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Comment by click170 | Hacker News Reader

I'm actually wondering if one of the reasons that they're having trouble buying WDC drives is because WDC keeps trying to add a clause into the purchase agreement saying BackBlaze can't release information about WDC drive failure rates. Anyone from BackBlaze able to comment on that?

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Brian from Backblaze here - so far none of the drive manufacturers have done anything like that. Part of it is the manufactures flatly refuse to let us purchase from them directly (based on we need an order of 10,000 of the same drive in one purchase to buy direct). So the manufacturers have zero control. We always go to one of the hundreds of resellers or distributers out there (like CDW or Ingram Micro). Since we buy from the resellers, the resellers just want to make money, the resellers don't care if we report drive stats.

Have you guys thought about becoming a reseller as another line of business? In the post it says you need about 1200 drives a month (if read that right) so you could buy 10,000 from the manufacturer, and then sell the extra as Backblaze Approved(tm) or some such. I'd much rather buy a drive I know you guys have put through its paces, especially if I knew that purchase would help fund more data and research, by supporting your business.

I have suggested it. :-) There is no transparency when purchasing drives, in that we don't know what percentage of the price of the drive goes to the reseller (like CDW) and what percentage goes to the manufacturer (like Seagate). I proposed becoming a reseller just to cut CDW out and pocket the profit margin that CDW lives on.

DISCLAIMER: I have not run my brilliant idea past any lawyers, so it may not be legal. We have not done this (yet).

"Consider: Morningstar rates funds. Imagine: Backblaze rates drives." :P

> buy a drive I know you guys have put through its paces

Are you talking about some kind of burn-in at Backblaze for units sold to get past the infantile failure region? Or just Backblaze-as-drive-retailer but they specifically endorse this model because they have good experience with it?

WDC is likely not selling directly at such low qtys and if they do pricing would not be good.

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