This was posted 5 months 4 days ago, and might be an out-dated deal.

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[Recertified] Seagate EXOS 16TB SATA ST16000NM000J $320 Delivered @ East Digital

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[Recertified] Seagate EXOS 16TB SATA ST16000NM000J $320 Delivered @ East Digital
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xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 10:34 east-digital.myshopify.com (904 clicks)
Last edited 28/04/2025 - 13:18

The prices for most large-format FR drives from East Digital have heavily fluctuated in the past month. So please be aware of the market prices on those drives before making a decision.

Seems a new batch of FR 16TB Seagate SATA drives are back in stock with an okay-ish per-TB price, at $20/TB. If you need drives now and can deal with the 16TB size, this can be a acceptable choice. All other drives >16TB are at least $22/TB, and >18TB drives are >$25/TB (risen from $19/TB, ouch).

For used/pulled drives, HC550 18TB is the only one in stock at $323 ($17.94/TB).

Read previous ED deals page on comparison between new, shucked, FR and pull/used drives.

Note: you may be charged foreign transaction fees - consider use a no-fee credit card. Tested with Amex, no fees charged (as Amex charge 3% currency conversion, not foreign transaction fees)

Computing 16TB Computer Component Hard Drive Seagate

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closed Comments

  • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 10:37

    Also you may want to know that >20TB Seagate FR drives may be on a new model numbers instead of just a refurbished drive on its original model number:
    https://www.seagate.com/content/dam/seagate/assets/support/i…

    Already seeing these re-numbered drives sold by ServerPartDeals.

    • WeiKaiLe on 28/04/2025 - 13:00

      By this you mean just being Exos rather than Exos X20, etc. yeah? I noticed those drives on SPD over the weekend, tempted to grab a couple of 22s from them but wasn't sure what the go was with no X naming and also unsure about returns process if something goes wrong under warranty, seems they make you pay return postage from what little I could find of comments online, which sucks.

  • Namidairo on 28/04/2025 - 10:46
    +6

    While these are marked as refurbs, I suppose the below may be relevant.

    Some unscrupulous sellers are spoofing even the uptime numbers retrieved from FARM (Field Access Reliability Metrics) now. I believe that some of the drives with falsified statistics had previously found their way into EastDigital's supply chain. (Although to their credit, they refunded and replaced drives when asked)

    So it's a little harder to tell true usage numbers.

    However, some aren't resetting the Head Flying Hours, so if there's a large delta compared to uptime…

    • Clear on 28/04/2025 - 11:38
      +1

      This is the reason why they've moved all the drives from the "New" category to Factory Recertified and Pulls 😉

      • Larsson on 28/04/2025 - 13:30

        Yes, but all of them are now labeled and etched as FR, which means they are following process.

        If they are actually FR, I don’t know how to know that. But given Seagates close eye on this recently, I’d be surprised if they were letting ED to still do this without actually refurbishing them.

  • jv on 28/04/2025 - 10:46
    -1

    3% currency conversion

    😲

    • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 10:56
      +5

      "Take things out of context" — referenced from Do not take things out of context

  • ad62623 on 28/04/2025 - 10:48
    +5

    Dumb question, but how do you refurbish a hard drive?
    Just wipe away the dust?

    • Shermanpk on 28/04/2025 - 10:50

      Not sure, but probably inspect it, wipe it, test it, give it a wipe down… And put a sticker on it.

    • vanyellow on 28/04/2025 - 10:52
      +8

      refurb is just business speak for second hand

      • Viospeed on 28/04/2025 - 11:15

        Yeah, ie: been on 24/7 for 3-4 years Chia mining.

    • triple675 on 28/04/2025 - 10:56
      +1

      Relube the bearings for the most part

      • Namidairo on 28/04/2025 - 11:00
        +3

        That's easier said than done when these are helium-filled at these capacities, so you have to refill the interior if you open it…

        • Nom on 28/04/2025 - 12:50

          These are factory recertified drives - by Seagate themselves. Yes if they need to open the drive, they need to refill the helium.

      • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 11:17

        Hopefully no real users/sellers would actually do that…

    • solidice on 28/04/2025 - 11:20

      Refurbished HDDs typically undergo a format and/or a potential secure wipe if the company is cautious about disclosing confidential data. They may put it through a stress test.

      I would personally avoid refurbished or second hand drives.

      • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 11:39

        FR drives would gone though more than just a security wipe as they also come with a new firmware and zeroed-out SMART. At least the expectation is much more consistent than seller refurbished ones.

        • ad62623 on 28/04/2025 - 14:07

          Is zeroed SMART data a good thing?

          • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 14:08

            @ad62623: If it’s a factory recertified drive, then good. Otherwise a very bad thing.

  • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 10:49
    +2

    Have been like $290 before haven't they?

    Edit:
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/901693 $292
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/862268 $259 "new" (so they claim, I don't trust this seller for new drives. Many report finding evidence of hours and hours of use on 'new' ones)
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/859771 $248
    https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/855517 $256

    No deal here imo

    Those are ST16000NM001G not 0J. These ones benchmark higher.

    Passmark:
    Seagate ST16000NM000J 14.6 TB 1,724
    Seagate ST16000NM001G 14.6 TB 1,319

    Main difference is write performance

    Seagate ST16000NM000J:
    Sequential Read 260 MBytes/Sec
    Sequential Write 255 MBytes/Sec
    Random Seek Read Write (IOPS 32KQD20) 14 MBytes/Sec
    IOPS 4KQD1 1 MBytes/Sec

    (Feel free to add these results to OP)

    Seagate ST16000NM001G
    Sequential Read 246 MBytes/Sec
    Sequential Write 182 MBytes/Sec
    Random Seek Read Write (IOPS 32KQD20) 11 MBytes/Sec
    IOPS 4KQD1 1 MBytes/Sec

    Note the HC550 is trash compared to these according to benchmarks, even if it's a much lower price it's not worth it. Can't upvote because I negged originally thinking it was the 1G model.

    • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 11:18
      +1

      HC550 listed are used/pulled drives. "seller refurbished" in another word.

      Seagates here are factory refurbished, usually considered a better buy.

      • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 11:20

        Yeah, even on the HC550 refurbished deals they're rubbish though.

        01G is better over it if you want cheaper drives, or this if you want better performance at a mildly higher cost.

    • EthanBezz on 28/04/2025 - 11:30

      You didn’t scroll down far enough. This model (0J, not 1G) was $244, albeit 12 months ago.

      https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/840575

  • InfamousCalf on 28/04/2025 - 10:49

    @xmagic were you the one that tested with AMEX? if so, how recent was it? usually the fees get charged a few days later.

    • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 11:19

      Two days ago. Transaction already settled (passed the pre-auth stage).

      • InfamousCalf on 28/04/2025 - 11:26

        i asked before and someone said they wered a fee when using PayPal https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/16386305/redir

        i believe that AMEX cards are the exception. If the transaction is in AUD, you won’t get charged an international transaction fee, regardless of whether it’s processed overseas or not

        keep us updated if they charge yo though.

        i hate how our banking systems etc. don't tell us upfront about this when it's clearly in AUD.

        • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 11:31

          That's correct. Amex only charge fees when there's currency conversion in place. My ANZ VISA would charge fees on any international transactions, whether there's currency conversion or not.

  • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 11:11

    Anyone had experience with their warranty? It's seller warranty so I'm a bit concerned by that. Could possibly disappear randomly.

    How's seller warranty work with credit card insurance extended warranty? Will I still get my +1 year warranty on top of the 3 years?

    From Citibank site:

    Only items with a manufacturer’s unique identification serial number on them and a manufacturer’s warranty period are covered under this insurance.

