[SOLVED] Is buying a refurbished NVME SSD a good idea?

[Schytheron]

So recently I saw that a retailer (well known) in my country was selling refurbished Corsair MP600 Force SSD's. It's important to note that they are refurbished by the MANUFACTURER (Corsair) not the RETAILER.
I was thinking about buying the 2TB variant. The normal price is around $330 (converted from my currency to USD) and they are selling for $244. Is it a good idea to buy refurbished SSD's? What does "refurbishing a SSD" actually mean if it's done by a manufacturer? Are they used or faulty SSD's?

The only weird thing is what they currently have around 31 in stock. I was under the impression that refurbished items would be in really low stock? Maybe not? They are even including this SSD in the sale that they are currently running.
Also, interesting to note, the warranty on this SSD is usually 5 years, but they said that the warranty is now just 1 year due to it being refurbished. Should I be worried or is that normal?
The retailer themselves have stated that their is nothing wrong with the SSD's. They are a very well known retailer that specializes in PC hardware, so they definitely have reputation to uphold but you can never be 100% sure if you can trust the words of a retailer I suppose...

It should also be noted that the endurance rating of the MP600 SSD is 3600 TBW. My current SATA SSD has a endurance rating of 360 TBW and has lasted me for almost 5 years now (and is still going strong at 86% health according to CrystalMarkInfo). So... I am thinking that even if the SSD is moderately used, it should not even make a dent on the overall expected lifetime of the SSD... right?

 

[rgd1101]

sound like used.
not unless you can return it after you check the health

 

[Lafong]

What is refurbishing on an SSD?

Very good question.......maybe dusted off real good?

My guess would be they are simply used or returned by an unsatisfied buyer, for whatever reason.

I'm guessing you cannot determine how many TB have been written to them.

I'd draw some conclusions about that 1 year warranty.

 

[Schytheron]

sound like used.
not unless you can return it after you check the health

According to the retailer, products can be returned within 30 days of purchase for any reason (as long as you haven't extensively used the product beyond the means necessary to check it's condition etc.) and I also have the right to return a product regardless of reason within 14 days according to my country's laws. I also have that 1 year warranty.

In the product description the retailer states "'Refurb' means that the disk has been reset. The product is as good as new and holds the same quality as a brand new unit". So, in a worst case scenario, according to their description, I should at the very least be able to return it using my warranty if the disk health is a fair bit lower than 100% since they themselves say that the quality of the product should be as good as new. That would make the use of my warranty valid since a poor disk health contradicts their product description... right?

 

[USAFRet]

What is the total price difference vs new?
What is the actual verified warranty?

 

[Schytheron]

What is refurbishing on an SSD?

Very good question.......maybe dusted off real good?

My guess would be they are simply used or returned by an unsatisfied buyer, for whatever reason.

I'm guessing you cannot determine how many TB have been written to them.

I'd draw some conclusions about that 1 year warranty.

According to the retailer, products can be returned within 30 days of purchase for any reason (as long as you haven't extensively used the product beyond the means necessary to check it's condition etc.) and I also have the right to return a product regardless of reason within 14 days according to my country's laws. I also have that 1 year warranty.

In the product description the retailer states "'Refurb' means that the disk has been reset. The product is as good as new and holds the same quality as a brand new unit". So, in a worst case scenario, according to their description, I should at the very least be able to return it using my warranty if the disk health is a fair bit lower than 100% since they themselves say that the quality of the product should be as good as new. That would make the use of my warranty valid since a poor disk health contradicts their product description... right?

The retailer normally has a 1 year warranty on any of their products, so I am guessing that the 1 year warranty is stated on the product page simply because the manufacturer deems their warranty to be invalid due to the refurbishment (the manufacturers 5 year warranty) and thus I am only left with the retailer warranty. Just a guess though.

 

[Lafong]

That would make the use of my warranty valid since a poor disk health contradicts their product description... right?

In your opinion.....what would constitute "poor disk health"?

