I ordered a 20TB WD HDD from Amazon and it came with NO padding inside the Amazon box. So it's just the HDD box inside Amazon's flimsy thin box, which got slightly crushed somewhere during the shipping process. The HDD box is fine. There is no "FRAGILE" indicated on the Amazon box anywhere. When I shake the HDD box, I hear a slight rattle inside, not sure if it's from inside the HDD or some non-essential parts like the extension cord rattling because it came loose.
I'm incredibly disappointed in Amazon. This is a very expensive drive. I've had $2 tapes arriving in abundantly thick paper padding.
Q1: Is there a legit concern of something like a bolt in the drive becoming loosened from the shipping that years down the road it would break earlier than had it not been loosened? I.e. could the careless shipping have caused any hardware problems that can't be detected with software drive health check yet?
If so, I have to ask Amazon to replace the drive when it's back in stock again, and I hope it's packaged better this time.
Q2: Where do you guys buy drives that would ensure good packaging? I REALLY NEED A BIG WD HDD and if Amazon often sucks, where can I go buy one that has been shipped and handled with care? I don't care if I pay a bit more.
My seller was Amazon.com, would a smaller seller on Amazon do a better job (any seller in particular to recommend)?
Any recommendations of other online places where they ship with care and where I can buy this large WD drive?
Or is a physical store better? Microcenter? Best Buy?