    From the actual policy document:

    Only items with a manufacturer’s unique identification serial number on them are covered under this insurance.

    (The official insurance document doesn't mention the phrase "manufacturers warranty period", but their site does)

    • frkino on 28/04/2025 - 11:28
      +1

      The seller warranty does exists, but beware of their contact hours

      My expereince:
      - Bought 2x ST14000NM001G (factory refurbished) from them
      - (Blame on my tragedy character arc,). Ran full-disk test, both passed. Hence start integrating them into my DS1821+ (BTRFS, SHR1)
      one disk exhibited slow I/O + high latency, which is a big red flag the disk was about to die. The disk eventually gone dark, couldn't even power on/spin up.
      - Tried isolate and rebuilt, twice. Still died and degraded my data volume.

      • Contacted Eastern Digital, business hours only.
      • Strongly encourage to organise postage with tracking to avoid any potential lost package/gone missing

      Eastern Digital will only dispatch (like-for-like) replacement, upon confirming item returned <~ which is fair.
      The return-exchange turnaround was about 2 weeks but the whole disk rescue-rebuilt saga lasted 1.5months. Please factor in the constant disruption during this period

      Lessons I learned:
      - You are only dealing with the seller only, not the manufacturer. The warranty is at the seller's mercy
      - Refurbished drivers are not foolproof, they can fail. Often, after you ran your tests and after you integrated the disks into volumes,
      - Please please please have a back-up plan to deal with this before taking on these refurbished disks
      - Warranty exists, business hours only
      - Document every steps with clear trails , to avoid any unfortunate confusion

    • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 11:34
      +1

      FR won't go through consumer RMA with OEM as they don't sell those products in retail. Just like new CPUs without retail packaging. You can only get warranty from where you get them.

      Essentially what happens is that retailers are buying those in bulk, and if there's any returns, they'll collect them in bulk as well then RMA with OEM. That's what makes them cheap.

      The "extended warranty" from credit cards are usually provided by an insurance provider. It's up to them to determine if you fit the criteria. I personally don't use them much. One prime example is that I'd rather buy iPhones with discounted giftcards then pay extra for Apple Care+ than following CC insurance/warranty, as I was once made to repair my phone at 3rd party repairer to be eligible for CC insurance.

    • Vool on 28/04/2025 - 13:40

      I just had a recert drive from them fail after 12 months, trying to contact them regarding warranty at the moment, but haven't heard back yet (It's been a weekend but the contact form says they operate 7 days).

      • Vool on 29/04/2025 - 10:44

        Alright heard back from them yesterday, asked me to post the dead drive to an address in Vic then they will send a replacement.

  • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 11:24
    +1

    Note only 3 left in stock. Was going to bite and buy 4 to replace my NAS 10TB drives, 3 isn't really worth it with RAID5.

    • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 11:41
      +1

      I guess good deals won't last.

  • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 11:42
    +3
    Model Price Storage Price/TB Seq read Seq Write Random Seek IOPS 4KQD1 Score
    ST16000NM000J 320 16 20 260 255 14 1 1724
    ST14000DM001  286 14 20.42857143
    ST14000NM000J  298 14 21.28571429
    ST14000NM001G 302 14 21.57142857 271 256 17 1 1939
    ST14000NM001G  302 14 21.57142857
    ST10000NE0004  216 10 21.6 1434
    ST12000NE0007  262 12 21.83333333 1736
    ST16000NE000  358 16 22.375 243 237 10 1 1474
    ST12000NM000J  272 12 22.66666667
    ST10000NM001G  230 10 23 246 182 11 1 1319
    ST10000NM017B  234 10 23.4
    ST10000NM0086  238 10 23.8
    ST10000NM0016  239 10 23.9
    ST10000NM018B  242 10 24.2
    ST10000NM001G  249 10 24.9
    ST10000VN0008  251 10 25.1

    Note https://east-digital.myshopify.com/products/seagate-barracud… is similar per GB and benchmarks faster on UserBenchmark then this one does on there, can't find a passmark result for it.

