(Currently Disputed) Hard Drive warrany warning...

[absynthe97]

THIS MESSAGE IS CURRENTLY DISPUTED AND APPEARS TO BE FALSE

I normally love NewEgg.com They have a good return policy in general, good prices and a nice site. Recently I found out about something that is unacceptable however.

I looked at various Western Digital and Seagate drives and was wondering why there was no warranty mentioned. The models that I was looking at have 5 or 3 year warranties. I noticed that one of the customer reviews said that NewEgg does not supply these. I called NewEgg and they said that they only offered a 30 day in house warranty (at least on the model I was looking at). I asked them about the warranty that is listed on Seagate's or WD's site and she said she didnt have any info available about that.

So when I called Seagate, the person told me that bulk purchasers have a choice to get the 5 year warranty or not. The pricing for them is as follows:

50 CENTS for a five year warranty
20 CENTS for a three year warranty

I could not believe this at all! I mean... c'mon! This may relate to NewEgg now having their own extended warranty plans which seem to be mentioned on any product page, even pages that already have a warranty.

Some stupid manager must have decided that it was a good idea to save 50 cents. The main problem I have with this is that it is not really listed explicitly on the site. Many customers in the reviews mention the excellent 5 year warranty... however they dont realize that they dont have one. I know that NewEgg does not have to explicitly mention this.. but it is going to be bad in the long term.

I can say for myself that I will never buy a hard drive from them when they cheap out the customer like this. And I would imagine that if any of the people who did buy a hard drive try to use their warranty... they will be very irritated and will have trust issues with NewEgg.

Many cites that offer similar values do offer the warranty. So many people just expect that warranty.

I also found out that it is not just limited to NewEgg.. all purchasers from Seagate have the option to save 50 CENTS. I am very disappointed in NewEgg. WHY NEWEGG!?!?!

 

[Minerva]

If you sell 50,000 drives a month that's 25,000 a month MORE. Not pocket change. That's the CEO's mortgage!

 

[absynthe97]

So just increase the cost of the drive by 50 cents... I would think it would be better for business in the long term. Anyone who buys a drive and later finds out they they are not covered will be pretty upset.

The reason I think this is a big deal is a lot of people who post reviews on NewEgg mention how great the drives are with their 5 year warranty. They will be pretty surprised when they find out they arent covered.

50 cents out of 100-300 dollars is not a big deal.

 

[absynthe97]

Also.. take a look at their warranties that they offer. For a raptor drive... they offer a 1 year warranty for 40 dollars. That is bad customer service. Sure.. it would save money for the company and the CEO could buy a new porche... but why dont they just get rid of their 30 day return policy.. that would save money and headache... they dont do that because customers would be unhappy having to deal with a DOA drive themselves.

 

[John]

absynthe97, I find it interesting that your first post on AnandTech is to post FUD about Newegg and their HDD warranties. FWIW you're completely wrong about the warranty. All drives they sell carry an appropriate mfg. warranty. :thumbsdown:

 

[absynthe97]

Well.. I was appalled by this policy on Newegg and figured anandtech was a good place to put the word out.

How do you know I am completely wrong? Can you show me something on Newegg's site that indicates otherwise? The tech rep at Seagate said that purchasers have the choice to get the warranty or not. The sales rep at newegg knew nothing of a 5 year warranty and referred me to seagate. There are many posts in the reviews on newegg that say that they dont have the warranty. Nothing on seagate's site saying anything definitive about it.. the product page will show a five year warranty but it is not clear that OEM parts from anyone is covered.

You are very fast to make such a claim. Have you called seagate? Do you work for them? Do you have some sort of documentation that shows that all drives from newegg have the manufacturers warranty?

I find it interesting that an "Elite" member of the forum is so fast to make such a decisive answer. Where is your proof?!?

 

[absynthe97]

I also see, John.. that you told someone else in the forums that newegg does have the 5 year warranty. What info did you base this on? Perhaps they changed their policy. I would tend to trust the person at seagate more that other people. It bothers me when people make claims so confidently to someone who is making a purchasing decision when I get info that completely contradicts that from a seagate tech rep.