Is it possible that the seller might have another opinion?

If your opinion and their opinion differ and it becomes a point of contention, then you get to evaluate your own tolerance for frustration.

 

[Math Geek]

i would not buy such a thing myself. only 1 upside and plenty of cons to it to make it worth the risk. there is no way the can make it lke new when any use eats away at the TB written the drive can handle. they can clean it up and wipe the dat but in the end it has less life than a new drive. how much less? that is anyone's guess. considering there are ways to blow through that TB written number pretty quickly so you could end up with a useless drive in a very short time. or maybe not... who knows....

considering how cheap these drives are getting lately, i can't imagine saving enough to make the risk worth it.

just my opinion but it's not let me down buying electronics over many years.

 

[Schytheron]

What is the total price difference vs new?
What is the actual verified warranty?

As stated, the price difference is $86. The warranty is 1 year (but I have a right, by country law to return the product within 14 days, regardless of reason) by the retailer. But that is the retailers normal warranty for any retail they sell, so what I suspect happened is that the 5 year manufacturer warranty simply became void due to the manufacturer refurbishing it and then the retailer simply gives me their normal 1 year warranty. Just a guess though...

But, I have a right, by country law, to return a product within 3 years of purchase if I can prove that it is broken. In other words, if the SSD dies one day (within 3 years) while it still hasn't surpassed it's manufacturers specified "read and write endurance rating" and I can prove it to them, then I get my money back. This is in the lawbook so it applies to any product and any retailer.

 

[Schytheron]

In your opinion.....what would constitute "poor disk health"?

Is it possible that the seller might have another opinion?

If your opinion and their opinion differ and it becomes a point of contention, then you get to evaluate your own tolerance for frustration.

If the retailer states that "The product is as good as new and holds the same quality as a brand new unit." then a disk health below, let's say, 80% should not be acceptable because that would contradict their own product description... no?

 

[USAFRet]

$330 vs $244.
1 year vs 5 year vs 3 year (country)

Tough decision.
I probably would not, but YMMV.

 

[USAFRet]

If the retailer states that "The product is as good as new and holds the same quality as a brand new unit." then a disk health below, let's say, 80% should not be acceptable because that would contradict their own product description... no?

"disk health" reported by software is totally irrelevant.

My one and only SSD death, a 960GB SanDisk, was reporting 100% good at 3 years.
3 years and 33 days...it died completely and suddenly.

Even though it was 33 days past the 3 year manufacturer warranty, they gave me a new one. Which I am still using 4 years later.

 

[Schytheron]

i would not buy such a thing myself. only 1 upside and plenty of cons to it to make it worth the risk. there is no way the can make it lke new when any use eats away at the TB written the drive can handle. they can clean it up and wipe the dat but in the end it has less life than a new drive. how much less? that is anyone's guess. considering there are ways to blow through that TB written number pretty quickly so you could end up with a useless drive in a very short time. or maybe not... who knows....

considering how cheap these drives are getting lately, i can't imagine saving enough to make the risk worth it.

just my opinion but it's not let me down buying electronics over many years.

1. The retailer themselves state in the product description "The product is as good as new and holds the same quality as a brand new unit". So if the product does not hold this standard upon arrival, then it is reasonable for me to get it returned...no? Because then they are contradicting their own statement.
2. My current SSD is 5 years old and only has 86% disk health. That's pretty good. My current SSD also has a endurance rating of 360 TBW while the new one has a endurance rating of a whopping 3600 TBW. So... using a bit of logic here, is it reasonable to say that, even if the "new" SSD is moderately used, it would not have much of a impact on it's expected lifetime since it's endurance rating is 10x higher than my current SSD and my current SSD is, as stated earlier, at 86% health after 5 whole years. Is my logic sound or no?
3. I don't know if I agree with you that SSD are going to get even cheaper. I think that SSD's might get a whole lot more expensive actually. Have you read about Western Digital's contamination incident? The articles states that SSD prices will skyrocket due to the incident but it's impossible to say if it's true or not. Had it not been for that article, I would not even have been looking to buy a SSD right now. Is my fear warranted? Or is the article complete bllsht?

