I found a sweet deal on Crucial memory on Amazon ($214 for 2x1GB Mac Pro kits compared to $270 direct from Crucial). Is there a catch here? How easy is it to eachange/return the RAM if there is a problem with it? Am I dealing with Amazon at that point or with Crucial?
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Buying memory from Amazon
- Thread starter akadmon
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Whenever I have seen Crucial RAM on Amazon, it is from Crucial. Look on the product page, it will state who you are buying from. I have found Crucial's prices to be higher on Amazon than their site.
Whether it be Amazon or Crucial, I have found both to be excellent in dealing with returns.
Whether it be Amazon or Crucial, I have found both to be excellent in dealing with returns.
Check www.newegg.com
They usually have the BEST prices and their return policy is the best in the business.
They usually have the BEST prices and their return policy is the best in the business.
Oh dear...
NewEgg do not guarantee compatibility, and they can charge a 15% restocking fee for "non-defective" returns.
In PCWorld's customer satisfaction survey, they found that NewEgg charged restocking at a rate 2 x the industry standard, far and away the most punitive mail order vendor in the survey.
"This was one area where NewEgg customers fared worse than those of other online retailers: Nearly 19 percent of NewEgg shoppers we surveyed had to pay a restocking fee, versus the average of 10 percent for online buyers. Brick-and-mortar customers had it even better: Only 3 percent of them said they were required to pay such fees."
Re: Crucial RAM
When you buy Crucial RAM through a third party, you are getting their generic modules. In many cases, if you choose the right one these are identical to their specific modules that you get when you use Crucial's online machine selector. But in some cases (G4 AlBooks off the top of my head) the modules that they sell through the Crucial site are different from the generics, because the generics are not compatible with some models of Mac. Crucial only guarantees compatibility if you go through their selector, otherwise, the responsibility (and cost of returning) is on the buyer.
So a CT12864X335 is the same as a CT368654 but is NOT the same as a CT368080 -- even though the descriptions are identical "DDR PC2700 • CL=2.5 • UNBUFFERED • NON-ECC • DDR333 • 2.5V • 128Meg x 64". The CT12864X335 has a chipset that will cause a 1.33 17" GHz G4 Powerbook to kernel panic, so in that machine you have to use CT368080. Unfortunately, when buying Crucial generics at a discount, it's up to you to know that - there is no way you can tell from reading the spec.
Or, choose a reputable Mac-aware dealer who tests and guarantees compatibility with your specific Mac and doesn't charge rectocking or shipping if it doesn't work.
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Considering you'd be buying straight from Amazon, I don't think you'd have a problem. I've bought directly from Amazon and merchants on Amazon many times and have never had a problem. I'd say go for it. If you did have to exchange/return it you would be dealing with Amazon and their customer service is awesome.
Yup -- would have been good to include this link in the original post.
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