Amazon vs. Newegg for bare/OEM hard drive orders

[nanofrog]

buying in store is better, more personal and they can see how confronting i am (if you knew my physique you would be cacking yourself)

i like in a town of about 2,000 people, when i drive the hour to uni though i am a 2min drive away from basically the cheapest store in Australia (cheaper because i dont have to pay shipping) - so its great

I don't mind buying in stores, so long as they know what they're selling, understand what I'm asking for. Unfortunately, I haven't found this locally. As for keeping anything in stock, not good odds. I can't even get simple stuff like a 3.5" to 5.25" adapter without ordering it.

Ordering it from them can take just as long or longer, and in the end, costs more than the item is worth to me. Especially if I have to spoon feed them descriptions and model numbers. They just don't have a clue what I'm talking about. I might as well be speaking in Chineese.

Yet if I wanted some obscure part for a tractor, NO PROBLEM.

 

[joaoferro37]

Newegg
They will have good deal all the time. Why?
They team up with some external storage company and leak out the drives to them in order to get good pricing and that is why there are OEM drives.

Amazon, you gotta find a good seller there.
RMA, never have problem with newegg and customer service respond is fast and reliable.
Amazon, err....unless you buy from Amazon directly otherwise, it depend on the company policy.

 

[Eidorian]

If you do a Google Shopping Search and buy on Mwave.com you can activate a coupon. Your purchases over $100 get $10 off.

I just ordered a motherboard and CPU. $158.48 for the pair.

 

[Semiopaque]

I have to agree with those who said zipzoomfly. Their packaging is the best I've come across. Every drive from them comes in either plastic clamshell or antistatic bag packed inside a foam 'box' (see pic with a bunch of the foam boxes in the back) which is packed inside their shipping box. Very secure. I'm not sure on their RMA process, though, as I have not had to return anything from them yet.

I've had various shipping experiences with Newegg. Drives shipped from their Cali facility come packed pretty well (wrapped in bubblewrap as others have shown). I've also gotten some drives shipped from Tennessee that were not packed very well at all (ordered 3 drives and they just broke off the styrofoam that they came from their supplier in).

That said, I have dealt with Newegg customer service several times and they have been quite pleasant and easy to deal with. They also do seem to keep track of how much you order from them, so if you order a lot you might get special treatment (I've never had to pay for any return shipping and have had them take returns out of their policy before no questions asked).

I prefer the Newegg website to zipzoomfly's. It's much much easier to browse for things with more search options.

I also prefer FedEx shipping (which zipzoomfly uses) over UPS (which Newegg uses), but this has more to do with my local drivers. The FedEx guy calls me when he is ten minutes away - the UPS guy barely even slows down to see if I'm actually home. Also, Newegg products generally get shipped faster than zipzoomfly (like a day or two faster).

Generally, I switch between the two companies based on price for hard drives, but I have a preference for Newegg on other hardware because of my experience with their excellent customer service people.

Oh, I also use cashbacklive to get a % or two cashback when ordering through Newegg or I use upromise.com to get cash back. Zipzoomfly used to be on there too but I don't think they are anymore. (On a semi related note used upomise to get 1% cashback on my refurb Macbook Pro from Apple last year as well).

 

[nanofrog]

If you do a Google Shopping Search and buy on Mwave.com you can activate a coupon. Your purchases over $100 get $10 off.

I just ordered a motherboard and CPU. $158.48 for the pair.

BTW, any gimmicks attached?

 

[Eidorian]

ZipZoomFly's site has improved somewhat. Their search box actually incorporates thumbnails as you hot search to help you find your item. When you're searching via categories deeper in they do need to incorporate a much more interactive guided search more like NewEgg's.

NewEgg's OEM hard drive packaging has always been terrifying when you see the bare drive come in bubble wrap and tape just dumped into the box.

I got a processor off of ZipZoomFly when it wasn't even listed on NewEgg and when it did show up it was $5 more on NewEgg.

BTW, any gimmicks attached?

Not that I know of. You just have to come in to MWave's site from a Google Shopping search. You activate it in a banner ad and it lasts 1 hour.

The discount doesn't show up until you're logged in but before you finalize the order. You get the $10 off coupon as "Google Checkout" automatically as a cookie that you activated earlier. Phenom II X2 550 and a nice ASUS 760G board coming soon.

