Be aware of WD Raptors sold in USA

[billyjak]

I bought 2 WD Raptors from Newegg, one drive made a cllicking noise and in the process of taking it out I broke the plastic piece surrounding the sata connector. Fine

I contacted WD for it to get fixed no problem. I then gave her the serial number of the drive and she says it was a drive that was supposed to be shipped to the Far East and that they won't fix it because it was not supposed to be shipped in the USA.

What's NEWEGG shipping illegal drives to USA residents?

I'm screwed out of a drive that would have been fixed if it was supposed to be shipped in the USA
Apperently the Manager of RMA at WD said they were purchasing drive from Asia to get a cheaper price and dumping them off in the USA in which you will not have a Warrenty of 5 Years, as a matter of fact you will have no Warrenty whatsoever. That explains why Newegg was selling them so cheap.

So ask for the serial # before you buy and call WD to verify if it is a USA drive before you order.
One made for USA, one made for ASIA no warrenty
I will call Newegg to find out what can be done. WD gave me a case # to refer them to it.

 

[DGath]

I wouldn't think you are screwed out of a drive, NewEgg should replace it. If I was in your situation, I would have contacted NewEgg first since you just bought the drive from them.

 

[billyjak]

That isin't the point, I'm saying to make people aware that bought WD Raptors from Newegg to check their serial number and contact WD to find out if it is a USA drive or else you have no warrenty.

 

[LouPoir]

Just contact NewEgg - Im sure they will make it right

 

[newbiepcuser]

This means NewEgg.com probably buys from middleman like Ingram Micro etc. They are the ones getting a debunk WDS. I remember this happen to a Fry's customer once, he called in and the WD CSR told him that the hard drive was suppose to be sold only to OEM manufactures like HP, etc.

 

[Sid59]

bump for contacting newegg/.

 

[Fern]

Please post back. I would like to hear what Newegg has to say about it. I doubt they are doing this with full knowledge that the HD have no warranty. If they are it s/h/b advertised as such.

 

[billyjak]

Well I just got off the phone from Newegg and I explained what happened, the drive was clicking and I broke the pastic piece around the sata connector.

She issued me a RMA number to send back the drive, when they get it they will send out a new one.
She didn't seem surprised that it came from ASIA

I told them I would pay to have it fixed but it cannot because it is an ASIAN scheduled drive.

I'm glad they're taking care of this matter as the drive cannot and will not be repaired by WD if it is not a USA specified drive and all others that have a serial# of an ASIAN drive will have ro deal with whom they bought it.

So just be aware of that and make sure you call WD if you have any doubt and they will tell you where it was suppose to go. It would be wise to check early so the people you bought it from don't give you a hassle if their is any question about the warrenty

This could have been a fluke deal but no one knows.
Hats off to Newegg for taking care of the matter.

 

[billyjak]

I'm going to re edit the post because Newegg is taking care of it.

One word though, the manager at WD said this is an ongoing proccess so it can happen to anyone out there even if it was ordered elsewhere.
Just check your serial# to make sure where it came from.

 

[Amorphus]

I've never done a manufacturer RMA as of yet - I buy from MWave and NewEgg - both companies with exceedingly outstanding customer support.

 

[Sid59]

did you ask if they are gonna offer 5 years warranty since WD wont honor it?


see .. newegg does come through.

 

[billyjak]

I usually buy all my stuff from MWave and Newegg, but I never had to RMA anything, this was a first.
But if I didn't contact WD about the serial number others wouldn't know that this can happen to them also.
I'm still going to order from Newegg , but now I will check the merchandise a little closer from now on.
Especially Hard drives.

 

[beatle]

If Newegg sends you a new drive, it should be a "legal" one, so there should be no worry about the warranty period.

 

[billyjak]

No I didn't ask Newegg about a five year warrenty, but when I get the new drive I'm calling WD right away before I install it to find out if it is a USA drive. or else it's going back because you don't get any warrenty if it's not a USA drive and the only way to tell is by the serial#

 

[Havok423]

Guys,
I think NewEgg is VERY aware of it and is playing the stats that they won't get that many RMA's.

They clearly state on their site that the drive has a 1 year warranty when the warranty from WD is supposed to be 5 years... This means they are most likely OEM pack and are likely gray market. (not meant for US market).

If they stand behind the 1 year warranty and handle all stuff through their front end, I've no problem with that since they are upfront with the 1 year warranty... Just depends if you want the 5 year or 1 year warranty.

 

[billyjak]

You got it on the head

 

[The Sauce]

Originally posted by: billyjak
Well I just got off the phone from Newegg and I explained what happened, the drive was clicking and I broke the pastic piece around the sata connector.

She issued me a RMA number to send back the drive, when they get it they will send out a new one.
She didn't seem surprised that it came from ASIA

I told them I would pay to have it fixed but it cannot because it is an ASIAN scheduled drive.

I'm glad they're taking care of this matter as the drive cannot and will not be repaired by WD if it is not a USA specified drive and all others that have a serial# of an ASIAN drive will have ro deal with whom they bought it.

So just be aware of that and make sure you call WD if you have any doubt and they will tell you where it was suppose to go. It would be wise to check early so the people you bought it from don't give you a hassle if their is any question about the warrenty

This could have been a fluke deal but no one knows.
Hats off to Newegg for taking care of the matter.

Why didn't you just call WD and use an asian accent and tell them that you bought the drive in Asia and just moved to the US...that ought to have worked.

 

[frangus]

billjak: did you try submitting your broken drive to WDC's warranty status/check link? What does it show?

I purchased my Raptor from Newegg and it shows 5 years warranty.

 

[Paulson]

I had this same problem, only from someone on the forums I bought a 120 gig western digital drive from.

I hope this drive doesn't go bad (he claims it was from office max, and when I got it, it was still in the WD retail package... but it has no warranty, which pisses me off)

 

[Venomous]

Personally i would like to see a better connector protector for these Sata drives. Those connector shield snap realllll easy.

 

[billyjak]

frangus
I just entered the number in that check page and it came up with no warrenty
So I guess when I get my new one I'll check there instead of calling them up.

 

[gplracer]

It does not matter if you moved from Asia. The U.S. division of Western Digital offers warranties and that is reflected in the price of the product. Who knows Western Digital in the U.S. could very well be owned by someone other that WD. They are just a reseller. Some markets offer little or no warranty and that is reflected in the price of the product. The people here do not want to service drives they did not sell because it is a lose situation for them. This is a problem in lots of markets. My parents owned a jewelry store and we saw the same problem with Seiko watches. Some places like Kmart sold gray market watches. The prices they sold for were about the same as what we paid. Seiko America (Diodon) would not touch them. Alhtough usually the company who sold them would do the service and Kmart would send the watches to them or it was part of the warranty.

 

[Don66]

The Raptor I bought from newegg has the full WD warranty.

 

[Dug]

This could turn out to be a fiasco.

 

[Viper96720]

I went and checked mine since i just got it last week from newegg. I got a good drive warrantied until 2009.