ covering their own asses, and it doesn't make them a bad company in any way for doing so.
Another theory, if the ebay guy that the OP bought the SSDs from had bought them off of the black market or had stolen them (he is not an authorized reseller, so who knows) and OCZ backed the product, it would be a bad financial move for OCZ. Not only would OCZ lose money on the potentially stolen/hot drives, they would lose money again for having to replace them.
Last edited:
houkouonchi
RIP
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2008
- Messages
- 1,622
Well I guess there are ways to fake NIB but they looked legit to me. Anti-Static bags had the stickers you have to tear through to open. I guess if someone was meticulous enough then they could have been used. Performance of the drives when I first got them did not show any signs degradation from being used though.
Blazestorm
Supreme [H]ardness
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2007
- Messages
- 6,940
There aren't many ways to "break" an SSD... so if the warranty seals are still there then they should still cover the warranty.
Every memory and HDD manufacturer follows this policy, they care about when it was manufactured and if there is any physical damage... That's it and that's how it should be.
ASUS has a flexible 3yr warranty on all their stuff too. I've bought open box motherboards from newegg that still had 2.5 years left on warranty according to ASUS. Who I called and stated I bought an open-box motherboard but was missing the I/O shield... still had to pay $10 for one, but they said it was still covered under warranty for 2.5 years or so.
Point being that this is a lame policy so OCZ can get out of warrantying products. Only way I'll buy EVGA or OCZ products is if I buy them brand new from Newegg... otherwise I know they'll find a way to screw me on the warranty.
Every memory and HDD manufacturer follows this policy, they care about when it was manufactured and if there is any physical damage... That's it and that's how it should be.
ASUS has a flexible 3yr warranty on all their stuff too. I've bought open box motherboards from newegg that still had 2.5 years left on warranty according to ASUS. Who I called and stated I bought an open-box motherboard but was missing the I/O shield... still had to pay $10 for one, but they said it was still covered under warranty for 2.5 years or so.
Point being that this is a lame policy so OCZ can get out of warrantying products. Only way I'll buy EVGA or OCZ products is if I buy them brand new from Newegg... otherwise I know they'll find a way to screw me on the warranty.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
Yeah, it is too bad those drives failed on you and that OCZ won't back them.
Maybe you could sell them on ebay, just put "broken" in very tiny white font. j/k
I hope you have better luck next time, I know what it's like to purchase a very expensive paper weight
Last edited:
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
I hate to say this, but I agree with you on this part, and not just with OCZ, but with the majority of manufacturers as well.
It is uncool of them to do this to the OP, but they do have the legal right unfortunately, and many other companies would back this policy as well.
If OCZ manufactured a defective product, then who else's fault could it be? If the product was abused, then it is not OCZ's fault, but they need to accept the RMA and examine the product before they can determine if it was abused.
Not true, and also disingenuous of you to post it rather than PM'ing it if you are so concerned about flame wars.
It certainly does make them a bad company. They manufactured defective products that they refused to stand behind.
aaronspink
2[H]4U
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2004
- Messages
- 2,122
Even if it isn't their fault, who wants to buy a product from a company that has no intention of doing even a basic failure analysis? Companies that don't do failure analysis don't know why their products fail so they continue to ship faulty parts. That alone is reason not to buy.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
I already gave logical reasons why it wasn't OCZ's fault. If this is all the more you're going to do in this thread, I'm going to ignore you. If you want to turn this into a flame war like this thread, have fun doing it with someone else.
I stand behind my previous posts 100% and gave logical reasons why it isn't OCZ's fault. I am sympathetic to the OP as it was an expensive mistake, and one that could have been made by anyone, myself included. However, I do not believe OCZ is at fault and I gave my reasons why.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
That is a good point. If I were OCZ, I would have accepted the broken parts, even if with a minimal fee to the buyer for it not being bought from an authorized reseller. You are right, they should accept the product, even if only for the sake of failure testing. OCZ does have the legal right to back their policy, though it would be better if they would modify it.
No, you did not. You gave reasons why OCZ does not have a legal obligation to honor the warranty. But that is not in dispute.
The fact is that OCZ manufactured a defective product. It IS their fault.
So we agree. I actually made this same point many posts ago in this thread.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
haha, it's not a bad enough reason to make me stop buying their products though, or anyone elses. If I had bought a used/new part from someone one ebay who was not an authorized reseller, and the company refused my part when it is stated in their warranty, I'd bite the big one and deal with it.
But this is why I buy from newegg, I get a good RMA policy as well.
OCZ isn't the only company to do this, many others have this exact same policy and back it.
Last edited:
It is for me, and I'm far from alone. If a company does not care about improving quality, and does not care to stand behind their products when they sell defective parts, then they are not going to get my business.
Red Falcon
[H]ard DCOTM December 2023
- Joined
- May 7, 2007
- Messages
- 12,449
I can't really argue an opinion as it is just an opinion.
