EggXpert

My company has ordered $$$$$ worth of product from Newegg and we've been pretty happy with the service except for their shipping method for oem/bare HDDs. Newegg is doing a terrible job packing them!  Our last order of three 320GB SATA disks might be the last order from Newegg for any product. The first thing I noticed when receiving the package was the size of the box.  I could have fit a microwave in this box... way too big.  Upon opening it, the hdds had a single layer of bubble wrap on each of them and one was floating around in a sea of styrofoam peanuts.  This packing method is fine for larger items with more surface area, but offered no support for a bare hdd.  Two of the hdds were sitting on the bottom of the box... basically the only protection they had on the trip here was that thin layer of bubble wrap... these drives were also right next to each other so who knows how many times they slammed into each other.    It was no surprise that one of the disks was DOA.  Not only did we have to pay to ship off the drive for a replacement, we had to wait a couple weeks to finish the server build. 

I understand the difference between bare/oem and retail but newegg should take atleast some precaution to protect these drives during shipping instead of the half-assed approach they are currently using today.

What would you suggest newegg should do?

bubble pack and peanuts is better than wrapped in brown paper, as some etailers do,,,,the last couple drives i ordered were in a plastic clamshell shipping box, then wrapped in bubble wrap, and packed in peanuts,,,,,,it's OEM,,,,if you want 'em better, then buy retail,,,

I usually find them ok.  The reason they are at the bottom is probably because of settling during shipping.

Mine come wrapped a few times over in bubble wrap and an anti-static bag.  Then wrapped in a ton of packing tape and alot of packing peanuts.

They need to protect the drives better - wrapped in multiple layers of bubble wrap and shipped in a box sized for the order using something other than peanuts to fill in the voids - packing paper, more bubble wrap or those air bags would be worlds better... if the product is suspended in the box, it will fair much better than settling to one side.  Or, even reuse the foam inserts that Newegg received the drives in from the manufacturer!  

Saying "if you don't like OEM drive shipping methods, buy retail" is like saying it would be okay for Newegg to slap a UPS shipping label right on the anti-static bag... 

The manufacturers ship the bulk drives to newegg in safe packaging so it is up to Newegg to see to it that the drives are shipped safely to the customer.

In the end, they're probably spending more money processing all of the RMAs and hurting their customer base than if they just changed their shipping methods.

SergeiV:

What would you suggest newegg should do?

It's not the Customer's job to find a solution to NewEgg's problem.  He paid his money, he has a right to expect his products arrive in good working order.  Perhaps if NewEgg were willing to hire Hemi345 as a Consultant and PAY HIM for his problem-solving advice, then maybe he should give it.

Simple equation here, no need to think "outside the box" on this one.  Perhaps we'd all feel better if, instead of adequate shipping methods, NewEgg gave us really cool baseball caps, that said "NewEgg" them, with the logo 'n EVERYTHING !

Lol, shwag wh***s ! 

Hemi345:

In the end, they're probably spending more money processing all of the RMAs and hurting their customer base than if they just changed their shipping methods.

You'd think.  Maybe not.  I worked in a job once where my section was required to work very inefficiently, so that another section looked profitable.  There were more variables in my section, and finding inefficiency was harder to do.  In the other section, it was easy, which was why they hid the ineffcient processes in my section.  Anyways, it's a good question for NewEgg management to address.  With each other.

Dude, OEM drives don't come with any packaging. Deal with it. when newegg gets OEm drives they're shipped in 40-slot custom foam that is then boxed, no bubble wrap.

Welcome to the volume sales world.

When you order ENOUGH drives, newegg sometimes breaks the foam apart to the # of drives and boxes THAT in bubble wrap and peanuts.

I'm sitting on about 40 drives that have been shipped as described, OEM style, and guess what? Not ONE gave me issues.

And if they did? 30-day money back, or regular warranty applies for exchange, on Newegg's dime.

EDIT *YES IF IT'S A DEFECTIVE RMA EXCHANGE YOU CAN ASK NEWEGG TO PAY SHIPPING*

Personally, for a server build I'd just order another drive and keep the RMA exchange as spare or for the next server build. 

Bearing those facts in mind, It is  my opinion that this is a worthless thread. If you don't like the PACKAGING, buy the RETAIL BOX that has the retail packaging you WANT.

What you NEED is to have the device arrive in working order, which is what it soudns like you GOT.
 

no caag,,you miss the whole point here,,,what the whiners want is retail pakaging at oem prices,,,,,,,,,lock it bro,,,,i'm tired of all the whining anyway,,,,nothing constructive will come of this thread anyway,,,we been down this road many times,,,,,,

CAGG and fatboyHD, you both missed the point and added absolutely nothing to this thread, way to go.  Before you just respond to the subject line, try reading the topic body and a few of the replies.  I suggest you quit being Newegg suckups and look at it from another POV.

