External HDs for $30/35?

Anyone know of any external hard drives for sale (new or refurbished) for around $30/35?

Looking for a cheap 2nd hard drive (60 GB+ is fine) because my current one is getting full, but I don't have alot of money available right now.

Thanks!

EDIT: Can't find any via online vendors so I tried ebay. Any reason not to buy this? (60gb for $35)
http://cgi.ebay.com/60GB-USB-Slim-E...C_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item3efb98ec9b

EDIT2: This seems like a good deal - 120gb for $40 - seems to good to be true? (Seller has a great rating though)
http://cgi.ebay.com/New-120GB-USB-2...C_Drives_Storage_Internal?hash=item2ea8786b1b

EDIT3:
Well, I got it. Its solid and worked out of the box. Its a 120GB Hard drive placed in a 2.5" SATA Hard Drive aluminum case.

Looks good. Works well. We'll see how long it lasts. =) W7 reads it as 111GB. It even comes with a black cloth case. I am very satisfied.

EDIT4:
It died. Gonna return it this coming week.

Lost quite a bit of information, but none of it is "life-or-death".

Lesson learned. =(

 

When it comes to electronics and eBay, I stay away like the plague. I'd rather spend the extra money from a brick and mortar, or a place like Newegg or Amazon and know that a) I can easily return the item if something is wrong with it, and b) you can rest easy knowing you have a warranty on the item.

Nothing sucks worse than trying to reconcile a purchase with a vendor on eBay who's product you bought failed on you just days after you received it.

 

I have that same view too, but the vendor has 98.7% positive feedback out of over 8000 ratings. I think I'm gonna go ahead and get it.

 

No worries. Once you receive it in the mail, would you mind checking back and let us know what kind of hard drive is in the enclosure?

 

Sure I'll do it. =)

 

First, there is a chance that when dealing with the many variety of vendors on ebay you will get one or two that are unscrupulous and lose your money (yes, I've been a victim). Still, someone reminded me that that are also very good bargains on those websites, so it's up to each individual to determine if the good outweigh the the bad. For me, that was a resounding yes.

That said, I would take car on purchasing non-name brand item that were super cheap. Even with a bargain website like ebay, the old caveat still remains: you get what you pay for!

As you say... extra money

One more thing OP, it seem that 60GB is hardly worth it. I would think that your money would be much better spent if you'd save a bit more and buy an external HD with 200 GB. After all, you don't just want storage, you want reliability as well. Not to mention, you can never have TOO much storage.

 

Most items on eBay have their own manufacturer warranties, right?

 

Right! All manufacturers warranties apply. However, a few of he most reputable dealers will let you return a defective item usually withing 10 days or so. Check their exclusions, the lists can be daunting.

Note: Remember, these guys aren't big companies so the can't afford to be so generous. Any return at all is a plus.

 

Well I had/have a great experience with buying through vendors who use ebay + bing cashback with the laptop I'm using now. Also, my current HD has had no probs, but was $50 via Newegg.

I'll take this chance and let you know how it goes once I receive/how long it lasts. =)

 

I would imagine so, but I there are some sellers who package their own hard drive + enclosure combos and sell for a discount. In those cases, manufacturer warranties may be limited or non-existent.

BTW, from where in the Bay Area are you from? I was born and raised in Hayward right across the bay from S.F. and next door to Oakland.

 

Well, I'm more talking about RMAs. As long as I can RMA it in the event of a faulty product, I don't mind.


Another Hayward person, too, huh? That's where I'm at.

 

Understood, and in that regard, I agree.

Nice! I went to high school at Mount Eden on Hesperian Blvd.

 

You must have been really close to me then, since I would have gone there too. Went to a school all the way in San Mateo, though.

 

Well, I got it. Its solid and worked out of the box. Its a 120GB Hard drive placed in a 2.5" SATA Hard Drive aluminum case.

Looks good. Works well. We'll see how long it lasts. =)

 

What kind of hard drive is it? Inquiring minds want to know! Maybe run HD Tune to find out? Or check your Device Manager and let us know.

 

According to Devmgmt.msc its a Generic External USB Device. HDTune says its firmware version is 3.ALC and its serial number is 5LZ3T81K if that means anything to you.

 

It died. Gonna return it this coming week.

Lost quite a bit of information, but none of it is "life-or-death".

Lesson learned. =(

 

Aww that's too bad

Well I've bought electronics from ebay before(lots of online resellers have their outlets on ebay here in Canada rather than make a separate webpage), but you should be wary of extremely cheap(price wise) stuff as well as no names. Remember that the 98.7% positive feedback the seller has is in conjecture with his service as a seller rather than his product half the time.