However, I will say this: everyone, regardless the company or the product, cover your asses and double check the warranty before purchase!
However, I will say this: everyone, regardless the company or the product, cover your asses and double check the warranty before purchase!
Last edited:
This sounds illegal. If a manufacturer warranty is issued it cannot trump first sale doctrine. When you buy a used car, the warranty on the car transfers. I don't see how the same shouldn't apply here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act
If you're company bought them... check with your companies lawyers. If not... check with one personally.
http://www.consumeraction.gov/state.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnuson–Moss_Warranty_Act
If you're company bought them... check with your companies lawyers. If not... check with one personally.
http://www.consumeraction.gov/state.shtml
Last edited:
well there is also this:
If you buy a car and modify it, then tear it to crap off-roading in a Volkswagen, they wont honor your warranty.
The same sort of thing applies here imo. If you buy a ssd (which has a finite lifetime) and it is used incorrectly, they would have to be paying for the abuse that someone else did. they cannot guarantee that you received the product in "Factory Fresh" condition. there is no chain of owners that will provide them with reasonable assurances that the drive was not abused in some way, or flashed with modified firmwares, used for testing, used in server environments, etc at some point in its lifetime.
If you cannot prove the 'chain of custody' of the said product then it is not fair to expect a company to rma it. even if they receive the product and test it, and conclude it is a knock-off from china (these things happen every day!) then they are out of the labor and man-hours it took to test said product.
now, if for instance, it is a knock-off, and there are 20,000 of them sold, are we to hold the company responsible for paying for an army of techs, and buying equipment for said techs, and paying their health insurance, 401k and sick leave, to test all of these drives? of course not! Its not their problem.
for instance, the king of knock-offs...rolex watches! you can buy a knock off of a rolex anywhere. I bet if you tried to RMA or send a Rolex in for repair under warranty, they wouldn't even respond to you unless you had a receipt from an authorized dealer. It is a precision, expensive piece of hardware, much like our ssd's. and the Rolex is also the most copied merchandise probably ever, outside of Nike's. do you think they would actually take in every claim for repair that they receive, just to verify it is their watch?
this is why you have authorized dealers, to guarantee that it is their drive. Of course, the scenario is far-fetched, but there are many circumstances that could be guessed upon where this would be a logical course of action.
in the end it is the company that has to protect itself, for OUR sake. if they were to process every bogus rma out there, these ssd's could quite possibly be tremendously more expensive for us, the end user. they are a company, and companies do not eat profit loss for breakfast. instead, they pass it to us. i feel sorry for the OP, but i sympathize with the company as well. maybe it is because i run a business, and understand these types of things that i side more on the side of the buisness than the OP, but trust me, in today's litigious society it is increasingly harder every single day to pull a profit. if companies do not take steps to distance themselves from abuse, we would all be screwed.
If you buy a car and modify it, then tear it to crap off-roading in a Volkswagen, they wont honor your warranty.
The same sort of thing applies here imo. If you buy a ssd (which has a finite lifetime) and it is used incorrectly, they would have to be paying for the abuse that someone else did. they cannot guarantee that you received the product in "Factory Fresh" condition. there is no chain of owners that will provide them with reasonable assurances that the drive was not abused in some way, or flashed with modified firmwares, used for testing, used in server environments, etc at some point in its lifetime.
If you cannot prove the 'chain of custody' of the said product then it is not fair to expect a company to rma it. even if they receive the product and test it, and conclude it is a knock-off from china (these things happen every day!) then they are out of the labor and man-hours it took to test said product.
now, if for instance, it is a knock-off, and there are 20,000 of them sold, are we to hold the company responsible for paying for an army of techs, and buying equipment for said techs, and paying their health insurance, 401k and sick leave, to test all of these drives? of course not! Its not their problem.
for instance, the king of knock-offs...rolex watches! you can buy a knock off of a rolex anywhere. I bet if you tried to RMA or send a Rolex in for repair under warranty, they wouldn't even respond to you unless you had a receipt from an authorized dealer. It is a precision, expensive piece of hardware, much like our ssd's. and the Rolex is also the most copied merchandise probably ever, outside of Nike's. do you think they would actually take in every claim for repair that they receive, just to verify it is their watch?
this is why you have authorized dealers, to guarantee that it is their drive. Of course, the scenario is far-fetched, but there are many circumstances that could be guessed upon where this would be a logical course of action.
in the end it is the company that has to protect itself, for OUR sake. if they were to process every bogus rma out there, these ssd's could quite possibly be tremendously more expensive for us, the end user. they are a company, and companies do not eat profit loss for breakfast. instead, they pass it to us. i feel sorry for the OP, but i sympathize with the company as well. maybe it is because i run a business, and understand these types of things that i side more on the side of the buisness than the OP, but trust me, in today's litigious society it is increasingly harder every single day to pull a profit. if companies do not take steps to distance themselves from abuse, we would all be screwed.