 

[DaveSimmons]

It bothers me when someone creates an account just to attack a company that AT members trust very highly and have almost always had excellent service from.

You called and talked to a random person at Newegg who explained their own return policy (after which you must deal with the manufacturer), and decided that it meant that there is no manufacturer warranty.

Then were so shocked that you needed to create new accounts across the intraweb to spread the FUD.

There's a tiny chance this is true, but it seems more like something an employee of a competitor would do, or someone with sour grapes because they couldn't get an RMA on a part they broke.

 

[Auric]

Quick, anyone who recently purchased a Seagate from Newegg...

validate the warranty.

 

[John]

Originally posted by: absynthe97
Where is your proof?!?

NeweggSupport will be replying to this thread once he is online.

 

[amaunator]

Ok, I'm confused. I just bought an OEM seagate from tigerdirect and an OEM western digital raptor from newegg. I went to both web sites and checked the serial numbers in their warranty check link. Both are under warranty for 5 and 5 years respectively. Did I mention I'm confused?

The only negative I can see is that the warranty periods by each company seems to begin when they got the drives rather than when I did.

 

[absynthe97]

I did not just talk to someone at newegg... i also talked to someone at seagate. The seagate guy could be stupid... but if so he sure gave a lot of details about it. He gave the prices.. he independently mentioned that newegg does it.. he told me about the manner in which they apply a warranty after a batch is ready to be shipped.

Maybe it is not true... I am just trying to get to the bottom of it and maybe I should not trust what someone at seagate tells me. Besides... the warranty is not mentioned at all on the page whereas other items do show warranty info or at least have a little section that says that the manufacturer does have a warranty but you need to call them to check.

I did call Western Digital today and they said that they do provide the warranty regardless of where you purchase it. Seagate is closed for the weekend so I cannot double check my info.

It is possible that this is a new thing... or that newegg buys different batches under different circumstances.

I have no grudge against newegg... I have been buying every computer part for the last 4 years from them. I just felt unhappy when the newegg person did not know and the seagate tech rep said that the warranty can be opted out. Don't get all hissy about my topic.. its just what I heard from seagate.

I am very interested to hear what neweggsupport has to say because any forum I mention this on seems to arouse strong emotions and flaming. I start to get a little heated as well because so many people bark about me spreading lies.. but I wonder where this extremely confident response is coming from... No where on newegg is it confirmed that the drives have a warranty... and no where on seagate that i can find explicitly states that all drives purchased from wherever have a warranty.

 

[DaveSimmons]

any forum I mention this on

Out of curiosity how many forums have you created accounts on today to spread this rumor?

 

[NesuD]

You are such a tool. Many of us here have been buying from newegg for years. Newegg does not sell oem drives without a manufacturers warranty. You it appears have misunderstood the answers to your questions or have simply posed the wrong questions. The seagate rep told you that their oem drives are sold with the option of the warranty at the discretion of the oem purchasing them. I doubt if he would have any direct knowledge of whether newegg declined the warranty or not. In fact I doubt that newegg actually buys their drives directly from the manufacturer. OEM drives are usually bought by the Dells of the world then the excess stock sold off to brokers who in turn sell them to the neweggs of the world.

I noticed that one of the customer reviews said that NewEgg does not supply these.

Thats true. Manufacturer warrantys come from the manufacturer not newegg. Duh!

I called NewEgg and they said that they only offered a 30 day in house warranty (at least on the model I was looking at). I asked them about the warranty that is listed on Seagate's or WD's site and she said she didnt have any info available about that.

I'm sure thats true as well. Makes sense to go to the manufacturers website for specifics on themanufacurers warranty.

No where according to your post did anyone in fact tell you that hard drives from newegg did not include a manufacturers warranty. Additionally it doesn't appear that you specifically asked the newegg Rep if the drives came with manufacurers warrantys. Looks to me like you failed to actually ask the right questions then when you got answers that you obviously did not understand you leapt to some conclusions that were not in any way based on the facts you have given here. next time you register in a forum to yelll that the sky is falling pick a name like Chicken Little OK?

 

[absynthe97]

God... why does everyone get so sensitive.

