UMART flood sale experience

FirstNameLastName on 05/11/2011 - 01:39
Last edited 05/11/2011 - 01:52

I went into umart in the morning for the flooded items selloff.
it was a pretty amazing experience.
muddy rusty stuff everywhere with probably 30 people rumaging through at one point.
i shook a few items and could hear genuine collectors edition 2011 flood water still inside.
(i had to have a decontamination type shower when i got home.. resisted throwing my clothes away.)

generally items where 50% off which really isn't worth the risk.

i wouldn't go near the hdds because i value my data.. but they have plenty of seagates(1tb etc) for $10 which they say didn't touch water(they don't look rusty :p)

the monitors were pretty dismal and generally missing stands.

all psu's were $10 with major disclaimers about the high voltage risks etc.
they went pretty quick anyway.

there were still plenty of i5 1155 socket cpus.. i didn't look at the others.
(weren't any i7s i don't think)
all i5 cpus i think are $100

i heard people getting $150 graphics cards for $30.
there weren't many top end ones left by the time i went in.. and the ones that were there were rusty(although still working remarkably).

they have masses of heatsinks (oem but also large tower fin types).. which should be fairly safe to use.

they have a software rack 50% off (microsoft stuff i think).

they had a work bench with a mobo set up to test on.. which you do yourself.
a massive pile of dead monitors quickly formed next to it.

and the rma guy there to help with some testing etc.. he has a multimeter and some vingear(?!).

they have a bunch of laptops around the $100-$200 mark.. didn't really look at them.

they have a pallet of laser toners.. which are obviously well sealed..
i would have written down the models but i had reached my daily rad dosage.

it's all pretty dodgy but i got a few things I'm happy with.
I didn't go for the 50% off stuff as i almost get this anyway with my business tax deduction.

No receipts, cash only which they hide in a box on the ground like some detroit drug runner.
You can eftpos if you walk round to their other store and obtain a receipt of the transaction.

i don't know if they are bringing more stuff in each day, or if what's on display is all there is.

General Discussion

Comments

  • blitz on 05/11/2011 - 10:16
    +2

    Thanks for typing this up Stitchy - good info too.

    • c64 on 05/11/2011 - 12:16

      excellent! thanks for the report stitchy. sounds like some things would still be ok, heat sinks, software, etc. but 50% doesn't really sound like enough of a discount to me

  • kiwipride on 05/11/2011 - 12:21

    I didn't go for the 50% off stuff as i almost get this anyway with my business tax deduction. ??

    • FirstNameLastName on 05/11/2011 - 14:03
      -1

      ie: i run a small business, so if I buy something from a retailer, I can show that receipt to the ato and claim a a tax deduction.. effectively reducing the cost of the equipment by about a third.

      i can also claim travel for buying the equipment and supplies.

      (you get no receipt with the flood sale so i couldn't claim those costs)

  • FirstNameLastName on 05/11/2011 - 14:07
    +2

    my friend went there.. said the $10 clean hdds (ie seagate 1tb 7200) have gone up to $20.

    he said it was pretty ransacked and he could smell frying electronics from the test bench.

    he said there was a guy who looked like he was loading up on laser toners to sell on ebay.

    he said the software still included some oem win7 pro 64bit etc.

  • c64 on 05/11/2011 - 14:56
    +1

    a photo of the mess would have been nice :)

    • FirstNameLastName on 05/11/2011 - 15:52
      +1

      you really have to capture the smell to bring home the full effect = ).
      i did think about it, but i didn't want to touch my phone with the mud on my hands.
      (wish i took some latex gloves along)

      • c64 on 05/11/2011 - 17:48

        lol

  • frozensolid on 05/11/2011 - 17:44

    Thanks for your post, Stitchy! After reading this I don't feel so annoyed with myself for not making the effort to head in there and check it out after all :P A few people seem to have picked up some really awesome deals there, including yourself - well done! Knowing my luck though, I probably would have been one to take home something that's riddled with unseen contaminants and ends up going kaput XD Cheers.

  • FirstNameLastName on 05/11/2011 - 18:13

    if anyone else went, would like to hear your impression.

