Review Think twice before ordering Internal Hard Drives from Flipkart

[Switch]

One needs to remember that flip-kart doesn't necessarily deliver the products from their own warehouse. They also outsource their shopping. I know a vendor(would not like to name here) who has his own big retail outlets and does shipping for flipkart, snapdeal and various others. I know this for sure as I have seen a separate packing and courier dept. and a dedicated team who handles all the web sales.

It could always be that a particular vendor would have done this on his end rather then flipkart themselves and hence the issue.

 

[Sourabh]

One needs to remember that flip-kart doesn't necessarily deliver the products from their own warehouse. They also outsource their shopping. I know a vendor(would not like to name here) who has his own big retail outlets and does shipping for flipkart, snapdeal and various others. I know this for sure as I have seen a separate packing and courier dept. and a dedicated team who handles all the web sales.

It could always be that a particular vendor would have done this on his end rather then flipkart themselves and hence the issue.

The drive I got was dispatched from their own warehouse.

 

[Switch]

In the last post I just wanted to inform everybody that flipkart outsources some of thier own work. You had originally mentioned about the ware house in the first post itself so I was clear on that . Also I too bought a 3TB WD green for myself but not from a online re-seller but from a brick and mortar store as I wasn't comfortable with the courier guys handling my internal HDD. I have bought a 2TB Hdd from ebay but that was external and I was pretty much okey with the original packing never-mind the re-seller packing.

The initial bit with the minimal packaging and error with the refurbished hdd is acceptable to a point but what is not acceptable is chalta hai attitude. For this very reason I only shop from one place and one place only cause the staff over there knows me and gives me special treatment. I don't mind spending more on that shop for the very same reason. I guess big online retailers would have hard time getting there.

 

[Sourabh]

This is pathetic. Never thought of such crap from Flipkart. Highlight on social media.. Post on their twitter, Facebook.. Give taste of their own medicine.

Please do & post their reaction.

Nah, I don't see how that's justified right now. They have proper customer care and I can just call them to put forward my views. If I don't get a solution to the issue from proper channels, I would then think of other options (legal, informing on social media, etc.).

I just want to bring this to the notice of informed tech buyers (who understand what recertified means and can relate to the issue) to be aware that such a thing can happen even with Flipkart. I never expected it from Flipkart but it did happen. Lesson learnt and will have be super cautious in future (especially for hard drives).

The initial bit with the minimal packaging and error with the refurbished hdd is acceptable to a point but what is not acceptable is chalta hai attitude. For this very reason I only shop from one place and one place only cause the staff over there knows me and gives me special treatment. I don't mind spending more on that shop for the very same reason. I guess big online retailers would have hard time getting there.

You're exactly right, that's the most disappointing part. It took three attempts to get them to accept that I received a used/recertified item (twice on email and once on phone). Their initial response appeared to me as a "courtesy" and not something they ought to be doing. They carefully avoided acknowledgement of the fact that the product they shipped was used/recertified piece. I may be biased but here are their two replies, so you can be the judge.

Response # 1

We sincerely apologise for the receipt of the product.

As per our telephonic conversation, we would like to inform that we can proceed with the refund for the above product.

Kindly revert back with the conformation for the same.

Looking forward for your replay

Response # 2

We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused due to the receipt of the item. We have noted your concern and are arranging for the replacement of the item and the same will be delivered to you in 7-8 business days.

We are arranging for a pick-up of the item which you have already received. Hence we request you to securely pack the item received by you and label the below mentioned address and the order ID : X_X_X_X_X_X_X

Our courier executive will get in touch with you regarding the pick- up.

Mumbai Warehouse New Address:

W S Retail services pvt ltd.,
Acorn Logistics and Industrial Complex,
located at Dive Anjur Village,
Opp Dive Petrol pump, NH-3,
Mumbai - Nashik Highway,
Bhiwandi (Distt) -
Thane - 421302

We look forward for your kind cooperation in this regard.

