[zybar]

I need some more drives to expand my music collection.

Where are the bets deals these days?

Do you think I should wait a couple of weeks for Black Friday to buy?

Thanks,

George

[byteme]

I've been relying on this place since I found them - www.dealpc.com - for all things electronic.  This is where I found the $90 shipped 400GB seagate drive a couple weeks ago.  I'm looking for another 400gb now to replace my internal HD because it churns and churns sometimes which leads me to believe it's dying and I don't want to lose everything.  I've got a 180GB w/ music and a 400 for a backup that will soon turn into my primary music drive.

[ehart]

www.newegg.com is popular with our techs (I work in a computer-related business).

[JEaton]

I need some more drives to expand my music collection.

Where are the bets deals these days?

Do you think I should wait a couple of weeks for Black Friday to buy?

I wouldn't wait for black Friday unless you wan to buy at a brick and mortar store, or you want retail packaging (almost always at a higher price than OEM unless you find a fire sale).  I haven't bought a retail packaged drive in more than 10 years.

ZipZoomFly usually has some of the best deals, but I avoid buying hard drives from them due to their return policy - only 15 days on hard drives.  No doubt that lets them shave a few dollars off their prices.

Newegg's service and web site are great, but their prices are hit and miss.  I've been reading a lot of customer feedback for hard drives on their web page and it seems that a lot of DOA drives are coming from Newegg.  Comments about poor packaging now have me wary of them for hard drive purchases.  Drives need to be packaged well to survive the likes of UPS and Fedex.

I just bought a couple of 500GB WD5000YS drives from Computer Geeks (http://geeks.com) and the price, service and packaging were excellent.  The price went up $10 a couple days after I bought them, though.

Wherever you buy from, make sure they have at least a 30 day return policy on hard drives.  If you can return a failed drive to the vendor during their (admittedly short) RMA period then you'll recieve a brand new drive.  Return a drive to the manufacturer and you'll receive a remanufactured drive.

[jermmd]

Check out Anandtech Hot deals forum every day and you will find a sweet hard drive deal within the week. I think $.25 per Gig is the sweet spot right now to buy. I bought 4 of the 400Gb HD's for $360 delivered a few weeks ago.

Actually, with all the new computer hardware coming out right now, you can put together a pretty nice computer for cheap using last years top of the line equipment. I just built two ridiculously powerful computers for about one fifth of what they would have cost to put together just 6 months ago.

[Rob Babcock]

I've had good luck with Newegg.  Their price is always pretty darned competitive and the service is stellar.

[Thump553]

I would definately wait to see what happens with Black Friday.  It's only 1 1/2 weeks away and hard drives seem to be an item frequently used as loss leaders now.  I've frequently bought retail cheaper than OEM goes for on line, and with retail you usually (not always by any means) get a longer warranty.

That said, if you decide to buy online now, I concur that Newegg is the gold standard for customer service, with usually great prices.  Also check out Outpost.com.

[jermmd]

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=101258-9&prodlist=froogle

[pacifico]

check out dealmac.com

[John Casler]

If you wait for "Black Friday" don't forget STAPLES.

Sometimes they have incredible deals.

I bought an INFOCUS 4805 for $500 last year.

[JohnnyLightOn]

I like NewEgg.  Great combination of service, selection, and prices.  I often use them even though I have to pay sales tax (I'm in California as are they).  It's worth reading their customer reviews of the products.  You have to separate the wheat from the chaff, but they can be quite informative.

[Soundbitten]

best place to buy hard drives

Wherever you can drive a hard bargain .