I did ask the rep if it was covered under manufacturers 5 year warranty. She said all that she saw listed on her computer was the 30 day and that I would have to call seagate to see if there was any additional. I did call seagate and before I could ask any specifics about newegg... he said that newegg and tigerdirect do not always get the warranty. I dont know what kind of psychic powers you have to understand what questions I asked but they must be failing you. Everyone seems so certain of this.

Could someone that is so certain of this issue point me to the info that makes you feel this... other than your gut feeling that newegg wouldnt do this? There is no page that I can find at newegg that says anything about their policy regarding hard drive warranties. There is no manufacturers warranty listed on many (every single one that I looked at) seagate harddrives.

In fact... the only thing that I could find in the seagate warranty pages is that you are NOT covered if an OEM drive was sold to anyone other than a final end user. So in your case where "the dells of the world" buy from brokers.. they would lose the warranty.

This is all beside the point. What is the magical information that tells you, without a doubt, that newegg, right now and not 3 months ago, gives you a drive that is covered by the manufacturers warranty.

Until someone actually has REAL information and not just strong feelings and lots of loud talk... sod off. And for anyone that wants to actually show me some sort of hard proof (an actual website or customer service rep) please do show me because I just want to find out the truth. All I know is that the new egg rep did not know about any kind of manufacturers warranty from her computer screen.. the website does not list any kind of manufacturer warranty coverage.. and a tech rep and seagate told me that newegg (without me mentioning newegg) sometimes buys the drives without the warranty.

If you dont believe me... try calling seagate on their next business day and ask if all hard drives that are sold OEM default to having a warranty.

And stop being so sensitive!

 

[amaunator]

Assuming you bought a drive already from newegg, go to the manufacturer's website and look at the warranty section and put in your serial number. It comes up with how long is left on your warranty.

I put both of my hard drive's serial numbers into their manufacturer's site and they both came up with how long is left on their warranty.

As you just said, "final end user", that would be you when you buy the drive and keep it. I assume you are going to buy it to use, right?

 

[DrMrLordX]

Not that I'm a huge fan of NewEgg or anything, but if you want some proof that Seagate's warranty is in effect for Seagate OEM drives purchased on NewEgg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16822148140

In particular, notice the negative commentary from StevieB:

Pros: Fast and cheap like my sorority dates.

Cons: After 6 months, random failures in most XP programs. Tried reinstalling windows, but could not. Reinstalled windows to a different hard drive, no problem. In RMA process and ending up with a refurbished drive. Buh bye 5 yr. warranty.

Other Thoughts: What good is a hard drive if it's not reliable? RMA process took a half hour because of heavily accented English from Seagate rep.

He RMAd the drive when it failed after 6 months of operation. Clearly he was not using NewEgg's standard 30-day return policy here . . . he was dealing with Seagate directly.

 

[absynthe97]

Right... it does seem spotty.. some people seem to have the warranty... others in the customer reviews seem to have not (and I do realize you have to take those with grain of salt) . I have already spoken with people who have seagates from newegg that do have the warranty. So I am not really sure if this is a new thing, a false thing or something that only happens sometimes. The main tipoff to me was that there is no warranty mentioned on the item pages and I could have sworn there used to be when I got my raptor a while ago. The only reason I think that it may be true is from the seagate guy giving such detailed info about the hard drive not always having the warranty and actually mentioning newegg without me bringing it up.

The number one argument I have seen against this topic is that "OEM drives always have the warranty" followed by some message about how stupid I am. From what the guy at seagate said.. this wouldnt be true. Perhaps many times newegg does get the warranty but maybe sometimes they get the drives through a supplier that opts out. I dont really know but I would put at least an ounce of weight toward something that a seagate tech rep said.

I am pretty much waiting now for Monday(or Tuesday if they are closed) so that I can call newegg and seagate again and get to the bottom of it. Perhaps I jumped the gun by declaring that they dont offer warranties.. but when I heard it from the seagate guy.. I figured it was real. Will have to wait until I talk to them or maybe a forum member here that is affiliated with newegg can shed some light on it.

 

[DrMrLordX]

So quote a review in which the reviewer claims the manufacturer's warranty is non-applicable. Or publish verifiable testimony. Otherwise you have nothing but hearsay.