Like I've said before you need to check around on ZipZoomFly and MWave because they'll usually offer free shipping for a few dollars more on the item price. You end up saving more by getting free shipping instead of paying for it.

I'm looking into Bing's Cashback via PayPal for my next purchase which is probably going to be a Phenom II quad this winter.

 

[Semiopaque]

I'm looking into Bing's Cashback via PayPal for my next purchase which is probably going to be a Phenom II quad this winter.

Oh yeah...it's called Bing now hehe. It's a pretty decent cashback site, though its search functions for specific products aren't that great. I often have to search for something else more generic to find the link for the site I want to purchase something from.

I've gotten almost $500 cashback from this since I signed up in Nov/Dec of last year - a lot of it off OEM hard drive purchases from Newegg and Zipzoomfly. You can also find links to 8% off BuyItNow products on eBay through the regular search site still.

 

[nanofrog]

ZipZoomFly's site has improved somewhat. Their search box actually incorporates thumbnails as you hot search to help you find your item. When you're searching via categories deeper in they do need to incorporate a much more interactive guided search more like NewEgg's.

NewEgg's OEM hard drive packaging has always been terrifying when you see the bare drive come in bubble wrap and tape just dumped into the box.

I actually haven't bought from ZipZoomFly, but it's really good to hear about the packaging. I always feel like it's a craps shoot with newegg.

I got a processor off of ZipZoomFly when it wasn't even listed on NewEgg and when it did show up it was $5 more on NewEgg.

Not that I know of. You just have to come in to MWave's site from a Google Shopping search. You activate it in a banner ad and it lasts 1 hour.

The discount doesn't show up until you're logged in but before you finalize the order. You get the $10 off coupon as "Google Checkout" automatically as a cookie that you activated earlier. Phenom II X2 550 and a nice ASUS 760G board coming soon.

Like I've said before you need to check around on ZipZoomFly and MWave because they'll usually offer free shipping for a few dollars more on the item price. You end up saving more by getting free shipping instead of paying for it.

I'm looking into Bing's Cashback via PayPal for my next purchase which is probably going to be a Phenom II quad this winter.

I'll have to check into this again. Last I tried, I kept trying to get a page to load over and over, waiting for the link. It didn't show up after trying for a couple of hours, and I gave up.

 

[Eidorian]

Here's what I got when searching for processors. I first spotted it this morning before work.

 

[nanofrog]

Here's what I got when searching for processors. I first spotted it this morning before work.

Thanks. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

 

[Eidorian]

Looks like my MWave order already shipped from CA.

 

[DoFoT9]

I don't mind buying in stores, so long as they know what they're selling, understand what I'm asking for. Unfortunately, I haven't found this locally. As for keeping anything in stock, not good odds. I can't even get simple stuff like a 3.5" to 5.25" adapter without ordering it.

oh god that is the MOST annoying thing ever isnt it!? when your taking to someone and they are like that just frustrates me so much.

the store near uni is great for products but, they have a "mother" store about an hour away and they ship stuff from there overnight if it isnt in store. quite reliable.

Ordering it from them can take just as long or longer, and in the end, costs more than the item is worth to me. Especially if I have to spoon feed them descriptions and model numbers. They just don't have a clue what I'm talking about. I might as well be speaking in Chineese.

ching chong chaaaang! if they are going to be that bad then you should just get it off ebay or something like newegg in your situation. that sucks.

Yet if I wanted some obscure part for a tractor, NO PROBLEM.

uuhhh. i dont even want to know where you live haha!!! im on the beach bestest place in the world eheh! i dont really do farms that well im afraid to say (not afraid of getting my hands dirty but).

 

[nanofrog]

the store near uni is great for products but, they have a "mother" store about an hour away and they ship stuff from there overnight if it isnt in store. quite reliable.

The biggest thing around is a Best Buy, but given this area, they don't carry the stuff I'm looking for when it comes to computers. Especially drives. Consumer stuff. Inkjets, laptops, some desktops. Nothing workstation/server class, let alone any parts I'd need.

So I have to order everything. If it wasn't for the Internet and shipping companies, I'd be up a creek...
uuhhh. i dont even want to know where you live haha!!! im on the beach bestest place in the world eheh! i dont really do farms that well im afraid to say (not afraid of getting my hands dirty but).

