I bought a drive at a street market. It was broken. The guy had a pile of them so I returned the following week. He was kind enough to let me swap for another drive. He had no working laptop to test with. When I got home the 2nd one was broken too. Then I went straight back with laptop. He was shocked; in complete disbelief. He let me attach the other drives to my laptop to test. They were all broken. He seemed quite sure that it’s impossible. But he was kind enough to refund my cash.

A week later he is still selling those drives. He did not have to give a refund and was generous for doing so. But still seems a bit off that he’s still trying to sell them. It’s possible that he distrusts my tests. But still, someone else will likely get burnt and maybe not bother to try to track the guy down again.

  • ciferecaNinjo@fedia.ioOPM
    1·
    26 days ago

    I don’t know the guy’s name. It’s a big market and he moves around. I can spot him and his gear but then what? Posting a photo would violate his privacy.

    It’s not exactly clear-cut malice either. These are external drives. The enclosure can still be useful and guts could be disposed of and replaced. IMO there’s nothing wrong with selling them so long as he informs the buyer of the issue. Though I doubt he will do that.

    I’ve had other unpleasant surprises from other sellers. An external drive was marked “1TB” on the enclosure but when I got home and opened it up, the drive inside had been downgraded to 250gb. The price was fair enough (€4) and I might have bought it anyway, but still disturbing that these shenanigans are not controlled in any way. Also bought a laptop. The guy wanted €50 but agreed to take €10. Then it turned out the backlight was dead. Works only with an external display. The drive inside it was a passworded OPAL drive (impossible to erase and reuse). He was so torn by my low offer I don’t think he was even aware of the defects. The reason buyers get such low prices is because of the risks involved. But it’s a shame sellers do not do basic tests of their own inventory. I think it’s likely more often a case of incompetence and lazyness than dishonesty.