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: absynthe97
Right... it does seem spotty.. some people seem to have the warranty... others in the customer reviews seem to have not (and I do realize you have to take those with grain of salt) . I have already spoken with people who have seagates from newegg that do have the warranty. So I am not really sure if this is a new thing, a false thing or something that only happens sometimes. The main tipoff to me was that there is no warranty mentioned on the item pages and I could have sworn there used to be when I got my raptor a while ago. The only reason I think that it may be true is from the seagate guy giving such detailed info about the hard drive not always having the warranty and actually mentioning newegg without me bringing it up.

The number one argument I have seen against this topic is that "OEM drives always have the warranty" followed by some message about how stupid I am. From what the guy at seagate said.. this wouldnt be true. Perhaps many times newegg does get the warranty but maybe sometimes they get the drives through a supplier that opts out. I dont really know but I would put at least an ounce of weight toward something that a seagate tech rep said.

I am pretty much waiting now for Monday(or Tuesday if they are closed) so that I can call newegg and seagate again and get to the bottom of it. Perhaps I jumped the gun by declaring that they dont offer warranties.. but when I heard it from the seagate guy.. I figured it was real. Will have to wait until I talk to them or maybe a forum member here that is affiliated with newegg can shed some light on it.

can we ask how old you are???

 

[Captante]

OP is full of crap ... I always check the warranty on every OEM HD I buy regardless of where its from (I only use Seagate & WD) ... all 6 Seagate & all 4 WD OEM drives purchased in the last 6 months have had a 5 year warranty... the only slight exception to this was that WD requires you to register your drive along with the purchase date to get 5 years from that date, otherwise its 5 years from date of manufacture, which in my case would have cost me about 3 weeks of coverage.

 

[boomerang]

As most of us know, the lifecycle of a piece of computer hardware is short-lived. When an item needs warranty replacement, oftentimes that model is no longer being produced.

Unless a new purchase is DOA, I always deal directly with the manufacturer for warranty issues. It's really your only option. The 'egg is not going to have in stock that motherboard you bought 28 months ago.

The OP's post is a non-issue for me. I don't seek warranty replacement from NewEgg.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: boomerang
As most of us know, the lifecycle of a piece of computer hardware is short-lived. When an item needs warranty replacement, oftentimes that model is no longer being produced.

Unless a new purchase is DOA, I always deal directly with the manufacturer for warranty issues. It's really your only option. The 'egg is not going to have in stock that motherboard you bought 28 months ago.

The OP's post is a non-issue for me. I don't seek warranty replacement from NewEgg.

The way I read it he was saying if you bought the HD from Newegg it didn't have the expected 5 year warranty.

 

[WackyDan]

Buying a drive from newegg or others does indeed entitle you to the warranty on that drive as specified in the product details of that website/vendor sales page.

Where most get confused is the warranty difference between a oem drive in an oem system, vs an oem bare drive bought from a web site. If you buy a system, either laptop or desktop from a Dell, HP, or Lenovo, etc, for example, your warranty on the drive in the system is through Dell, HP, or Lenovo, etc. The bare drives you buy are indeed covered.

Any conversations you have with a web catalogers customer service or manufacturer's customer service line should be taken with a grain of salt. These are jobs with high turnover, manned by employees that have too much info they need to retain to be truly effective.

Finally, there is nothing wrong with receiving a refurbished drive. It is rare when you get a new drive under warranty replacement by the manufacturer. Raw statistic for you to swallow - nearly 70% of all drives returned to manufacturers under warranty by corporate customers aren't actually bad from a hardware perspective, but have software image issues that techs didn't feel worth their time to resolve, and rightly so.

And yes, it does seem odd that a first post would be this.

 

[Nocturnal]

Like someone already mentioned, go to the respective website of the drive manufacture and go to their RMA/support center. You'll then be able to type in the serial number as well as the model number and it will spit back what type of warranty you have and how many years more it is covered or if it is not covered at all.

If the drive originally came in an OEM system then you are covered, like someone already mentioned, via the manufacture who built your computer. Also if you go to check on the warranty of the drive via the drive manufacture's website, it will tell you a) it is not covered by the drive manufacture and b) to go back to your OEM system builder for support/RMA/return.