Yeah, if the drive is available retail, I'll order retail.  But try to order a retail-packaged 1TB drive... you can't.  Therefore newegg just lost another sale for complete build that required a couple 1TB drives.  I'll be damned if i'm going to play Russian roulette with a couple hdds floating around in a refridgerator-sized box having their way with the other components in there just to save a few bucks.  I'll take my business else where.

 And sorry for posting this in the Shopping Experience/Newegg Suggestions... sounds like only positive suggestions and happy customers are allowed here.   Atleast JonnyFaster gets it.

yeah bro,,,,,,you and him make a good pair,,,,,all he cares about is getting a free hat,,,,,if you got a problem with the way newegg ships your HDDs,,,call them and make a suggestion to them,,,they are very good at taking care of peoples problems,,,,,that would prolly help your problem more than comin on here and name callin bro,,,,,i could do some name callin,,but i wont call you a whiner,,,or a crybaby,,cuz i just don't do those kinda things,,,if i have a problem with something,,,i go to the source,,,,i don't go roundabout,,,crying to everybody,,,i take it to the source and get it corrected,,,,,but then, that's just me,,,,,,you and Johnnyfaster have a nice day now,,,,hope ya get ya'lls hats too, by the way,,

I'm a suck up huh?

Okay I can handle that insult if you can handle the fact that you're lazy and don't want to shop around. 

Is it's Newegg's fault they are out of stock and don't have retail boxed drives for sale?

Get an alternative. :p http://shop1.frys.com/product/5528610?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Geez you feel like you're entitled to SO MUCH huh? Fine, go get it.

I guess that still makes me a newegg suck up for suggestign soemone else huh?

FYI: order from any volume discount reseller, and you get the SAME level of packaging.

Whiners.
 

caag,,the dude ain't just lazy,,,,he's on here cryin cuz he knows that Sj will prolly jump on this and pass him some swag for his troubles,,,tell ya what bro,,,,this dude is pis$in me off,,,can't you lock this thread,,,,it ain't goin nowhere anyway,,,,,sometimes i think some of these whiners work for the Tiger,,,,,lol

My last reply on this topic to you two... maybe you'll get it (but probably not). 

fatboyHD:

yeah bro,,,,,,you and him make a good pair,,,,,all he cares about is getting a free hat,,,,,if you got a problem with the way newegg ships your HDDs,,,call them and make a suggestion to them,,,

What forum am I in? Newegg.com Suggestions  

fatboyHD:

they are very good at taking care of peoples problems,,,,,that would prolly help your problem more than comin on here and name callin bro,,,,,i could do some name callin,,but i wont call you a whiner,,,or a crybaby,,cuz i just don't do those kinda things,,,

Yeah, you're obviously above that...

fatboyHD:

if i have a problem with something,,,i go to the source,,,,i don't go roundabout,,,crying to everybody,,,i take it to the source and get it corrected,,,,,but then, that's just me,,,,,,you and Johnnyfaster have a nice day now,,,,hope ya get ya'lls hats too, by the way,,

 No idea what you're talking about with the hats.  At any rate, read some reviews about the bare drives newegg ships.  I bet I could find a couple reviews of each drive saying newegg's shipping method leaves room for improvement.   If I'm irritating you, don't read the thread, just ignore me, it's as simple as that.  By demanding my thread gets locked shows how narrow-sighted and immature you are. 

CAGG:

you're lazy and don't want to shop around. 

Is it's Newegg's fault they are out of stock and don't have retail boxed drives for sale?

FYI: order from any volume discount reseller, and you get the SAME level of packaging.

No, it's not their fault they do not have a retail 1TB drive for sale... going back to the topic of this thread... it's their shipping methods of OEM Bare HDDs.

I was ready to spend another $1500 at Newegg if they gave their OEM HDDs a little TLC for the ride here.  But since they do not, I went elsewhere and ordered the system which also had OEM/Bare HDDs.  Yeah, I paid an extra $44.02 overall for the system ordering at the other site but I know that their OEM hdds are shipped more securely, so it's worth it to take a little hit on the profit.   Your "SAME" level of packaging comment holds absolutely no water... if I didn't trust that other company's OEM hdd shipping method, why would I have ordered it from them?  The customer will get their PC on schedule and I don't have to order a spare because Newegg's shipping method is mediocre.

 EDIT: What's kinda funny is your link to the FRY's for the WD HDD is exactly the same model minus the retail packaging as this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136151 which happens to be the same model drives I had spec'd for that build.  ;)

Face it, you're both "happy" with the fact you've received your drives in working condition.  Congrats on that.  But the day when your next drive arrives DOA because the person that packed it only put it in 1 layer of bubble wrap and it was lying on the bottom of a giant box, you'll see the problem.

 

I've received drives in exactly the packaging and state you described, that were not DOA.

DOA's happen. That's what warranties are for.

Blaming the packaging (that's the SAME for every volume discount reseller I've ever used, Buy.com, Frys, Tigerdirect, MWave, Amazon...) is pretty damn hokey.