 

[Lafong]

If the retailer states that "The product is as good as new and holds the same quality as a brand new unit." then a disk health below, let's say, 80% should not be acceptable because that would contradict their own product description... no?

It hardly matters what I think. Or what you think.

What matters is if you and the retailer have differing thoughts.

You can take that risk or not.

If the so-called health were 10 percent, the drive might last you 20 years......but I'd assume if it were 10 percent, you'd be unhappy and want to return it pronto.

"good as new" means what? A 100% health rate?

79%?

Some other arbitrary number on which you and the retailer disagree?

It isn't complicated. You get a discount in exchange for some added anxiety and risk and warranty reduction.

 

[USAFRet]

1. The retailer themselves state in the product description "The product is as good as new and holds the same quality as a brand new unit". So if the product does not hold this standard upon arrival, then it is reasonable for me to get it returned...no? Because then they are contradicting their own statement.
2. My current SSD is 5 years old and only has 86% disk health. That's pretty good. My current SSD also has a endurance rating of 360 TBW while the new one has a endurance rating of a whopping 3600 TBW. So... using a bit of logic here, is it reasonable to say that, even if the "new" SSD is moderately used, it would not have much of a impact on it's expected lifetime since it's endurance rating is 10x higher than my current SSD and my current SSD is, as stated earlier, at 86% health after 5 whole years. Is my logic sound or no?
3. I don't know if I agree with you that SSD are going to get even cheaper. I think that SSD's might get a whole lot more expensive actually. Have you read about Western Digital's contamination incident? The articles states that SSD prices will skyrocket due to the incident but it's impossible to say if it's true or not. Had it not been for that article, I would not even have been looking to buy a SSD right now. Is my fear warranted? Or is the article complete bllsht?

Retailers/sellers say a lot of things.

Drive price per GB?
Historically, absent some weirdness like a tsunami, prices go down. Period.
Any upward spike corrects quite shortly.

 

[Schytheron]

Any upward spike corrects quite shortly.

That's what we said about the GPU crisis too and that sh*t lasted for 2 years+. Also, there's a worldwide component material shortage (which is probably gonna get even worse due to whole Russia vs Ukraine situation).

 

[USAFRet]

That's what we said about the GPU crisis too and that sh*t lasted for 2 years+. Also, there's a worldwide component material shortage (which is probably gonna get even worse due to whole Russia vs Ukraine situation).

The GPU thing is completely different than drive space.

There was a spike in HDD prices due to the Chia mining.
That has almost completely corrected.

 

[Math Geek]

sounds like you've already made up your mind. you don't have to convince us, only yourself

i hope it works out for you. i really do.

 

[Math Geek]

1. I don't know if I agree with you that SSD are going to get even cheaper. I think that SSD's might get a whole lot more expensive actually. Have you read about Western Digital's contamination incident? The articles states that SSD prices will skyrocket due to the incident but it's impossible to say if it's true or not. Had it not been for that article, I would not even have been looking to buy a SSD right now. Is my fear warranted? Or is the article complete bllsht?

i know that the 2 tb 970 evo plus i bought for $250 this summer is currently $200. and i've seen other lesser models from other brands lower than that lately. don't have a clue what that article said but the current prices are pretty awesome right now. no idea which way they will go but right now i've ordered a second 2 tb 970 evo plus just cause the price is so tasty

 

[USAFRet]

I don't know if I agree with you that SSD are going to get even cheaper. I think that SSD's might get a whole lot more expensive actually.

2TB Samsung 980 Pro

Nov 2021, Black Friday
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/best-pcie-4-ssd-market-hits-record-low
Black Friday - $280

28 Feb 2022
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/s...ces-drop-to-as-little-as-dollar260-real-deals
$230.....$150

 

[Satan-IR]

No.