OWC, Other World Computing

[Shylad]

Hi All,

Has anyone in the UK bought anything from OWC?

Was thinking of getting one of these http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MRF8UEBDW10/ and was wondering what they were like to deal with as a company. I know a lot of the guys in the U.S swear by them but just wanted some feedback from here(the UK).

Cheers

Simon.

 

[Umbongo]

I haven't personally, but a lot of people on here have done so without issue. Don't forget to add 20% on to the price for VAT. Your only issue is having to pay international shipping to return it if there is any hardware problems (nothing to do with OWC).

 

[GGJstudios]

Has anyone in the UK bought anything from OWC?

A great number of forum members have done business with OWC over many years, including me. They're excellent to work with, great products, fast shipping, good warranties. I highly recommend them. If you search the forum with MRoogle, you'll find hundreds of posts from satisfied customers, including from the UK.

You'll also find they're recommended in the Forum Guides:
http://guides.macrumors.com/Buying_RAM
http://guides.macrumors.com/External_Hard_Drives

 

[Shylad]

Thanks for the input guys, forgot bout the 20%.
I'll give them a ring and see what they say, thanks again.

Simon

 

[G4DP]

Dealt with them to buy RAM for MacPro. No problems. All they want is proof of who you are. For security reasons.

Very quick and efficient. Took 5 days from the order being placed to it being delivered.

Must do! - Remember to keep 20% back for the Import duty.

 

[Kyffin]

Hi! I'm UK based and have bought through OWC a couple of times, and can only add to whats been said before- they're great.

Their own products are of a good quality, the company has been a pleasure with queries and communication, and the stuff has arrived well packed and promptly. I've been impressed, and now price them first when looking for more gear- good people to do business with.

(no affiliation with OWC btw!)

 

[archgrove]

Don't touch them

Seriously, don't touch them, unless you're 100% certain the stuff will work first time, and never *ever* break down.

I've been through three of their Accelsior drives recently. Because they only replace the units, not repair them, you'll be liable for full VAT for each replacement. They outright refuse to refund any of these costs, despite selling the same broken stuff to me repeatedly. As they seem insistent on selling sub-standard goods, you'll be seriously out of pocket. I cannot recommend them.

 

[GGJstudios]

Seriously, don't touch them, unless you're 100% certain the stuff will work first time, and never *ever* break down.

You can't be sure of that with any vendor on the planet. No company produces products that always work 100% the first time and never break down. It's too bad you had a negative experience, but millions of others have used OWC successfully for over 20 years. Yours is clearly not a common experience.

 

[Weaselboy]

Hi All,

Has anyone in the UK bought anything from OWC?

Was thinking of getting one of these http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other World Computing/MRF8UEBDW10/ and was wondering what they were like to deal with as a company. I know a lot of the guys in the U.S swear by them but just wanted some feedback from here(the UK).

I'm not particularly for or against OWC, but I think they do tend to be overpriced on many items. There is nothing special about Blu ray burners for Macs, so why pay more for one from OWC and have to deal with shipping issues. Amazon UK has several for less than the OWC model. That first Samsung model on the list has reviews from Mac users saying it works for them.

 

[blesscheese]

I generally buy my memory from them exclusively. They typically have the best price, and I also now what I am getting from them so I don't have to worry about returns.

However, unless they have a special sale, you are generally better off buying disks and other stuff from other vendors.

Regarding external drives, there seem to be runs of the power bricks dying off prematurely from time to time. I think it is a crap shoot with any company...

 

[archgrove]

You can't be sure of that with any vendor on the planet. No company produces products that always work 100% the first time and never break down. It's too bad you had a negative experience, but millions of others have used OWC successfully for over 20 years. Yours is clearly not a common experience.

It's not that the stuff is necessarily bad (though clearly the Accelsior product is a bit iffy). It's the complete lack of empathy to the fact that they'll have sent me 3 fully taxable items just to try and get one that works - tax that I have to pay each time, because they don't repair the faulty item - they replace it. So I've spent $200 in extra shipping and taxes to get a single working item!

 

[Umbongo]

You can't be sure of that with any vendor on the planet. No company produces products that always work 100% the first time and never break down. It's too bad you had a negative experience, but millions of others have used OWC successfully for over 20 years. Yours is clearly not a common experience.

That said, this thread is about purchasing in the UK and archgrove's experience does highlight issues with international orders. The extra cost here in the UK may well be worth our 7-day "return policy" for any items purchased online/mail order and the much better warranty and consumer protection laws.