Is it Safe to Buy a Hard Drive from a Large Retailer?

[Jackson413]

Target has a really decent deal on a 4TB backup drive:

http://www.target.com/p/wd-my-book-4tb-external-hard-drive-wdbfjk0040hbk-nesn-black/-/A-14881813#prodSlot=medium_1_3&term=western+digital

1. Amazon reviewers seem to like this drive. Would you recommend it personally?

2. I can get a better price buying it at Target than I can on Amazon/Newegg, but I'm wondering if I'm taking a severe risk buying it from a retailer that doesn't solely deal in electronics. What I'm most worried about how it was handled etc. If the hard drives were shipped boxes that got thrown around, the drive would have a higher chance of failing sooner (I know all hard drives will fail eventually). Am I right to be nervous buying it from Target?

 

[Boogieman_WD]

Hey Jackson413. Generally you always take that chance no matter where you buy it from, but you should know that the WD drives are pretty well packed with everything necessary to prevent damage the drives while they're in their boxes. If you're worried about boxes being thrown around or something like this, unfortunately you never know how the delivery company would treat it or even the delivery man himself. So if you think that this is a bargain, I'd suggest that you go for it and take the chance you would take anyway, no matter where you buy it from. As long as the drive is under warranty, if worse comes to worst and the drive is damaged due to shipping issues, you shouldn't be blamed for anything and you should be able to get it replaced.
As for the drive itself - it is a good and reliable external desktop drive, with large capacity, which is great for backups and storing data. You could take a closer look at its features here: My Book

Hope that helps.
Boogieman_WD