  • GUYANDSON on 05/11/2011 - 22:25

    was there both days. Got in at around 10:30 yesterday and missed out on a lot of stuff. Picked up a 1055t and a 1090t for $120 and a few sticks of corsair dominators. Only after i got home i realised the 1090t was missing pins and wont work at all :( 1055t works a treat though.

    Was the 2nd person there this morning, got in at 10 to 8. They opened the doors at 8:30. All they brought out was a few graphics cards (6870's and a 460) and a few ssd's. Nabbed 2 of the ssd's, 2x 60gb, both for $80 :D.

    Some cheap deals some people got; (people i was with and people i talked to there)

    6950 for $50 (yesterday)
    6850, 2 GTX460's for $80 (yesterday)
    Logitech z5500 - box was damaged, everything inside was pristine. $80.
    60gb SSD's for $40, 120gb for $60
    Corsair Dominator's and Vengeance 2gb sticks - $5. They all disappeared yesterday, was $10 for 4gb
    2x 30" LED LG monitors for $20

    We also got a box of random things (a handful of 5g Artic silver sticks, a few 32gb SDHC's, sata cables, mice, keyboards e.t.c) for $30.

    100&200 dollar laptops were untested and on a big pile. There were a few tested ones that were $400.

    If you were buying a heap it was very easy to get bigger discounts.

    • auna on 05/11/2011 - 23:18

      Wow at the LG monitor score! They must of been in terrible condition to be only $10 each…

      • c64 on 06/11/2011 - 00:26

        $20 too much if they don't work :)

      • GUYANDSON on 06/11/2011 - 07:20

        they were all untested by the umart staff and assumed dead. which was why all monitors $10. You could test them easy enough though, power packs were everywhere and just had to wait for someone wanting to test a laptop and test video out.

    • samfisher5986 on 05/11/2011 - 23:54
      +1

      ARE YOU SERIOUS?

      Now I wish I went… :(

      • FirstNameLastName on 06/11/2011 - 02:51

        i watched people search and test for ages before finding just a normal monitor + stand that would work.
        If they didn't test them there's a big chance they weren't so lucky.
        (but i hope they did score.. it's the ozbargain way)

  • FirstNameLastName on 05/11/2011 - 23:13

    i didn't think they were bringing out any ssd's.
    they should be fairly corrode resistant i suppose.. nice score.

  • retiredfeline on 05/11/2011 - 23:38

    Very entertaining writeup. Thanks.

  • [Deactivated] on 06/11/2011 - 00:44

    Which umart store was this??

    • voter1 on 06/11/2011 - 01:21

      qld milton flood area - I think people should be wary now of things popping up on ebay from qld for cheap?

      • FirstNameLastName on 06/11/2011 - 02:31

        yes!
        or even popping up in umart builds??
        apparently management put the price up on the flooded hdds (from $10 to $20) because they wanted some left to use themselves.. i hope they didn't mean to sneak them into custom builds!

        • GUYANDSON on 06/11/2011 - 07:26
          +1

          the owner wants to set up an internet cafe, apparently there were way more parts in a few of the rooms that he was hesitant to bring out.

  • FirstNameLastName on 06/11/2011 - 02:44

    about an hour ago i was typing in how excellent the psu i scored was when suddenly my hdd's disconnected from raid, followed by bsod (perhaps the work of Loki?)

    i had resigned myself to a loss before discovering I hadn't put the modular sata in all the way.
    (in my defence I'm a modular psu noob)

    anyway.. might just unplug my pc while i sleep.. just to be sure I wake up.

    • FirstNameLastName on 06/11/2011 - 02:56

      p.s. psu: $130 thermaltake 14cm fan, modular.. got for $10. i was about to buy one of these anyway. loving it.. if it doesn't burn my house down.. which it might.

      • voter1 on 06/11/2011 - 18:42

        no further word from stitchy - he maybe electrocuted/burned? :P

        wish I was in QLD though - would love for a chance to get electrocuted/burned haha

        • FirstNameLastName on 06/11/2011 - 19:10

          haha.. no, didn't die yet. i think the psu is waiting for me to get complacent.

          i've already lost everything in a previous house fire started by faulty electrics.. so I'm being pretty careful and have all my data backed up with smoke detectors checked etc.

          anyway.. it's going well, I have a totally silent pc.. all the rails checked out.. very happy with it.