 

[Praks]

@Op
you are being too gentle. Note that sincerely apologise & bla bla is copy paste mails what they use it.

If some local vendor does it, I would leave it. but brand like flipkart does it. Its a shame.

Its good that you are technical & know what is refurb. How many non tech users know what is refurb stuff & gets cheated.

eh eh eh, wow, feels like someone used underwear (did pee in it), dried it, packed it again & sent for a new order.

Who likes to wear it

 

[neerajvohra]

Ok I understand the rest, A visible dent on the drive, and you are talking about backing up data on it? - This I do not understand.

I would have returned it, got my product else where if it was Urgent and asked for a refund, which takes like 3-5 days. I have always found them to be courteous and polite even though they may not give me $5 credits.

BTW did you save a pic of the "rectified label" ? I would like to see what it looks like for my knowledge

Well regarding the $5 credit, I have a story for the same with Flipkart.

I ordered few products from FK, and 2 of them were not shipped, and they initiated a refund back on my credit card. I mail them asking not to refund on my cc, instead refund on the Flipkart wallet so that I can purchase something else.

After 2-3 days, I checked the wallet balance which was not refunded, I called the cc explaining this is wrong. They apologize that the refund has already been processed to the credit card, and offered me 200rs credit in my wallet as bonus, that can be used with any product.

It was my bad, when I checked my cc the refund was already reflected in my unbilled statement. So moral of the story: even though they have already refunded the amount back to me, they still offered me Rs200 for the "inconvenience" which I pleasantly used to buy shoes.

It's not like if a customer care offers you $5-10 for inconvenience, this makes them the best. FK does make errors, like they shipped wrong Olay cream for my mother, and next day the guy came and pickup for replacement, and they refunded in my wallet within 24 hours so that I can order again.

Their reviews are totally unacceptable, considering I see reviews of products which are yet to be launched specially phones and tablets, but than again none of an ecommerce business is 100% error free.

I can share more things about amazon too, but this will never end here. My point: if you get a defective product, get it replaced or refund. If the product is your utmost priority, get it locally considering there would be 1% chance you might get a defective product or wrong product.

For others, like me who are lazy to visit shops or don't have time to roam shops, I prefer to order everything online including my vest and brief.

 

[Ray]

How to know if a hard drive is recertified??

 

[singh_ak47]

I recently bought a 1tb black hdd from flipkart and it came in ordinary packing.In just 2 days it developed bad sectors and it was making rattling noise when it was in full use like when pc booted from it.
I asked flipkart to replace that hdd and they refused to replace it and said that i can avail the warranty from wd itself.but i refused and asked for a replacement.after many days waiting for the replacement they said that they cannot replace it as it is oos but on their website it was in stock.and then they agreed but again after few days they said they cannot give me replacement as hdd price has now been increased and offered me a wallet refund.i refused to take that refund.i demanded the new hdd again and cc guy was not good and he said i can do what ever i want and they will not give me a replacement.i also talked rudely as i was in anger after waiting for so many days and gave a mouthful to that guy.
I then contacted flipkart on facebook and also mailed the grievance officer.so then they realized that they have to give me a replacement as it was not my fault and whether the price increased or not.
Then the next drive i got was making loud sound the moment i installed in a pc and it went kaput in just 2hours.then i thought how would i again get a replacement from flipkart as these liers will again refuse to do it and then same thing happened again as they refused to replace it and offerd me a refund.
I initiated rma at wd website and they replaced it in just 7 days.
Flipkart facebook team is very good but then flipkart has become bad nowdays.they lie to customers about product availability.i even asked them many time to pack these hdd's well so that one recieves it without any damage internally.
So it is better not to buy hdd from flipkart.

 

[asingh]

^^
And they should basically stop shipping them like books. Damn bad, to read your experience.

