Did decide to go the used drive route just saving up and waiting for the right deal from a good seller. I did notice on eBay specifically that some sellers have tested drives for a great price per tb with a shit seller’s warranty (30 days to 1 year) but offer insurance for a significantly longer length of time for a few more bucks. I’m wondering if that’s a good alternative to having a long seller’s warranty? Just assume I will back everything up properly so drive failure won’t be a massive concern I just want the option of returning it or getting a replacement if need be.
You might check out serverpartdeals.com. I’d trust a larger company over some random ebay seller. They have warranties oh their drives too. I’ve only bought one from them thus far but haven’t had any issues with the drive.
Really appreciate it they actually also have an eBay store which I’ve been stalking religiously I’m just waiting for a lower capacity drive, 8-10tb is my realistic sweet spot. In the meantime I’m just browsing and looking at other well known sellers.
I just bought a few 18tb from serverpartsdeals (via eBay) and they’re working well for now. YMMV of course.