First page of this thread.

I ended up here to be closer to family. What a mistake.

I grew up in Orlando. Not on the beach, but only an hour or so in two directions at the time.

 

[DoFoT9]

The biggest thing around is a Best Buy, but given this area, they don't carry the stuff I'm looking for when it comes to computers. Especially drives. Consumer stuff. Inkjets, laptops, some desktops. Nothing workstation/server class, let alone any parts I'd need.

heard of it, cant say ive dealt with them (basically any company you know isnt here in australia hahaha).

First page of this thread.

I ended up here to be closer to family. What a mistake.

I grew up in Orlando. Not on the beach, but only an hour or so in two directions at the time.

no idea where any of the places are that you mentioned haha... all i know is that your in America (Y). its a tough decision aye, moving closer to family or sacrificing lots of other stuff. i guess every month or so you could go for a "road trip" to a large city and stock up on the goods you need

i guess a good thing to come out of it is that you save money because its too much hassle/shipping is too much

 

[nanofrog]

no idea where any of the places are that you mentioned haha... all i know is that your in America (Y).

Monroe, understandable. But Orlando? That's Walt Disney World! (OK, technically Buena Vista, FL, but it's close enough).

i guess every month or so you could go for a "road trip" to a large city and stock up on the goods you need

i guess a good thing to come out of it is that you save money because its too much hassle/shipping is too much

Nah. Given the pricing in this area, and the taxes, I'm better off ordering it. Deals can be had on the net, so it works out in my favor I'm sure. Assuming I can find it in the nearest major city (about 1.5 hrs).

In a pinch, maybe, but I try to plan better than that.

 

[DoFoT9]

Monroe, understandable. But Orlando? That's Walt Disney World! (OK, technically Buena Vista, FL, but it's close enough).

ive heard of orlando, didnt know that DL was there though! see how much i DONT know

Nah. Given the pricing in this area, and the taxes, I'm better off ordering it. Deals can be had on the net, so it works out in my favor I'm sure. Assuming I can find it in the nearest major city (about 1.5 hrs).

In a pinch, maybe, but I try to plan better than that.

wow thats bad, musnt be much competition around.. or anything much around for that matter haha!

1.5hrs to the nearest city thats worse then me. but your population is bigger then mine! odd haha.

 

[Flash SWT]

Dragging this thread back up it looks like Newegg has improved their packing for bare hard drives.

I just received both a Western Digital (WD15EARS) and Seagate (ST31000524NS) drive today and I am much happier with the packing job. The WD drive was in an anti-static bag while the Seagate was in a plastic clamshell. They were both individually wrapped in bubble wrap and in their own small cardboard box. These boxes were then placed in a larger box with a network switch and USB flash drive I ordered and padded with the brown paper.

I just started the burn-in process on the first drive but I'm hopeful the better packing means I can avoid another RMA.

.

 

[blevins321]

Dragging this thread back up it looks like Newegg has improved their packing for bare hard drives.

I just received both a Western Digital and Seagate drive today and I am much happier with the packing job. The WD drive was in an anti-static bag while the Seagate was in a plastic clamshell. They were both individually wrapped in bubble wrap and in their own small cardboard box. These boxes were then placed in a larger box with a network switch and USB flash drive I ordered and padded with the brown paper.

I just started the burn-in process on the first drive but I'm hopeful the better packing means I can avoid another RMA.

.

Nice. I just received 2 WD20EARS 2TB WD Green from Amazon today that were packaged like you described.

 

[scottsjack]

I've had great results from both Newegg and OWC. All drives have arrived sealed in an anti-static back and packed tight enough to protect them. I usually go with whichever of the two has the right drive at the right price. The one drive I ordered from Amazon was a Seagate external drive. It's retail box had plenty of padding around it.

 

[Eidorian]

How about some new pictures?

My bubble wrapped 2.5" 320 GB drive from 2007 is still strong. I have not purchased any new hard drives since late 2008 though.

 

[crashnburn]

Do share more experiences

 

[diazj3]

I've used OWC and Amazon. OWC packing is always perfect - individual or bulk drives. My latest drive - a WD 2TB Green from Amazon, came also perfectly packed (individual box, plastic clams), with a better price point than OWC. No problems at all. I guess they have improved their packing to match higher standards.