Is buying HDDs from USA our only option for decent prices?

Forums › Desktop computing › Is buying HDDs from USA our only option for decent prices?

Niber

43 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 3

#321495 22-Aug-2025 10:28

My 3.5" hard-drives are getting dangerously old but I've kept an eye out for deals over the years but nothing ever pops up here in NZ.

So now I see on Cheapies that every single HDD deal over the years seems to be from USA.

I really don't like messing around with buying internationally, but seems I can get a 24tb drive for 885$ from USA ( https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1838680-REG/wd_wdbwlg0240hbk_nesn_24tb_elements_desktop.html ) and the same size cost 2500$ in NZ!!!

technically I'm not in a super rush, I could definitely wait until Black Friday, but do u think there will ever be similar deals from NZ?

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80660 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41077

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#3406378 22-Aug-2025 11:01

Do you want the drive only or the drive and docking?

Seagate Barracuda 24TB are $689 at PB Tech.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Niber

43 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 3

#3406381 22-Aug-2025 11:06

freitasm:

Do you want the drive only or the drive and docking?

Seagate Barracuda 24TB are $689 at PB Tech.

oh I see, I was under the impression that it's usually cheaper to get the usb ones and take out the drives from them, I guess that's not true these days. Thanks, I guess I can do from NZ after all.

Most of my price scanning had been to get more 8tb (but they are always more expensive than what I bought them for in 2020) but I think I'll simply have to accept that for good value I simply must buy larger disks.

richms

29104 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10222

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3406385 22-Aug-2025 11:21

I have not bought a HDD in NZ for a very very long time. Usually amazon is my go to supplier, but a friend did an order from bh photos and they got here ok.

With them not being a made in US thing, it seems really wrong that its still cheaper in the US with the tarrifs than the rest of the world.

Richard rich.ms

mentalinc

3385 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 1024

Trusted

#3406391 22-Aug-2025 11:41

I was under the impression that it's usually cheaper to get the usb ones and take out the drives from them

Not sure doing that with 24TB drives is wise, my shucked drives never lasted as long. Fairly sure they are binned lower, hence end up in external drives where they are not expected to be run 24x7

CPU: AMD 5900x | RAM: GSKILL Trident Z Neo RGB F4-3600C16D-32GTZNC-32-GB | MB: Asus X570-E | GFX: EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080Ti| Monitor: LG 27GL850-B 2560x1440

Quic: https://account.quic.nz/refer/473833 R473833EQKIBX

richms

29104 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10222

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3406398 22-Aug-2025 12:08

My shucked 10s are coming up 8 years and no issues. My 20s are at 5 and no issues. Probably jinxed myself now. Only issue is they are all near full.

Richard rich.ms

wellygary

8814 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 5299

#3406400 22-Aug-2025 12:32

richms:

I have not bought a HDD in NZ for a very very long time. Usually amazon is my go to supplier, but a friend did an order from bh photos and they got here ok.

With them not being a made in US thing, it seems really wrong that its still cheaper in the US with the tarrifs than the rest of the world.

There has been a boatload of stockpiling in the US ahead of the tariff announcements,
See this: PORT OF LOS ANGELES POSTS BUSIEST MONTH EVER, ECLIPSING 1 MILLION CONTAINER UNITShttps://www.portoflosangeles.org/references/2025-news-releases/news_081325_july_cargo

But Thailand has a 19% tariff, and eventually it will start to show up in US prices, but it might take 6 months or so to filter through to the sticker prices on shelves ...

I think the days of arbitraging cheap US products around the world are slowly drawing to an end

AliExpress

Shop now on AliExpress (affiliate link).

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80660 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41077

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#3406420 22-Aug-2025 12:45

richms:

My shucked 10s are coming up 8 years and no issues. My 20s are at 5 and no issues. Probably jinxed myself now. Only issue is they are all near full.

I used to have two WD Red plus two shucked WD drives on my NAS.

Looking at the specs I realised the shucked ones had less cache and were slower than the WD Red drives, thus slowing the overall NAS performace.

I have since swapped all drives for the same model (Synology) and the NAS is faster now.

So, yes, just buying or using the cheapest ones doesn't mean you are 'winning".

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

SpartanVXL

1498 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 666

#3406427 22-Aug-2025 13:16

Amazon AU is the usual go-to for checking prices. Usually a good $50 cheaper on ssd’s etc. thats not too hard to ship over the ditch.

Scott3

4177 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 2990

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3406438 22-Aug-2025 13:36

I have brought ten of these (I assume) ex data center drives from this vendor. None have missed a beat so far. (mine were on average lower hour and higher price)

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/computers/components/hard-drives/sata/listing/5483957240

Obviously there are some limitations to buying used, But NZD17 / TB, vs NZD 37 TB.

And no international shipping time, need for shucking etc on the used drives (which are data center grade, not consumer grade).

Niber

43 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 3

#3406478 22-Aug-2025 14:35

richms:

My shucked 10s are coming up 8 years and no issues. My 20s are at 5 and no issues. Probably jinxed myself now. Only issue is they are all near full.

Strange, I have some harddrives that I really wanted to keep using but even though they pass 100% perfect in all HDDSentinel tests they just causing instability, like random Explorer freezing here and there. I suppose maybe I should buy some more SATA cables to see if they would perform better if they were always inside the computer instead.

noroad

1025 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 675

Trusted

#3406513 22-Aug-2025 16:04

28Tb on Amazon works out at 785.09NZD all up https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0DW92YSB6?smid=A34CX0ISM2EQ00&th=1

Apple TV

Stream your favourite shows now on Apple TV (affiliate link).

Niber

43 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 3

#3406518 22-Aug-2025 16:31

Scott3:

I have brought ten of these (I assume) ex data center drives from this vendor. None have missed a beat so far. (mine were on average lower hour and higher price)

https://www.trademe.co.nz/a/marketplace/computers/components/hard-drives/sata/listing/5483957240

Obviously there are some limitations to buying used, But NZD17 / TB, vs NZD 37 TB.

And no international shipping time, need for shucking etc on the used drives (which are data center grade, not consumer grade).

That's interesting, though the irony is that the drives I'm trying to replace is just because I'm worried they are too old/worn, and I just checked how many hours they've been used an it says 72h. so it would be a bit ironic to replace them with drives that have been used for 34000 hours (which is 472x more lol)

richms

29104 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 10222

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3406605 22-Aug-2025 20:21

Niber:

Strange, I have some harddrives that I really wanted to keep using but even though they pass 100% perfect in all HDDSentinel tests they just causing instability, like random Explorer freezing here and there. I suppose maybe I should buy some more SATA cables to see if they would perform better if they were always inside the computer instead.

I was getting that and them being declared bad in storage spaces all the time until I replaced the PCIe cheapie card with a LSI HBA card and break out cable. Since then all the drives have been reliable and never degraded the storage space at all.

Richard rich.ms

Niber

43 posts

Geek
+1 received by user: 3

#3406740 23-Aug-2025 10:03

richms:

Niber:

Strange, I have some harddrives that I really wanted to keep using but even though they pass 100% perfect in all HDDSentinel tests they just causing instability, like random Explorer freezing here and there. I suppose maybe I should buy some more SATA cables to see if they would perform better if they were always inside the computer instead.

I was getting that and them being declared bad in storage spaces all the time until I replaced the PCIe cheapie card with a LSI HBA card and break out cable. Since then all the drives have been reliable and never degraded the storage space at all.

That's sad to hear because even though I could buy a card for it I think one day in the future I will want to switch to a laptop instead of desktop, but if USB is that unreliable then it forces me to always use desktop