i recently ordered 5 hitachi 13g0255 250gb serial ata drives from
24x7pc.com for $129 each. when i checked out, they added a lot of options automatically (cables, software, external drive enclosures, pre-testing, rush-order option, etc.) which i had to uncheck so they wouldn't be included in my order. maybe that should have been an initial warning.
one of the options was a warranty option--they state that the drive comes with a 30-day warranty included, but you can buy a 1-year extended warranty for $9.89/drive or a 3-year extended warranty for $14.98/drive. i was pretty sure the drive came with a longer warranty, so i just selected the 30-day warranty and the cheapest shipping option.
after i ordered, i got the following email:
Quote:
Date: Sun, 21 Nov 2004 20:30:17 -0800 (PST)
From: 24X7PC.com <pc24x7@yahoo.com>
To: xxxx
Subject: ORDER -xxxx
----------------------------------------
Thanks for your business, IBM/Hitachi 13G0255 250GB Serial ATA 7200rpm
8MB Hard Drive__w/ 30 Days warranty_ will ship on dec 8th. That is
expecting date of arrival of this drive in our warehouse.
_
We can shipIBM/Hitachi 13G0255 250GB Serial ATA 7200rpm 8MB Hard Drive_W/
3 Year mfg Warranty, It cost you only $9.99(EACH)__more with_ FREE
UPGRADE_EXPRESS GROUND___SHIPPING.
Your quick response is needed to ship your order
_
_your shipping address is not varified from your credit card bank, In
that case we can ship the product at your billing address
If you added the shipping address with your bank pls advise
SUPPORT
24X7PC.COM
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i couldn't tell from the email if the "3-year warranty" drive was immediately available, while the "30-day warranty" drive was backordered, so i sent the following email for clarification:
Quote:
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 11:12:30 -0500 (EST)
From: xxxx
To: 24X7PC.com <pc24x7@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: ORDER -xxxx
I just want to make sure I understand your offer--are you saying that
the drive with 30-day warranty won't be available until December 8th, but
the drive with a 3-year warranty is available to ship immediately? Or is
that drive not available until December 8th, also?
Regards,
xxxx
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i got back the following email:
Quote:
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 09:04:00 -0800 (PST)
From: 24X7PC.com <pc24x7@yahoo.com>
To: xxxx
Subject: Re: ORDER -xxxx
----------------------------------------
OEM 30 days warranty expecting date of arrival is Dec8th.
Distribution drive with 3 Year warranty can be ship as per
your approval cost $9.99 each more only with_UPGRADE EXPRESS
GROUND__SHIPPING.
If your shipping address is not listed to Amex, call and have
them your shipping address listed there. We verify from Amex
about you shippng address and ship to you.
Thanks
SUPPORT
24X7PC.COM
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still not clear to me, but it sounds like the 3-year warranty drive is immediately available.
well, it seemed suspicious to me that there would be a "30-day warranty" version of the drive which happened to be backordered and a "3-year warranty" version of the drive which was available to ship immediately, so i checked on the hitachi website for their hard drive warranty policy:
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/suppor...ty/english.htm. it states:
Quote:
Warranty Period –
Ultrastar Products - 5 years
Deskstar Products, all 8MB cache buffer models - 3 years <-- the one i ordered
Deskstar Products, 512K or 2MB cache buffer models sold prior to November 15, 2002 - 3 years
Deskstar Products, 512K or 2MB cache buffer models sold on or after November 15, 2002 - 1 year
Deskstar Products, 7K250 2MB cache buffer models sold on or after November 15, 2002 - ( Not including Deskstar 180GXP or prior products) 2 years (Europe Only)
Travelstar Products, 1.8" form factor - 1 year ( 2 years for Europe only)
Travelstar Products, 2.5" form factor - 3 years
Microdrive Products – 1 year ( 2 years for Europe only)
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just to be sure, i called the hitachi help desk at (888) 426-5214 and spoke to steve. i asked him if oem drives were covered under the 3-year hitachi warranty. he told me that real oem drives--the drives which are included in desktop systems (e.g. in a dell or gateway system)--aren't covered by hitachi (the end-user is covered by the system vendor), but whitebox versions (bare drives without cables or software which resellers sometimes call "oem drives") are covered by hitachi's 3-year warranty.
armed with this knowledge, i emailed 24x7pc once again:
Quote:
Date: Mon, 22 Nov 2004 13:03:37 -0500 (EST)
From: xxxx
To: 24X7PC.com <pc24x7@yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: ORDER -xxxx
Hitachi warranties all of its drives for three years, OEM or otherwise
(OEM here refers to a whitebox version, not to drives included in PCs).
Hitachi's website states this:
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/suppor...ty/english.htm
and I also spoke to Steve at Hitachi's support number (888) 426-5214 to
confirm this.
Is there any difference between your "distribution" drive and your
"OEM" drive (cables, software, etc.)? If not, it is misleading for you to
state that I can purchase a 3-year warranty for an extra $9.99 since the
drive is already warrantied for three years by Hitachi, unless your 3-year
warranty is on top of Hitachi's for a total of six years.
Please clarify the differences between your OEM and distribution drive.
Thank you.
Regards,
xxxx
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i have yet to hear back from them.
my question is: are they scamming people with the "3-year extended warranty"? i was pretty sure they were, but i've found at least three other sites (i found all of these places through pricewatch) that offer similar extended warranty deals:
http://www.globemicroservices.com/hi2572seata8.html - no resellerrating
http://store.compbus.us/hi1325seata7.html - 0.83 resellerrating (yikes!)
http://www.bestbargainpc.com/ibmhide25sa7.html - 2.75 resellerrating
24x7pc has a 10 resellerrating, albeit with only 1 review. also, one store i do trust, newegg, lists the oem drive as coming with a 3-year warranty:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProduc...145-048&depa=0
either 24x7pc and these other stores are unaware of the hitachi warranty policy (a generous interpretation) or else they are actively scamming consumers by selling unnecessary warranties or drives which were intended to be included in full computer systems. i was ready to leave 24x7pc negative feedback, but just wanted to make sure i was right before i did. thoughts, anyone?
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