Fry's Seagate OEM Hard Drives (question)

[MyMelody]

This may be a bit off topic but I didnt know what forum to post this in. I just picked up the Seagate 80GB Barracuda IV (bare drive) advertised for today only from Fry's for $99. The cashier got it from the cage but it was the drive was packed in one of those hard plastic bubble cases that can be snapped shut on one end. I popped it open in the store and noticed that there were fingerprints on the chrome plate of the drive. Arent they supposed to be in an antistatic bag? I asked the cashier about this but she just said that they have to handle the oem drives that way to enter there serial #'s and that I could always return it if it was bad. Has anyone else bought an oem drive from Fry's and got it in the plastic bubble case or did they get them sealed in antistatic bags?

 

[whistleclient]

you've been a member since august, 2001. you should know better... try the peripherals forum or general hardware...

 

[MyMelody]

I just did. =) I've been a member but new to posting until recently. I only checked here a few times before but now I think im addicted to this forum.

 

[beamrider]

Not sure about Fry's, but I used to work as a new build tech at a comp store, and we'd get cases of drives in. 40 or so hard drives to a case, all in plastic clamshells, no static bag.

 

[esquared]

I bought an OEM Seagate Barracuda a couple months ago from Dell. It was packed in the plastic clamshell. The Maxtor OEMs I've bought have been in antistatic bags. I think it depends on the mfg.

 

[joemamma]

i've bought three of those fry's oem hard drives and they all came in the bubble box...worked just fine

 

[Kingofcomputer]

yes, the seagate hd is in plastic clamshell.

beware, look at the label, do you see "this is for OEM distribution, please contact the place of purchase for support..." something like that? I think Seagate may not provide warranty on this hd, need to check.

 

[gtsukada]

either that or your hard drive could have been returned. most of the time fry's doesn't even check what they return properly.

 

[Vincent]

I bought one of these a couple months ago and just sent to back to Seagate today because it started developing bad sectors. There was no problem with the warranty--I just typed in the serial number and part number and Seagate's website said the drive was warranted until 2005.

 

[recha]

I think it depends on the manufacturer because my friend bought a WD hd on Sunday and it came in an antistatic bag.

 

[Synergy3618]

This is not the first time that someone complaining about the plastic clamshell package by Seagate on this forum. For your information, Seagate also uses the same package in the retail package, so it's not like only you were cheated. What matters is that you do get a HD that works and with a 3-year warranty.

 

[GoSharks]

seagate uses the plastic thing as part of their shock protection. you see the same with their scsi drives.

 

[MyMelody]

Thanks to all that replied. I was just a little uncertain because of all the fingerprints on the chrome plate and how easy it was to open the clamshell package. Now I can sleep.

 

[alrocky]

I think I mentioned the unsealed clamshell to the cashier as well and received a similar response. Drive looked unused and had no visual flaws. Recently got the $50 rebate for that drive which I purchased in late Feb. Still waiting for the $30 rebate for that OEM GeForce3 tho - darn.

 

[edc03]

got one from fry's for $80 in bubble box and it works just fine for me. i asked the salesman if there was a warranty for the oem drives and he said their was. either way... even if it isn't covered, it seems to work just fine right now and don't anticipate any problems (hopefully no three clicking sounds like the ibm).

and also... i think this may be locked soon.

 

[HiTek21]

Bought two of those Seagate Barracuda IV drives from Frys and both came in those plastic clam shells no static guard bag.

 

[hddy]

i bought a segate barracuda 40gb hard drive from a local computer store awhile ago and it also came in those plastic clamshells. i think seagate just does it that way rather than a static bag, i wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[SimMike2]

I don't recommend Seagate OEM drives as Seagate will not handle the warranty work. They direct you back to the OEM dealer you bought it from. If the OEM dealer is out of business, or just doesn't want to help with the warranty work, guess what? You have an expensive paper-weight! Right now I have a six month old 80GB Barracuda IV which is dead. I am having real trouble getting through to Dell for warranty work. I am probably going to resort to regular US Mail since it is impossible to e-mail Dell without actually owning a Dell computer. Dell phone support also sucks, as you get put on hold forever and unless you actually have a Dell system, they treat you like a second class citizen.

If OEM warranty work is hard to get through Dell, I can't imagine trying to get it through the company listed in this hot deal.

 

[dakata24]

Originally posted by: Kingofcomputer
yes, the seagate hd is in plastic clamshell.

beware, look at the label, do you see "this is for OEM distribution, please contact the place of purchase for support..." something like that? I think Seagate may not provide warranty on this hd, need to check.

mine says OEM on the hard drive.. im going to be rmaing it next week.. i hope that's not the case though.. cuz i got a rebate from them for my fry's seagate barracuda iv 80gb.. and on the rebate for.. it says "Bare drive"..


im guessing that fry's and seagate have some sort of arrangement on this.. cuz my receipt from fry's says "3 yr seagate warrenty"

and when seagate sent me my rebate check, the enclosed a letter "Thank you for purchasing the Seagate Barracuda ATA IV drive and participating in our rebate offer" etc...

btw, when i bought mine from fry's, it came with the plastic seashell only.. if you read their rma return procedure, it says to either have it in the seashell or a anti-static bag..

 

[Gmetech]

Originally posted by: SimMike2
I don't recommend Seagate OEM drives as Seagate will not handle the warranty work. They direct you back to the OEM dealer you bought it from. If the OEM dealer is out of business, or just doesn't want to help with the warranty work, guess what? You have an expensive paper-weight! Right now I have a six month old 80GB Barracuda IV which is dead. I am having real trouble getting through to Dell for warranty work. I am probably going to resort to regular US Mail since it is impossible to e-mail Dell without actually owning a Dell computer. Dell phone support also sucks, as you get put on hold forever and unless you actually have a Dell system, they treat you like a second class citizen.

If OEM warranty work is hard to get through Dell, I can't imagine trying to get it through the company listed in this hot deal.

It's not Seagate that is the problem there.. or that the drive is OEM packaged. The problem is that you bought an OEM drive from Dell, and Dell opts to buy them at a lesser price and replace any bad drives themselves. Dealers like Newegg have also been known to sell hard drives (and other products) that have no manufacturer's warranty, yet their listing says 3 years or something. This is why I always buy with a credit card, and check warranty status with the manufacturer before I unseal any OEM hard drive package. Quantum was another Hard Drive company that sold drives without warranty, and Maxtor's warranty used to be the best in the business, but now it's the same deal with the new Maxtor's.

I bought a 80 gig Barracuda from Fry's, and had no problem with the rebate. The Seagate web site said no warranty, but I called and it was just a mistake in their system. Seagate fixed the site and it shows the warranty now.

 

[MrCodeDude]

OMG!! THX FOR TEH HOT DEAL!! WAIT, THIS IS NOT A HOT DEAL!! IT IS TEH SPAM!! K? NO THX!
-- mrcdedude

 

[tphong]

Originally posted by: esquared
I bought an OEM Seagate Barracuda a couple months ago from Dell. It was packed in the plastic clamshell. The Maxtor OEMs I've bought have been in antistatic bags. I think it depends on the mfg.

Seagate will always ship its drive in the clam shell container. Those thing are actually shock proof *AND* anti-static proof! Save those things to store your unused drives. Those are much better than the anti-static bags (at least I think so!)