        • samfisher5986 on 06/11/2011 - 19:17

          What faulty electronics caused you last fire?

      • GUYANDSON on 06/11/2011 - 19:30

        Chances are it will be fine. If all the muck has dried properly i'd open it up and give it a vigorous scrub with a wet tooth brush or something.

        • FirstNameLastName on 06/11/2011 - 19:59

          House fire was caused by an old heater which probably short circuited somehow, that was almost 15 years ago. Almost had one the other day, went down to the kitchen and found the kettle spewing out off smelling smoke and making some pretty ominious electrical arcing sounds.
          perhaps I'm meant to be living with the amish.

          i did very very carefully clean psu out with contact cleaner and a toothbruth (avoiding capacitors and standing on rubber etc). i don't really know what i'm doing with electrics so I read up a bit first. the muck wasn't too bad.. very minimal rust.

        • voter1 on 06/11/2011 - 20:21

          oh you actually had to open up the psu and clean it? still cheap if you're willing to do it but not as cheap as I thought then. Thought it was just some external dirt/soiled box.

          I think you'd be ok cleaning the caps if the psu is brand new and never plugged in. Even if its plugged in before, just press the power button a few times after unplug to discharge any stored charge.

  • senorclean on 06/11/2011 - 18:08

    I popped in on Friday afternoon - found an i7 cpu, and a xeon… and an old E7500… he wanted half the new price, with no warranty, box or cooler. The comment was - you know it works, perfect condition, just look! Sell on ebay for more! (I bailed - IMO half price isn't worth the risk).

    I would have grabbed an SSD if I found one, but it was fairly slim pickings when I was there.

    One particularly dodgy thing I saw was an older dell laptop…. I wonder if they were fixing it when the floods happened :S

    • GUYANDSON on 06/11/2011 - 19:29

      CPU's are basically guaranteed to work, most would have been in trays or boxes at the times of the floods and the important bit is sealed (under the IHS/metal cover). all you had to worry about was if the pins or contacts were bad.

      A friend picked up a handful of i5 2400's and has already listed a few on ebay, he's been testing them all day today.

  • Gomo on 08/11/2011 - 18:35
    +1

    Umart's Flood Sale is back again!.
    It's happening at 2 Kilroe St, Milton
    this Friday 11th & Saturday 12th of November
    9am to 5pm both days

    Stock includes CPU's, RAM, Hard Disks, Notebook's, along with a few other goodies.

    All prices are extremely reduced for quick sale, so get in quick to grab yourself an absolute bargain!!

    Stock is Sold "AS-IS", NO warranty or return is provided for these items

    Got it from there website

    • FirstNameLastName on 08/11/2011 - 18:54

      just saw that.. was coming to post!

    • GUYANDSON on 08/11/2011 - 19:25

      ungghhh, i'm broke too. will have to see what i can scrounge up for this. gonna see if i nab some more cpu's

      • FirstNameLastName on 08/11/2011 - 22:10

        I'm trying not to be drawn in by the gravitational pull of BF3.. hard with these cheap upgrade opportunities. arggh.

  • FirstNameLastName on 08/11/2011 - 22:11

    for those who bought cpu's did they all work??

    • GUYANDSON on 08/11/2011 - 22:47
      +1

      If you're buying AMD just check if the pins are all there. Bent ones are okay as they're an easy fix and you should be able to get a few bucks off them.

      As for intel just check if the contacts are all there and aren't stained. If it is stained chances are you'll be able to clean it off.

      Don't worry too much about the condition of the IHS. It won't be muddy but will have black marks (corrosion probably). If you don't mind these you might experience slightly higher temps otherwise you can lap it - if its stained, the warranty from intel/amd is likely to be void anyway.

      With these weeks sales, From what i've been told expect Motherboards, Graphics cards and Hard drives. They're testing most of the bits so the price will probably be a bit higher.

  • GUYANDSON on 11/11/2011 - 12:24
    +1

    Just got back… Picked up 2 1100t's for $100. Purposely bent some pins to get $$$ off :p

    There were indeed motherboards and graphics cards. But they were all gone the minute the door opened. CPU's were gone pretty quick. otherwise its mostly lasts weeks stuff.

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