Would you trust a HD after this kind of shipping?

[topcat989]

Well I made a deal for a hd for my media server with a long time member here with 20+ HEAT where he was given praise for HD packing. So I didn't think anything of it. My HD came friday, I was gone until this afternoon, it was waiting for me.

First thought: "mmmm, box a little small on some sides to safely pack a hd, but of well, let's open it up"

I pick it up it's sliding and rattling just from picking it up, not shaking it. "Aw fuck me"

I'm am really pretty pissed. No way I thought this guy would do this to me........

I had even directed him to my fs/t thread in hopes of trade, he didn't see anything he wanted, so it was cash(paypal) deal. In my fs/t thread:

If we trade and you send me something, be sure to have some kind of delivery confirmation or tracking, and please pack well. I'll do the same......Packing - Damage shouldn't be an issue unless USPS runs over your package with a truck. Twice. Everyone I've traded with will tell you I pack well.

I thought I better document it, here's how it goes. Tell me folks, what would you think after receiving this from a long term member that has positive heat, some evals praising hard drive packing? (So far drive turns on and is recognized by WinXP, no further test done at this time. Had someone tell no way would they trust it)

Suggestions?

 

[Modder]

Wow. Thast last pic tells the story. Don't even put it in your system to test it. File a dispute on that ASAP or stop payment. That drive is junk.

 

[rgMekanic]

that's pretty brutal, I'd have to test the living crap out of it before it earned my trust

 

[topcat989]

Wow. Thast last pic tells the story. Don't even put it in your system to test it. File a dispute on that ASAP or stop payment. That drive is junk.

drive is in an external usb caddy, and shows up in WinXP. Any suggestions on testing would be appreciated. I'll wait to hear from seller before filing dispute.

that's pretty brutal, I'd have to test the living crap out of it before it earned my trust

Any suggestions on testing procedures/software would be appreciated.

 

[SolidBladez]

Open up a SMART program such as CrystalDiskInfo to see if it has any failed sectors.

I hate to admit that I've shipped several HDDs in small-flat rate boxes before but I NEVER would pack them like that. I had the drive in an anti-static bag and covered that with small bubble-wrap. Out of the 40+ drives I shipped only one was reported DOA.

 

[techdude01]

Seagate aye? Try Seagate's utility SeaTools for Windows.

 

[Vapor1000]

Aww Damn, Dog be dissin my packin skills.






(Real answer... i would test it, but do it quick and don't get your hopes up, If it can survive a whole days read/write testing i would be comfortable with it)
P.S. Neg heat imo. No one who actually cares about their reputation or how they sell with others would ship like that.

 

[guitarslingerchris]

I agree with Vapor except for the negative heat part. I would say neutral assuming they refund the entire price or a portion if you decide to keep it.

Then again, I'm protective of my heat and I'd be concerned about revenge heat

 

[starhawk]

I wouldn't use that hard drive for anything other than holding up a corner of a desk

Put power to it, no data, just power. If you hear either random clicking or repeated spinups then it's burnt toast. (The former indicates mechanical failure, which I would expect to be the nicest possible result here -- the latter indicates that the drive cannot initialize properly, which I wouldn't exactly expect, but I also wouldn't be surprised to hear.)

As a note -- if I had shipped a desktop hard drive to you... antistatic bag, taped shut, and then enough bubble wrap to fill the box without any chance of the drive bouncing around inside. Multiple layers of tape to seal the box. I can also tell you that I would NEVER have used a small flat rate box. A box that small --for a desktop drive-- isn't asking for trouble so much as getting down on your knees and begging trouble to show up and cause a real mess. (Which is exactly what it sounds like happened.)

I will tell you that I've skimped on packaging once, and that experience was enough for me.

I did the stupid thing -- someone on the Freebies thread wanted a stick of IIRC desktop RAM and First Class shipping. I had one stamp in the house. (What I should've done was PM them and say, hey I don't have enough stamps to send this, do you want to go Priority, or wait?) So rather than be intelligent, I cut down an antistatic bag to fit the RAM, taped it on, and threw it in a business envelope. One ounce exactly.

