anyone here used stuff-uk? and if so, how reliable are their refurbished hard drives? reddit / selfhosted ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joelnodxd · 2023-11-07 14:24 for context: this will be in my NAS serving Plex content regularly and hosting an Immich photo server ---------------------------------------------------------------------- RedditSlayer2020 · 2023-11-07 14:36 I worked in the industry for 40 years and it was always common sense that you never buy used hard drives. There are brands more reliable than others but at the end it's gambling. My advice if you are going to buy used hard drives use raids and do periodic backups. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- skwyckl · 2023-11-07 14:38 New HDDs and SSDs are not expensive today, why would you risk losing your data just to save 50 bucks / disk? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- DaveInGlasgow · 2023-11-07 14:39 No matter you want to be sure you're not going to get hit with duty and import VAT and customs fees and couriers fees as its coming from outside the UK. OTOH they do pass my sniff tests. Genuinely appear to be a UK firm (but not checked at Companies House which I would if I was ordering). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joelnodxd · 2023-11-07 14:41 a raid configuration is exactly where this is gonna go, it'll be in my NAS with a raid 1 (?) config to share files across two drives ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joelnodxd · 2023-11-07 14:42 it'll be in a raid config and I have daily SMART tests that tell me when a drive is failing in my NAS, also automatically putting it in read only mode so I'm not too fussed about losing data as it won't be hard to get it back ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joelnodxd · 2023-11-07 14:43 that's true about import fees, although I've ordered from different countries before and never been hit with customs/taxes fees so I should be fine ---------------------------------------------------------------------- EmperorButtman · 2023-11-07 15:09 I'd check scamner, there might be a red flag on there ---------------------------------------------------------------------- returnofblank · 2023-11-07 15:15 money ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ZeeroMX · 2023-11-07 15:49 Yeah, just having local backups of internet content. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- GreyAreaManchester · 2023-11-07 16:12 also, just be conscious that it looks to be a SAS not SATA drive.. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kenzijam · 2023-11-07 16:37 Can't speak to their reputation, but I've ordered 10tb drives for similar money from some eBay sellers, and 8tbs for less, so if you're going to take a risk may as well get some better value ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joelnodxd · 2023-11-07 16:38 Any particular places on eBay I can find cheap drives that won't fail easily? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- SikTh666 · 2023-11-07 16:41 RAID 1 is immanent here. But consider that if you use two used drives, in case of failure, the RAID controller starts to rebuild 4 TB of data, the perfect scenario, where the second used drive has a potentially higher rate of death too. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fratm · 2023-11-07 17:32 This really doesn't answer the question. Why buy used drives when new are not much more expensive, and way more reliable? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- joelnodxd · 2023-11-07 17:55 I'm just trying to get the best bang for my buck if possible, but if a more expensive option is better then that's what I'll go for. I don't desperately need more storage, this post is just for the future when I will ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Salt_MasterX · 2023-11-07 18:27 Used drive = $12/TB New drive = $18/TB on a good sale ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Tha_Reaper · 2023-11-07 18:47 That's not even such a good price for a 4TB drive. Why risk it on a refurbished one? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Raupe_Nimmersatt · 2023-11-07 18:51 Any drive can fail at any time without notice so make sure you are prepared with working backups regardless of new/used drives and reputation. Some refurbed drives even come with multi-year warranty but make sure you buy from a trusted shop. [diskprices.com](https://diskprices.com/?locale=uk&condition=new,used& disk_types=internal_hdd,external_ssd,internal_ssd,m2_ssd,m2_nvme,u2) is good to get a glance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Fluffer_Wuffer · 2023-11-07 19:02 For what it's worth, kitting out 8 and 12 bay NAS's is an expensive hobby..so over the years i've probably purchased 50-60 used drives, and I've had 2 fail on me. But couple of bits to keep in mind 1) I purchased them knowing they may fail sooner 2) I was buying them at 60%+ cheaper than new ones, with the saving I always purchased 1 or 2 extra drives to keep as cold spares 3) Buy intelligently.. I always brought models with longer warranties, and thankfully, the 2 that did fail me, 1 Seagate IronWolf and a WD Red, both got replaced by the manufacturers.. These days it a bit more difficult, as models don't change as frequently, so it is more difficult to estimate warranty, but honestly, if its a small/private seller, just ask them if they can share the year of manufacture and/or the serial number.. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seaborn63 · 2023-11-07 19:06 If you have to buy a second one after it fails, then it's no longer cost-effective to do so. If your timeframe is longer than 2 years for running this NAS, I would recommend new hardware or else you run the risk of losing everything and having to pay more money to recreate what you already had minus the data you already lost. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 007bane · 2023-11-07 23:54 https://serverpartdeals.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- jonathanrdt · 2023-11-08 03:10 If a used drive has a record of the smart readout, you can know what you are getting. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- string-user-equals · 2023-11-08 03:31 I wouldn’t roll the dice on refurb with only 2 drives TBH. If you were doing 4-11 on a RAID 6 sure. 12+ on a RAID 60, hell yea. But two drives…. Ehhhhh idk ---------------------------------------------------------------------- pwnamte · 2023-11-08 09:58 I think you can get new drive for not much more money... Is the risk worth that 15-20$ ? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- kmisterk · 2023-11-09 16:52 ## Post Removed Hey, joelnodxd! Thanks for your submission on selfhosted. Your post has been removed due to a violation of the purpose of the subreddit: **Self Hosting** ## Not Self-Hosted When it comes to posts regarding applications in this subreddit, they must feature a self-hosted tool, or a tool that *can be* self-hosted, or some kind of related information, help request, or otherwise related to a tool that is something that one can self-host. If you believe this post *is in fact* relevant to /r/selfhosted, feel free to [message the mods](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to= /r/selfhosted&subject=Removed For Not Being Self- Hosted&message=[Removed Post](https://www.reddit.com/r/selfhosted/comments/17pvcte/-/\)) with your concerns.