RMAs have me foaming at the mouth

November 2, 2006 6:00 AM

What's the best way to RMA a hard drive without the original packaging?

I have a Maxtor drive I have received an RMA for. I need to send it back to Maxtor but I don't have the original packaging. Their guidelines say that I must pack it in a secure cardboard box, padded by rubber foam with at least 2 inches on each side. The drive needs to be secure in the box and to not move at all.

I don't know where to buy such items or how to make sure they'll fit my hard drive snugly. Has anyone done this? Will FedEx do it for me? Any suggestions?

posted by reishus to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Did they offer to cross-ship you the new drive? Usually I do that and then use the new drive's packaging to send back the old drive.
posted by smackfu at 6:14 AM on November 2, 2006

Honestly? Call them and ask, if they didn't cross ship, and they didn't provide materials otherwise, you might be best just calling them and ask what they recommend. In a lot of cases they aren't terribly picky really, I've sent back drives that were more or less just flopping around in the boxes without comment from them.
posted by KirTakat at 6:29 AM on November 2, 2006

Wrapping the hell out of it with loads of bubble wrap will do just as well as rubber foam.

Get a box that's about four inches bigger than the hard drive in every dimension. Wrap the drive in aluminium foil to protect it from random static discharge. Then wrap it in bubble wrap until it fits tightly in the box. Then tape the hell out of the box.

Your local post office should have boxes and bubble wrap.
posted by flabdablet at 6:44 AM on November 2, 2006

You can buy foam rubber at a craft supply store like Michael's. If their instructions say that's what you have to use, and you want to make SURE they don't reject your RMA, I wouldn't risk using bubble wrap instead.
posted by bcwinters at 7:13 AM on November 2, 2006

Response by poster: They'll cross-ship, but with a few limitations:

1. Only one drive may be done at a time.
2. I must give them my CC and assume any risk that my hard drive does not get to them.

I actually have two drives to RMA and I'd prefer to do them both in one go. Also I'd rather not take the risk of taking a ~$100 hit if something screws up.

Their instructions specifically say no bubble wrap or peanuts, but I'm not sure how rigidly they're enforced.
posted by reishus at 7:29 AM on November 2, 2006

I'd go the foam rubber route, and get an anti-static bag from somewhere (if you go to a local computer shop they may give you one if you ask nice). FWIW, the last time I did the advanced RMA they told me to just use the box the replacement drive came in as it was already certified by Maxtor to safely ship drives in. I'm not too sure what happens if the drive gets banged up in shipping though.. presumably you just file a claim with the shipping company.
posted by mrg at 7:54 AM on November 2, 2006

Honestly, I cross shipped hundreds of drives to manufacturers when I worked at a repair shop and nothing went wrong once. I wouldn't worry about it too much.

If you don't cross ship and your drives get lost when you send them, you still need new drives.
posted by ChazB at 5:30 PM on November 2, 2006