Newegg does not do this any better or worse than any other volume discount OEM retailer I've used. 

well Hemi345,,,since you are tryin to help everyone get their HDDs shipped to them in pristine condition,, how bout giving up the site you use to get these HDDs in their fine packaging,,,i for one would be interested in another source for HDDs, specialy if they take such great pain to get them to me in such a secure way,,,

If it was a dead drive and you shipped it to Seagate in the manner you received it, then Seagate would would send it back to you for use as a lawn ornament.  Take a look at Seagate site;

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/support/warranty_&_returns_assistance/packing_&_shipping_instructions/

"Enclose the static-protected drive(s) in 2-inch foam rubber in a corrugated box. Multiple drives in a single box must have foam rubber between each drive. DO NOT USE foam packing pellets, bubble wrap, or newspaper.

Warranty is void if the SeaShield cover or top cover, or any seal or label is removed or damaged, if it is improperly packaged, or if the drive experiences shock in excess of its Gs rating."

I have made up Seagate spec packing boxes when I had Seagate/Maxtor SCSI drives die on me and had to send them in for warranty replacement, and I didn't happen to have any proper harddrive boxes handy.

All hardrives are sent from the manufacturer in proper packaging, regardless of the number of drives in the box.  If your going to break up a 20 pack and sell them individually, then the vendor (newegg in this case) has the obligation to ship them in a manner that provides the same level of protection that the OEM uses.  People that deal mostly in enterprise level drives usually have access to the oem style foam insert boxes, and thats what I usually receive enterprise drives in from the vendors I use for harddrives. 

"Its too hard!" or "the manufacturer will eat the damage anyway",really isn't a proper attitude.  Poor handling will shorten a harddrives life, even if it doesn't DOA on you.  You have determine much your data is worth when you choose harddrives and harddrive vendors. Even then there is no substitute for a good backup regime, cause nobodies going to pay you for lost data.

I at no time said "it's too hard", I *SAID* that this is how all volume discount online retailers ship OEM DRIVES.

If you want the packaging and hard drive box, buy retail, it's the ONLY choice.

If you have some hard drive boxes handy, great, buy OEM,and if you get a DOA, you're set to ship back.

As a part buyer YOU as assuming the risk and headaches of warranty return requirements when you buy an OEM drive.

OEM drives are NOT meant to be retail drives, they are meant for volume system builders who have their own infrastructure in place to support their customers / users.

WHAT DOES OEM STAND FOR?  ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER.

If you can't handle those terms, or you need a new hard drive box to ship stuff back, BUY THE RETAIL BOXED VERSION. We've only been through this a couple hundred times now.

I've worked in the PC / IT industry now, sometimes for big companies and sometimes for system builders, and this CLEAR segregation between OEM and Retail has existed for only about 20 years+ now...

And as I state above, unless I purchase 5+ drives, I *NEVER* get a foam rubber container from ANY volume discount online retailer.
 

Where is the love guys n gals!?!?

Some of you know that I order lots of stuff from the Egg.  Many of those items include OEM drives.

 

Fact:

I have had one drive fail me thus far since ordering them from NE and that was a laptop drive that the box was crushed by shipping.  And I have probably ordered around 50 or more drives in the past year or so, including ones for a server installation (SCSI 80 pin)

I have mostly been pleased with the packaging on the drives, layer of bubble wrap, peanuts or surrounded by other system parts.  The worst drive packing I had encountered actually was with the Fujitsu server drives!  They were in a simple plastic box, taped, then surrounded by paper. However all the drives worked fine.

Do I agree than NE could improve their shipping with regards to OEM drives?  Sure.

Do I feel that their packaging is innadequate?  No.

Overall, I get my product, it works, and I am happy.  20 thousand dollars or so spent with the egg, and I am still happy. And that is how it is.

 

NewEgg people.  I do feel that a better sense of packaging control with regards to OEM drives may be better served.  Uniform method and better quality control.  That will help to alleviate these exact posts happening every other week where we get complaints and counter complaints.  Personally I am sick of hearing about it.

 

Loyal customer,

"If you want the packaging and hard drive box, buy retail, it's the ONLY choice."

That really is a problem of the vendor.  Retail packaging is designed to reshipped pretty much as received.  OEM drives are not packaged by the Manufacturer to be resold individually in the packaging they are received in.  The reseller is responsible for repackaging the drives in an appropriate manner.  This is not suppose to be the problem of the end user.  I posted a link to Seagate's shipping requirements, take a look at it.  Unless things have changed recently, Seagate warrants OEM drives for the same period of time as Retail drives.  Per Seagate's website, Seagate will not warrant drives that are shipped in a manner that doesn't meet their standards.

I have usually (not always) received enterprise level harddrives in the appropriate packaging, but I tend to order them from vendors that specialize in harddrives.  I'm not trying to argue here. Seagate has specific requirements for how harddrives are to be shipped, if they are to have the warranty remain in effect.  If you think the shipping requirements are excessive, then feel free to discuss that topic directly with Seagate.

As you said OEM does mean "original equipment manufacturer".  Please look at the context I used the statement in.