+- MacResource (https://forums.macresource.com)
+-- Forum: My Category (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=1)
+--- Forum: Tips and Deals (https://forums.macresource.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=3)
+--- Thread: What is it with shipping hard drives? (/showthread.php?tid=95897)
What is it with shipping hard drives? - anonymouse1 - 04-16-2010
When you order "bare" hard drives from Dell, Newegg, or Amazon, they ship the hard drive in a small cardboard box that is put loose into a larger box!
I don't understand why they put NO padding into the outer box! WTF?
Anybody have any insight into this?
Thanks.
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - M A V I C - 04-16-2010
Never received a drive from Newegg like that. It's usually wrapped in bubble wrap.
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - C(-)ris - 04-16-2010
anonymouse1 wrote:
When you order "bare" hard drives from Dell, Newegg, or Amazon, they ship the hard drive in a small cardboard box that is put loose into a larger box!
I don't understand why they put NO padding into the outer box! WTF?
Anybody have any insight into this?
Thanks.
No need? The heads are parked, the double boxing is going to prevent the drive from being physically damaged. They are rated to withstand more forces than what occurs in shipping when the heads are parked.
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - Robert M - 04-16-2010
C(-)ris,
I'll respectfully disagree. I've received bare hard disk drives wrapped in bubble wrapped or in a small carton and then placed without additional appropriate packaging/stuffing material in a large carton. Heads parked or not, I'd reject the drives due to insufficient packaging. While a hard disk drive may be designed to withstand shocks, even the strongest and most well designed drives won't necessarily withstand the jouncing it'll receive at the hands of a small package carrier. I know I wouldn't trust my data to a drive shipped in that manner.
Robert
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - modelamac - 04-16-2010
I agree with Robert M. No packing material is no way to ship a HD. I would not buy from that vendor again,and would tell him why.
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - Racer X - 04-16-2010
Robert M wrote:
C(-)ris,
I'll respectfully disagree. I've received bare hard disk drives wrapped in bubble wrapped or in a small carton and then placed without additional appropriate packaging/stuffing material in a large carton. Heads parked or not, I'd reject the drives due to insufficient packaging. While a hard disk drive may be designed to withstand shocks, even the strongest and most well designed drives won't necessarily withstand the jouncing it'll receive at the hands of a small package carrier. I know I wouldn't trust my data to a drive shipped in that manner.
Robert
If you sent a drive back to the manufacturer for a warranty replacement, they would refuse it because of insufficient packaging. Why accept a new one packaged that way?
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - Robert M - 04-16-2010
Racer,
Exactly!
Robert
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - C(-)ris - 04-16-2010
If it was causing problems Newegg would have figured it out by now. They only have 10 years of experience shipping hardware and they probably sell hundreds of drives an hour.
Do you have any proof that shipping in that way causes damage? I'm not even sure what symptops you would see...The heads are parked and locked in place, platters not spinning. Unless it was hit hard enough to dent or otherwise physically mark the outside of the drive there is nothing to worry about.
But go ahead, stop buying drives from Newegg, whatever floats your boat... :nuts:
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - JoeH - 04-16-2010
So, they ship large numbers of improperly packaged drives. They probably either don't care or have run the numbers and found they save just enough to make a bit of money on the difference in packaging. Then they only have to replace some small percentage of DOA drives, the rest they sluff off onto the warranty. As for the heads parked, etc. and the shocks received in shipping being within specs, you are an optimist. The shocks packages receive in normal shipping can far exceed any the drives are designed to take. There is a reason the standard packaging for single drives from the manufacturers includes some shock suspension device, it is needed. Newegg and the like are taking bulk packed drives out of the shock absorbing packaging they receive them in and sending the drives unprotected. I'm with Robert and Racer on this.
Re: What is it with shipping hard drives? - Racer X - 04-16-2010
So, shipping them that way is OK, and the drive manufacturers are just using poor return shipping as an excuse to deny claims?
I'm involved in drop testing and vibration testing at work all the time. I have no doubt that poor packaging can cause degradation in the longevity of some mechanical components, especially precision assemblies like hard drives.