Last edited:
We don't know everything, and because of that we can't blame OCZ.
I've sent hundreds of things back to OCZ without issue, and they unlike everyone else give *NEW* replacements for RMA, that are equal or better then what you had. I've had people drive to OCZ's office and pickup RMA rather then wait for mail... OCZ has been utterly top notch when it's come to any thing warranty related, reguardless if the product was bought from us or not.
The other manufacturers you want to compare warrantys too... how about the wonderful "Out of region" error when you type in a hard drives serial number, which can happen more often then not when buying stuff from ebay (hell happens when buying from distribution too.. but thankfully when it does occur the distributers take care of the warranty on your behalf to try and hide they were selling grey market material). It was never ment to be sold in your country, they won't honor the warranty on it.. how about the bullshit "recertified" drives they send you as replacement... I bought a brand new drive, it was DOA, why should I get something 'recertified' as a replacement.... I know damn well OCZ won't do that to me.
it really irks me to read one persons tale without knowing all the facts and watching as everyone claims OCZ is in the bad for not honoring it, especially when the drives were bought off ebay so who knows what market they were ment to be sold in.
I've sent hundreds of things back to OCZ without issue, and they unlike everyone else give *NEW* replacements for RMA, that are equal or better then what you had. I've had people drive to OCZ's office and pickup RMA rather then wait for mail... OCZ has been utterly top notch when it's come to any thing warranty related, reguardless if the product was bought from us or not.
The other manufacturers you want to compare warrantys too... how about the wonderful "Out of region" error when you type in a hard drives serial number, which can happen more often then not when buying stuff from ebay (hell happens when buying from distribution too.. but thankfully when it does occur the distributers take care of the warranty on your behalf to try and hide they were selling grey market material). It was never ment to be sold in your country, they won't honor the warranty on it.. how about the bullshit "recertified" drives they send you as replacement... I bought a brand new drive, it was DOA, why should I get something 'recertified' as a replacement.... I know damn well OCZ won't do that to me.
it really irks me to read one persons tale without knowing all the facts and watching as everyone claims OCZ is in the bad for not honoring it, especially when the drives were bought off ebay so who knows what market they were ment to be sold in.
It is not necessary to "know everything" in order to know that OCZ is at fault here.
Regardless of how OCZ intended for their product to be sold, if they manufactured a defective product, they have the moral responsibility to fix the situation.
Furthermore, good quality procedure dictates that they should collect as much data as they can on failures in the field so they can use the information to improve quality.
But OCZ refused to even accept the defective parts for RMA to examine them. Just because they allow the parts to be returned does not obligate OCZ to replace them if they find they are counterfeit or abused. But by not accepting the parts at all, OCZ is showing that they care little for quality improvement or for standing behind their product.
OCZ is clearly at fault, and I think this is a good reason to avoid OCZ products.
Regardless of how OCZ intended for their product to be sold, if they manufactured a defective product, they have the moral responsibility to fix the situation.
Furthermore, good quality procedure dictates that they should collect as much data as they can on failures in the field so they can use the information to improve quality.
But OCZ refused to even accept the defective parts for RMA to examine them. Just because they allow the parts to be returned does not obligate OCZ to replace them if they find they are counterfeit or abused. But by not accepting the parts at all, OCZ is showing that they care little for quality improvement or for standing behind their product.
OCZ is clearly at fault, and I think this is a good reason to avoid OCZ products.
If that was the basis for avoiding them, I wouldn't be able to buy anything computer related. I've had most major companies dealing with hardware refuse an RMA for bullshit reasons from out of region, to serial number sticker is to dirty to read.. Hell even D-link refused an RMA because the product was EOL by there standards, yet I had just bought it a month before from a B&M store, and cisco has refused an RMA because they had no more in stock to replace it with, told me try in 3 months when they would have more (and the warranty would be run out)
No... and Yes.
No first...
Under warranty rights(and a major reason that act was passed) is that "modifications" don't necessarily clear a company from fault. Only modifications that are directly shown to show fault can clear a company of warranty responsibilities. Think about it...
If I put a fancy tint job and colored light up windshield wiper squirter covers... then my driveshaft snaps... That should carry no weight on whether or not a warranty on the driveshaft should apply.
Yes now...
RMA costs are a separate issue. I agree that the company should not pay for its return in this case. The customer is responsible for the price associated with fulfilling the warranty. OCZ should have said something along the lines of, "We suspect there is a chance your product is counterfeit. Because of this you will have to pay for S&H for the return of your product. If after inspection your device is found to be a confirmed OCZ product we will refund your costs at that time. Please let us know how you wish to proceed."
That is the appropriate response... and the only acceptable one in my opinion.
Company risk... managed.
Company responsibilities... Fulfilled.
Customer... Satisfied.
Welcome to the world of customer service and appropriate response... have a nice day!