Best Hard Disk Drive Deals Within NZ Currently

Alan6984 on 11/03/2022 - 23:00
Last edited 11/03/2022 - 23:35

Hi All,

I need to purchase some external HDDs. Minimum size would be 6 TB, but happy to go bigger to get a lower cost per terabyte. I would consider SSDs, if the cost per terabyte is not significantly more than for HDDs (although I am betting it would be) and I need an enclosure for each drive, whereas most SSDs are drives only (not to say that I can't buy an enclosure separately, but I'd prefer not to have to do that as a preference). Latest report from BackBlaze is that HDDs may be just as reliable as SSDs too.

Also a strong preference for USB3.0 minimum (3.1 or 3.2 would be better, but not really a big deal).

Strong preference for purchasing from within NZ, and ideally somewhere in Auckland that I could collect from in person (never a fan of having hard drives sent via courier - call me old fashioned) and so much easier if there is a warranty issue.

Cheapest I found on PriceMe.co.nz (these are all Amazon, but I figure I might be able to price-match at a local store that I can walk into such as, say, PBTech, and actually negotiate with someone in person) are:

HDD — Seagate Game Drive Hub for Xbox One STGG8000400 8TB = $231.49 ($29 per TB)

HDD — Western Digital WDBWLG0100HBK-NESN 10TB = $308.26 ($31 per TB)

HDD — Western Digital WDBWLG0120HBK 12TB = $344.93 ($29 per TB)

HDD — Western Digital Elements Desktop WDBWLG0140HBK 14TB = $375.90 ($27 per TB)

HDD — Western Digital Easystore WDBCKA0140HBK 14TB = $418.36 ($30 per TB)

SSD — Western Digital Surveillance Purple 63PURZ 6TB = $287.38 ($48 per TB plus no enclosure)

The SSD is clearly more expensive (per TB) but if I can't price-match to Amazon, I would consider buying an SSD from them, and the price is not far off what local retailers are advertising as sticker price, plus no moving parts, so much less likely to be an issue if it gets bumped about by a courier.

If I exclude Amazon (might be hard to negotiate a price-match, even though I am a persuasive kinda guy):

HDD — Western Digital My Cloud Home BVXC0080HWT 8TB = $259.95 ($32 per TB)

PBTech appear to be around $50+ per TB for between 6TB and 16TB.

Computer lounge are a bit better:

HDD — Seagate Backup Plus 6TB Desk Hub Drive = $249 ($41.50 per TB)

HDD — Seagate Backup Plus 10TB Desk Hub Drive = $459 ($46 per TB)

If I was buying now, one of the above, it would be either the 6TB SSD from Amazon or the 6TB HDD from Computer Lounge - probably the latter would win with these raw numbers.

Does anyone know whether there is something special about the SeaGate that makes it only work with XBox One, or could I just as easily plug it into my Dell Server (say)?

Any comments on any of the above - any gotcha's that I might be missing?

Any better deals ($ per TB) you know of?

Interesting that last Apr 2021 appears, with hindsight, to have been the time to have bought HDDs.

Thanks,

Alan.

General Discussion

Comments

  • CheapAzChips on 12/03/2022 - 07:17

    External HDDs will be less reliable, slower and more fragile than SSDs. Sure, HDDs are pretty reliable these days, but that's not taking into account the portability of external enclosures. Anecdotally a couple of external drives I've had have lasted far less than I would have expected, and that's without any known drops or mishandling. Perhaps they overheated in the case? Maybe they got a jolt in my bag, or by the courier, or by a fumbling employee before I bought them that I wasn't aware of? Who knows. But you won't have those problems with SSD.

    • Alan6984 on 12/03/2022 - 11:16

      Is that in relation to the stats that BackBlaze put out in the link above? Seems to be the opposite?

      • CheapAzChips on 12/03/2022 - 20:56

        BackBlaze is a cloud storage provider. They don't carry their SSDs and HDDs around in their back pockets and backpacks moving them from place to place. I was specifically referring to external drives and the typically harder life they have (physically and with repeated power cycling) than drives designed for 24x7 uptime that get delivered by the pallet load to the data centre, have a short trolley ride to the storage server rack where they'll sit powered up until the day they finally wear out. It's a different life for data centre drives, and I stand by my comment.

        • Alan6984 on 12/03/2022 - 22:12

          Fair enough - I would be using them in backup drives, so moving them around is not relevant here, but I guess if you tend to carry your drives around in your pocket, then you will more likely have issues - I agree that your comment could easily apply in your scenario.

  • kiwijunglist on 12/03/2022 - 08:30

    You can't price match local sellers with Amazon.

    • Alan6984 on 12/03/2022 - 11:19

      Of course you can - anyone can decide to match any price they want, or choose not to - its a purely commercial decision for them.

