Newegg - seeking opinions

I apologize if this post belongs in another forum, I couldn't discern a more suitable forum here. I'm considering ordering a Western Digital external hard drive and currently Newegg has the lowest price by almost $20. I'd appreciate reading opinions and experiences by others who have ordered from Newegg, especially members who needed to return defective items and their experience with the process.

Thanks much for reading and any responses.

 

I have ordered from Newegg on multiple occasions and I am yet to have to RMA an item. All of my purchases have arrived quickly and intact. All positive experiences for me.

 

I have bought many many items from Newegg, and I have never had any issues. But I do know people that have bought bare hard drives before from them and it shipped with little protection and broke. So you should always try and buy retail packaging with them on hard drives for the extra protection whenever possible.

 

They charge a 15% restocking fee and make you pay return shipping. Usually, I have not had problems with items from them, though.

 

I have only ordered a few small items from them. The service and items were as advertized. I purchased a couple memory cards and a wireless usb adapter. The linksys wireless usb adapter came to me shipping tax and total for under $8. The cheapest I had seen it elsewhere was amazon for 18 than add shipping. On free shipping items they advertize 4 to 7 days. I live in CA and the wireless adapter was ordered on a Thursday and arrived on Saturday/

 

The only thing I don't like about Newegg now is they make you pay fees to RMA a DOA item (ridiculous IMO).

 

If possible i always order from them NEVER A problem.

 

I greatly appreciate the helpful responses. My hesitation about ordering from Newegg is the 15% restock fee that Abaddon4180 and Tsunade_Hime cited. I wasn't certain if this was charged for items that were DOA or failed within a few days, so I'm both glad and dismayed to know. My concern about the return policy in turn originates from hearing about Western Digital external HDs that occasionally are DOA or fail quickly, although I have yet to experience any problems on my 2 internal and 4 external WD drives. Amazon, despite its somewhat impersonal service, readily accepts returns and pays shipping on returns due to defects or wrong item sent and does not charge restock fees on any returns. I agree with Tsunade_Hime that charging restock fees on returns due to DOA and defects is silly, to say the very least.

Thanks much again,

 

This is a problem for me too. They should cover round trip shipping costs with a DOA item. With Amazon I asked to exchange something and they had a shipping label in my inbox immediately, and replacement item was sent out same day they received my return. That's the way it should be.

I still think 15% restocking fee is ridiculous too. They recoup that cost, plus they sell items as an open box typically for less than 10% discount or return to manufacturer with no cost to them. Although one time I returned a video card to buy a more expensive one and they waived the restocking fee without question. So it doesn't hurt to contact them.

Otherwise they have some of the best pricing on computer components in general. Amazon is getting better though. Usually I will shop Amazon and if it's the same price, or even slightly more expensive I'll buy from Amazon because of their phenomenal return policy. Plus I have Amazon Prime at the moment for free.

 

so buy local. The internet isn't the only source of tech sales......

 

^^Agreed, sometimes you can find decent deals at the local B&Ms (BB, OfficeDepot, Staples).

@OP's, I have never had a problem dealing with Newegg : )

 

There are deals to be had locally, definitely. I do from time to time, but even many local stores have 15% restocking fees for returned electronics, and cost 20-40% more to begin with, plus sales tax on top of it. And that's if I can even find what I want locally, that's rare.

 

I have had a DOA HDD from the egg.

I do not recall having a restock fee for a DOA exchange I think that only applies for a general return.

I do think they wanted me to pay the shipping though, but one phone call solved that.

Amazon is 10x easier for returns, but for computer stuff newegg is the best one stop shop for the US.

For single items like a HDD though you can look around on Amazon or others places.

 

Not had this problem. I've had multiple DOA items thanks to my volume (typically because its been mangled in shipping) and they ship a new one and I hand the current box back to UPS.

 

This, while officially the case, isn't exactly the way things go.
Really, if you talk to one of their reps via live chat, you can almost always get the restocking fee & return shipping waived for DOA items. Case in point, my Intel SSD came DOA, and Newegg wanted to charge me $10 for return shipping (I only paid $2 for shipping to my house, and UPS wanted less than $5 to send it back). Instead, however, I talked to one of their live agents, and got a free prepaid UPS shipping label

 

I love Newegg. I haven't had a DOA to date.

The only annoyance is that they have a distribution center in California, which means I get hit with nearly 10% of horrible, horrible sales taxes.

 

That's true. Poor Cali residents get hit with a lot of tech tax I'm sure. I would probably look to buy elsewhere if I could because 10% is a lot.

 

TigerDirect or Amazon are other places I'll look if I can find an equivalent product. Thing is, though, Newegg prices are usually good enough that even with +10%, they're be just about the same as the pricing at anothe site.

If that's the case, I tell myself to just stick with Newegg.

 

I appreciate the additional information. Responding to newsposter, on-line/mail-order dealers often have lower prices than local ones, IMHO--but of course I could be wrong. More significantly, I have a disability that makes driving difficult, so on-line and mail-order dealers and shops have been wonderfully convenient and helpful to me.

Thanks,

 

Another CA resident hit with sales tax here, I make my purchases from Amazon or TigerDirect when I can. Unlike Forge, I find that Newegg prices are generally not low enough to recoup the difference. In fact, TD seems to have the lower ones on what I've been looking for lately.

Plus, clear your cookies every time you place an order and set up a few fake e-mail addresses and they'll keep giving you "new user" coupons for $10 off.