It seems like, ever since the Linus Tech video came out about how you can save 50% or more over retail with recertified drives, prices have gone up almost 100%. Let's take my favorite model, the WD HC530 enterprise drive. I use to get them on NewEgg via gohdd for $99.99 when on sale. If they were not on sale, i think the price was $110 - $120. That same drive on both serverparts deals and gohdd is now $189 or $199 depending on which seller you go with.
What blows my mind, is that you can get a bran new Segate Exos X18 14TB from Newegg, with Seagates 5 year warranty for $229.99. To me, its worth it to spend the extra $30 - $40 for a drive that does NOT already have 5 - 7 years of wear on it.
I also reached out to WD Direct, about buying the HC530 in bulk, because I need to finish my 36 bay SuperMicro server, and for 30+ drives they quoted me $219.99 per drive. The current market for used drives is upside down. I know tarrifs are playing somewhat of a segment on pricing, but a drive that came out 7 years ago, should not cost almost as much as a bran new drive from the manufacturer. Especially lower density drives. As bigger/larger drives emerge into the market, we should see pricing of older, lower storage drives dropping, especially used, but they are not.
Wtf is going on.