      I have done it lots of times before, especially places like PBTech where you can go in and negotiate with them face-to-face. Harder if you try to do it via email or over the phone though.

      Its no different than going into a store and asking for a discount - there is nothing stopping them agreeing or declining.

      Nobody pays sticker price for this kind of stuff (or perhaps, to be fair, that should be hardly anyone).

      • Eruptipn on 12/03/2022 - 13:18
        +1

        From the times I've tried to price match, they always say they can't match online stores such as Amazon and Kogan etc. They only accept physical stores in NZ is what I'm always told. Maybe I'm going to the wrong Pbtech? Who knows…

        • Alan6984 on 12/03/2022 - 13:30
          +1

          Or perhaps the wrong salesperson. Some of them are very willing to negotiate - I can only infer that they might be on commission. There are certainly 'types' that are harder to budge - often the older ones are harder to get a decent discount out of.

          You don't need to ask them to price-match if you prefer not to - just ask them if they can discount the price for you. My experience is that they will offer 10% without blinking, and depending on the product, I have gotten up to a third off. However, showing them that you can, quite legitimately, get it from Amazon (or whoever) shows them that you are 'serious'. If I haven't gotten them down to the same price, but we aren't too far off, I usually throw in that I would prefer to purchase it there and then from PBTech, but I can't afford to gift them the $X difference - they don't have to beat it, just match it, and the sale is theirs. Often works, or at least gets a bit more off :-)

  • Nos4R2D2 on 12/03/2022 - 08:51

    The Western Digital Surveillance Purple 63PURZ 6TB drive you have listed above as an SSD is not. It is an Internal Desktop Drive 3.5 inch 5640 RPM HDD.

    • Alan6984 on 12/03/2022 - 11:25
      +1

      Interesting - must have been an error on PriceMe as I see the link it no longer valid (I did test them all after posting last night).

      Right now, if you enter '63PURZ' into PriceMe's search bar, it pops up with two hits, but if you open either one they both go to an 'Oops' page.

      I'll scrub from the list.

      Good spotting - Thanks!

      Alan.

  • fake on 14/03/2022 - 08:46

    If you want to compare Amazon prices checkout https://diskprices.com
    It allows you to filter and search Amazon drives (including by Price per TB) similar to pricespy for drives but more advanced

    • Alan6984 on 14/03/2022 - 08:55

      Thanks! - I had never heard of that site before.

    • nevergofullretail on 14/03/2022 - 18:06

      Nice but shows drives that aren't eligible for delivery from Amazon.com.au etc, looks like i still have to manually search.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/03/2022 - 16:19

    B&H photo video are a great value and no tax paid
    No retailer will price match a overseas retailer they cant afford it.

    • stevarja on 15/03/2022 - 22:28

      B&H photo video

      Used to be. After GST push back in 4-5 years ago, their prices no longer competitive. Not even compared to Amazon. And B&H has crazy progressive postage fee.

      • Alan6984 on 15/03/2022 - 22:48

        Do you mean that B&H are now adding GST on sales to NZ?

        • [Deactivated] on 16/03/2022 - 08:27

          It's optional never had issues their wd elements 8tb and above have good enterprise dries in them

    • AleBeerenhoff on 16/03/2022 - 08:50

      Interesting to hear - I wasn't sure whether they were legit, as I just grabbed something off their site, was impressed with the pricing. Shipping was "acceptable". But certainly saved about 40+% on local prices so some things still play out.

  • stevarja on 01/04/2022 - 07:53

    WD 14TB Elements Desktop Hard Drive @Amazon is currently on sale. $370NZD sent. too bad I dont need one, still quite a few of empty hdds.
    ps. hurry only 12 hours left for that price.

    • Alan6984 on 01/04/2022 - 08:14

      Hi Stevarja,

      It is coming up as not deliverable to me in NZ - are you seeing something different?

      I'm logged in with my shipping address set to Auckland.

      Thanks,

      Alan.

      • Jizah on 01/04/2022 - 08:57

        It is working for me also. $369.90 delivered.

      • stevarja on 01/04/2022 - 09:29

        Look what you made me do. Just to make sure that price's legit ;)

        • Alan6984 on 01/04/2022 - 09:33

          LOL - Well, I hope you enjoy it.

          Strange that they don't like my address - and its not a new address, they have shipped loads of things to it in the past.

          Ah well - must be a sign that its not for me!

        • wellydeal on 02/04/2022 - 23:34

          @stevarja if you decide you dont want it, I'll buy it off you. I have a friend who today decided he wants one. but the deal expired.
          I tried to DM you, but looks like you have that turned off

    • wellydeal on 01/04/2022 - 09:17

      That is working for me also, thanks! i dont need one, but maybe i want one

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