  • bazingaa on 28/04/2025 - 11:44
    +1

    This is not a good price for refurb, though. Usually, I go below this. I got a brand-new X16 for less than this. 2 months ago I got HC550 18TB referb for around $290 from them

    • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 11:46
      -2

      Which X16 model exactly? The performance differs between model numbers for those drives, see my replies above for examples.

      The HC550 is trash performance wise

      • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 12:23

        Those drives are likely going to be in an array so single-drive max throughput doesn't really matter IRL.

        More people prefer WD HC-series though, for their reliability demonstrated in reports like ones released by Backblaze.

        • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 12:30
          -2

          Not always with 18TB drives; a lot of people use them singerly too (though I wouldn't recommend this with refurbs…)

          Even in an array the random read/write performance is that sluggish you may feel it, seq not so much

      • bazingaa on 28/04/2025 - 14:39

        I have 3 * ST16000NM001G so-called "brand new." From FARM, it seems only one is brand-new, which was $310 (https://www.ozbargain.com.au/comment/16217665/redir). The other two were like $260 and $290, as I got all of them separately. I am getting around 290 MBps on HC550, enough to saturate my 2.5GbE LAN.

  • BigTime on 28/04/2025 - 11:50
    +1

    Damn, their prices on drives have jumped. 2 weeks ago they were selling the ST12000NM001G Seagate Exos 12TB for $217 now it's $272.

    • RiseAndRuin on 28/04/2025 - 12:15

      Probably due to different batches, but also US tariffs might be a huge factor now.

    • bread69 on 28/04/2025 - 12:19

      Was looking at a 20tb for 450 couple weeks back now they are 520

      • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 12:21

        Yup, I posted that deal and I failed to catch up enough drives myself 🫠

  • OzHan on 28/04/2025 - 11:57
    +3

    Refurbished hard drive, your data deserve better.

    • McMaferMur on 28/04/2025 - 12:36

      depends on the data… for linux iso probably not really

    • bazingaa on 28/04/2025 - 14:42

      It depends, this is my 3rd copy, got this HDD from an old PC, and it was already on CAUTION when I got it couple of years ago, still refuse to die lol

      https://i.imgur.com/yzYQeJR.png

  • blorx on 28/04/2025 - 12:03
    -1

    Wouldn't buy a refurb drive for a $1.

    • Dyl on 28/04/2025 - 12:30
      -1

      3 years warranty in a raid array makes it worth it imo, especially if you're only storing stuff you can redownload / not critical.

  • Fixit on 28/04/2025 - 12:36

    I Don't Know If These Are Any Good, But Maybe Worth A Look - Western Digital WD 16TB HDD Ultrastar - $319.00

    https://www.amazon.com.au/Western-Digital-Ultrastar-7200RPM-…

    • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 12:40

      Would be OK if it's factory recertified/renewed. But too expensive for seller refurbished. Well it's sold through Amazon so if it's seller refurbished, just return it for a full refund.

      For WD, it will say "recertified" on top of the MFR date like this. For Seagate, it's easily recognisable by the green border on the label.

  • Mikael on 28/04/2025 - 12:58

    Got another hc550 18tb earlier this morning for my unraid parity drive, got a 16tb few weeks ago from Amazon.(First world problem to have to rebuild again)

    Are they quite similar to EXOS? I see Seagate got 256mb cache and WD 512. Guess for a home setup with unraid I wouldn't notice much difference. Personally I always preferred WD because of my own experience with seagates failures. Been a few years and perhaps different nowadays.

    • xmagic on 28/04/2025 - 13:17

      I'd say it's all down to luck as long as there's no known major quality issue.

      • Mikael on 28/04/2025 - 14:10

        Thanks, the drive already shipped.

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