A few days later I got a PM from that member and it made my heart stop for a few seconds. The envelope and antistatic bag had arrived ripped, and although the RAM was tested and working at that point, I'm not doing that shit again. I'm usually not that stupid (although I'm no genius for sure!) and I have to say I really didn't like how it felt to read that PM -- enough so, that a year or so later I remember it well. Not pulling that crap again. Neither should anyone else.

Packing stuff well minimizes everyone's stress because it lowers the risk of stuff breaking on its way somewhere. That's the whole point of bubble wrap and antistatic bags. They lower the risk of problems. That's a good thing, folks!

 

[Xinmosni]

^

Are you serious with this?

The person got the RAM for free so had nothing to complain about on their end. Conversely, the OP paid for his shittily-shipped HDD, a situation which needs negative Heatware feedback if the seller doesn't rectify the situation ASAP.

 

[starhawk]

It was more about why I ship things well and what happened the one time I didn't. Lesson learned, for me.

My opinion: he paid for the packaging, which I skimped on, so he indeed didn't get what he paid for. But that's my opinion, as clearly labeled

EDIT: the point of me explaining about that experience and shipping well, is for the dude who shipped the hard drive in this thread as well as anyone else who might be inclined to ship like that. I'd hate to be the other person in this transaction right now

 

[closers]

Shipping a 3.5" hard drive in a SFRB is a last resort, but if it's in an anti-static bag with bubble wrapping all around it so that it is completely immobilized it's highly unlikely to arrive with any problems. Honestly it's worse when it's in a big box shaking about... Newegg ahem.

In this case though that's just pitiful. The guy could not even afford a little more paper to immobilize it? Kind of deserves a negative really. I mean seriously I get enough in my mailbox from junk ads and takeout menus to do a better job.

OP at least check the SMART tables and then run a full disk surface scan. Then wipe the drive and at that point it should be safe to use.

 

[m33pm33p]

Regardless of the box... if a hdd is shipped and isn't wrapped in bubble wrap the seller is fucked up. period. I'd send that shit back on his dime and get my refund. If he didn't care enough to ship it correctly he probably never cared enough to take care of it when he owned it. Not to mention the drive looks beat to he'll anyways..

 

[TheGardenTool]

I told topcat989 in a PM that I wouldn't trust this drive regardless of tests and I question it's long-term reliability after being shipped like that. I hope he and the seller can come to a good resolution for both parties, but clearly the seller is in the wrong here. I quit buying OEM drives from Newegg years ago when I saw their horrible packaging on them, which is miles better than this shit.

 

[Volkswagen]

Damm- no static bag- newspapers in a used box? Someone teach this guy how to ship

 

[hdfreedom]

That is really bad packaging. What was the seller thinking.....

I too quit buying HD's from Newegg at least 6 years ago because of their pathetic packaging, but worse was their attitude on RMAing the bad drives.

Well, I found a really great deal on 2 HD's from them lately, and was surprised when I received them packaged to the hilt: anti-static bags, bubble wrapped in a large enough box packed tightly with popcorn. Maybe they are changing... now if they can just get their heads out of their asses and quit gouging people on prices and go back to what got them big, LOTS of real deals!!!

 

[Gillbot]

Unfortunately, I have gotten many drives this way. Since the item did arrive, I typically leave a neutral and point out the poor shipping practices. To me, a negative is more warranted when the seller flat rips you off, but many have a differing opinion.

FWIW, I have a few that were shipped this way that do still work, but the bulk of them die fairly rapidly. I make it a point now to tell anyone I buy a HDD from that they are NOT TO SHIP IT IN A SMALL FLAT RATE. Sad you have to point out the obvious but it's true. Actually, I'm in the practice now to discuss how any item will be shipped no matter what I buy.

 

[nightwalker]

I would ask the seller for a refund, even if the drive does work i wouldn't want it after it being shipped to me in that way.

 

[topcat989]

After a couple of PMs, seller offered to refund the $20 paid for the drive, essentially he'd be out the drive and $. At this point I think that's more then fair on his part and countered that $10 would be fine provided the drive lives until this friday. After that I claim it good and won't say anything if it chokes after fri. I'm not looking to cheat anybody, just want what's fair. I think buyer realizes packing was fucked, and normally doesn't pack that way, his HEAT evals show that. And show that he's replaced a drive when one out of a batch came doa, so I feel he's a good trader that just screwed the pooch on this one, won't do it again, and wants to make it right.

Fair enough, thread closed.