 

[pratikb]

i also had similar issies with them and it was luckily.not as fragile as hdd.
it was blueray player.
it was not having component out as described by them on their website. So i wanted to return that to flipkart under their 30days return policy.

They did not accept it and started saying you should have researched.before buying.
But they were adamant to not accept that their site gave wrong info.

Since then i stopped using their site.i made all my friends circle aware of this and we all stopped using flipkart.

 

[6pack]

i ordered a dvd writer from fk recently just a week back. came in bubblewrap just a sheet thick and a thin cardboard box. it was shipped from their bhiwandi warehouse.
its working fine luckily, but the dvd writer is a bit noisy. probably the drive itself is noisy. sounds like jet engine revving up while writing a disc.

i think the hdd's get damaged cause, the outer packaging they use is really low quality - the sort of cardboard used to pack cheap tea or bisuit packs and which are usually thrown away. imo they should use thicker more sturdier cardboard boxes. also the cardboard box design is faulty. there are flaps missing at internal edges where it is most required so that the box does not deform due to pressure. the box i got did not have those.

 

[Sei]

Just came to know about recertified hard disks through this thread and realised that the last hard disk Seagate returned to me via RMA is a recertified HDD.

 

[singh_ak47]

Seagate normaly gives recertified hdd for faulty drives.

 

[raja_mastana]

I too have faced a problem with Flipkart sending internal hard drives in a plastic envelope. Not even a cardboard. I had posted it here too. I initially thought it was an isolated incident. With multiple incidents occurring, it don't think it is.
Like switch pointed out earlier, seems like they outsource some of their business to other vendors. Nothing wrong in that, but it is not working out well currently. Their suppliers are sending then refurbished goods and stuff. They should probably tie up directly with distributors like Redington, Ingram micro etc. Anyways, I don't really care how they run their business. All i care is genuine products and proper packing consistently.

I probably will never buy HDDs from flipkart again - too much risk.

 

[pauldmps]

Okay, so I got myself a Samsung Spinpoint M8 1TB for my laptop from Flipkart as my previous Toshiba 500 GB died. The packaging was poor as everyone is complaining on this thread. it was packed in a cardboard box like a book only with a thin bubble wrap inside it for protection. Luckily there was no visible damage and the drive works just fine. And the drive is genuine so no issues there. Flipkart seriously needs to improve their packaging.

 

[Techie#1]

Same experience as like everyone else....brought a 2TB WD Internal HDD 20EARX from Flipkart last September 2012...very poor packing in a thin cardboard box like a book only with a thin bubble wrap inside it for protection.Though the box had No sign of damage,nor the HDD as its working fine till date,...but i was least satisfied with the packing.Flipkart has really a long way to go to deserve my 2nd hdd order !

 

[TheIndian]

Out of curiosity, how many have ordered HDDs (or anything else) and received in below par packaging and yet did not complain to fp just because the product was ok? And +1 to those who did write. Lets have a survey

Let me begin the ball rolling by saying - Me, I received not once but twice and did not say anything, though normally I would write up a strom. The HDD was ok, wrong model (both times, same order) returned and refunded money.

Who else ?

 

[Aman27deep]

Just for the record, I got my 2 TB WD green in a very proper packaging. Very thick bubble wrap and a thick cardboard box also. Got it around 6 months ago.

 

[pauldmps]

Out of curiosity, how many have ordered HDDs (or anything else) and received in below par packaging and yet did not complain to fp just because the product was ok? And +1 to those who did write. Lets have a survey

Who else ?

I left a feedback in the "review seller" section. Also responded to their survey in which I answered that the packaging was poor. Is there anything else that I can do ??

 

[quixand]

Customer service in India is a joke. No website can match Amazon's level of customer satisfaction in ebusiness i believe.
Primary reason is that these people know that if one customer will go someone else will come.

Consumer laws are pretty strong in the US, even price discrepancies between Shelf and POS can attract huge fines, not necessarily by the customers but by Auditors.