Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review
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Posted by can3gxw here: https://community.spiceworks.com/topic/1953760-synology-vs-buffalo?page=1#entry-6519867
I can tell you from experience that I won't be buying another Buffalo NAS. Their warranty/RMA process is insulting.
We had one of our 4TB drives (two bay NAS) die at about the 6 month mark. I contacted Buffalo for an RMA (still under warranty) and was told that they would ship me a replacement drive once they had my credit card information. Um, what? Why? This is under warranty?
Their RMA policy is this:
- place a HOLD on your credit card for the FULL RETAIL AMOUNT of the entire NAS (not just the replacement drive)
- YOU decide the shipping method - that you PAY FOR, 100%. Even under warranty, they DO NOT pay for any shipping.
This whole process left a VERY bitter taste in my mouth for Buffalo. The NAS works fine, but I'll be checking elsewhere in the future.
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This was information about a vendor that seemed important enough to get posted and made referable as so many people need to make informed decisions about NAS vendors and it is the support, not the product, that makes most determinations. So this is very important.
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The putting a hold on your card for the amount of the part would be normal and acceptable. But putting a hold on your card for the entire NAS is obscene.
So I get it, while he's ticked that they asked for a CC, it's common practice to make sure you aren't trying to steal a spare part from them.
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I have never once had any (other) vendor do this for a warranty return... and I've dealt with many, both personally and professionally.
We had this happen twice at my last job when the system burned out two drives. They only put a hold for the amount of the drive that was being shipped to us, though. We did have to pay shipping.
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@DustinB3403 said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
So I get it, while he's ticked that they asked for a CC, it's common practice to make sure you aren't trying to steal a spare part from them.
An honest hold would be only for the part and only for a day or two. Not for the entire NAS and not for several weeks. A true warranty should not depend on you being able to afford to be able to replace a machine and not fix it if you can't, as well.
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@dafyre said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
I have never once had any (other) vendor do this for a warranty return... and I've dealt with many, both personally and professionally.
Same here, never heard of this, ever.
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@mlnews I don't disagree, but a hold on your card is a normal event (for the part) not the entire unit.
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@DustinB3403 said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@mlnews I don't disagree, but a hold on your card is a normal event (for the part) not the entire unit.
Normal in what world? What other vendor does that?
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@scottalanmiller said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@DustinB3403 said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@mlnews I don't disagree, but a hold on your card is a normal event (for the part) not the entire unit.
Normal in what world? What other vendor does that?
Every vendor I've ever dealt with does this, where they put a hold on your card, and the hold is there until the part is returned, and after so many business days is the hold released.
Now weeks, I understand is extensive. I wasn't commenting on the duration of the hold, just the fact that a hold is common-practice.
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@DustinB3403 said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@scottalanmiller said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@DustinB3403 said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@mlnews I don't disagree, but a hold on your card is a normal event (for the part) not the entire unit.
Normal in what world? What other vendor does that?
Every vendor I've ever dealt with does this, where they put a hold on your card, and the hold is there until the part is returned, and after so many business days is the hold released.
Now weeks, I understand is extensive. I wasn't commenting on the duration of the hold, just the fact that a hold is common-practice.
What vendors are you dealing with, though? Not HP, HPE, Dell, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, Fujitsu, Drobo... no one. I've never seen this, ever.
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Scott, I too have had this happen to me, it was only once, and it definitely was not IBM, HP or Dell. I don't recall who it was.
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What's odd to me is that they are going to Buffalo for a lost drive. I bought my NAS and the drives from Amazon, so my drives would be dealt with whatever vendor I purchased from through Amazon, not Buffalo.
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@DustinB3403 said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
The putting a hold on your card for the amount of the part would be normal and acceptable. But putting a hold on your card for the entire NAS is obscene.
So I get it, while he's ticked that they asked for a CC, it's common practice to make sure you aren't trying to steal a spare part from them.
This is the difference between being treated as a customer and treated as a business
NCIX/Newegg/CanadaComputers do this all the time, because you're an untrustworthy lowly consumer. I get it, but don't try that wanky crap on a business relationship
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@MattSpeller said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
...but don't try that wanky crap on a business relationship
Precisely. We ditched our Buffalo after it started burning out drives on a regular basis.
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@Dashrender said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
What's odd to me is that they are going to Buffalo for a lost drive. I bought my NAS and the drives from Amazon, so my drives would be dealt with whatever vendor I purchased from through Amazon, not Buffalo.
Most people buy their drives as part of the NAS and get service for the entire unit, just like any server. Bringing your own drives is definitely the niche, not the norm.
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@MattSpeller said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@DustinB3403 said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
The putting a hold on your card for the amount of the part would be normal and acceptable. But putting a hold on your card for the entire NAS is obscene.
So I get it, while he's ticked that they asked for a CC, it's common practice to make sure you aren't trying to steal a spare part from them.
This is the difference between being treated as a customer and treated as a business
NCIX/Newegg/CanadaComputers do this all the time, because you're an untrustworthy lowly consumer. I get it, but don't try that wanky crap on a business relationship
Right, but in IT we never seen this. This just indicates that Buffalo is consumer gear, not business gear. A business might not even have a credit card. What a weird thing to request! Even businesses that have CCs, rarely do they have a workflow that would allow IT to use it for this. Business and IT just don't work this way. No valid vendor could.
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@scottalanmiller said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@Dashrender said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
What's odd to me is that they are going to Buffalo for a lost drive. I bought my NAS and the drives from Amazon, so my drives would be dealt with whatever vendor I purchased from through Amazon, not Buffalo.
Most people buy their drives as part of the NAS and get service for the entire unit, just like any server. Bringing your own drives is definitely the niche, not the norm.
OIC
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@Dashrender said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@scottalanmiller said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
@Dashrender said in Buffalo NAS Return Policy Review:
What's odd to me is that they are going to Buffalo for a lost drive. I bought my NAS and the drives from Amazon, so my drives would be dealt with whatever vendor I purchased from through Amazon, not Buffalo.
Most people buy their drives as part of the NAS and get service for the entire unit, just like any server. Bringing your own drives is definitely the niche, not the norm.
OIC
Nothing wrong with getting your own drives, this allows you to control replacements and such and to pick just the right drives for your needs. Getting drives included means you are paying extra for support plans which makes no sense if your vendor doesn't get you the drives by next business day at the latest and requires you to pay or loan them money while they do so. So getting drives in a Buffalo is clearly crazy, but getting drives in a business class device can make sense.
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Now that drives are cheaper, expensive support makes little sense. The cost of a six bay NAS with included drives with replacement support will cost more than buying the same NAS, getting "just the right" drives and buying a spare to keep on hand for instant replacement.
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My only experience with them was for an RMA for the whole NAS not for a single drive, but I experienced the same thing (CC hold, etc). I don't recall if we had to pay for the shipping but I want to say that they footed the bill for the shipping because of the problem.
Maybe the person you spoke to didn't realize if was just for a single drive? I mean I find the some non-technical users think of a Tower as the "hard drive".
