[comp.sys.mac.hardware] Floppy Disks from MEI/Micro Center

jonh@pogo.WV.TEK.COM (Jon Howell) (06/14/91)

JXY2@psuvm.psu.edu (Jie Yuan) writes:
>tap@iti.org (Thomas A. Phelps) says:
>>Disks are cheap via mail order, nowadays.  Check out MEI/Micro Center
>>800-634-3478.  They have terrific prices.  Last I saw, 1.44 Meg floppies
>>were $.59 each in lots of 25.  Duplicates are cheap insurance.
>I was interested in 3.5 in HD floppies and called them.  It was $.59/ea
>in lots of 25 with $.50 for shipping per lot (of 25) and handling of $3.00
>per order.  The total would be $18.24 if you order a lot of 25, averaging
>$.73/ea.  It would be cheaper if you order more since the handling fee
>is fixed per order.
I've been using MEI's disks for a number of years now.  (Remember back when
we had 5.25" disks?  Heh heh.. Boy, THOSE were the days... :^)  The price
is right, but it's been my experience that a good number of the "certified
200% error free -- if you find an error, we'll buy you a Mac IIfx!" disks
do end up unformattable.  I don't know how reliable the "good" (read: $5
per disk :v) brands are, but I expect about one in ten or twenty of my MEI
bulk disks to fail formatting.  That's OK with be, since the price is
right (even averaging out the junk ones), but you might want to keep this
in mind.

This isn't a slam on MEI; I intend to order a batch of HDs from them
Real Soon Now.

	--Jon
-- 
            jonh@pogo.wv.tek.com | moc.ket.vw.ogop.hnoj
Jon              6417 Sorrel Way | yaW lerroS 7146              noJ
Howell      West Linn, OR  97068 | 86079  RO, nniL tseW      llewoH
                    503/657-7964 | 4697-756\305

dave@PRC.Unisys.COM (David Lee Matuszek) (06/24/91)

In article <11061@pogo.WV.TEK.COM> jonh@pogo.WV.TEK.COM (Jon Howell) writes:

>I've been using MEI's disks for a number of years now.  (Remember back when
>we had 5.25" disks?  Heh heh.. Boy, THOSE were the days... :^)  The price
>is right, but it's been my experience that a good number of the "certified
>200% error free -- if you find an error, we'll buy you a Mac IIfx!" disks
>do end up unformattable.  I don't know how reliable the "good" (read: $5
>per disk :v) brands are, but I expect about one in ten or twenty of my MEI
>bulk disks to fail formatting.  That's OK with be, since the price is
>right (even averaging out the junk ones), but you might want to keep this
>in mind.
>
>This isn't a slam on MEI; I intend to order a batch of HDs from them
>Real Soon Now.

I just bought 50 high-density 3.5" diskettes from MEI ($0.59 apiece, I
think they were, plus a significant shipping charge).  I formatted
them all this past Saturday.  Every single one formatted perfectly.

Just another data point.

-- Dave Matuszek (dave@prc.unisys.com)  I don't speak for my employer. --
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
|   Freedom of speech:  1776-1991.  R.I.P.                              |
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smargari@nmsu.edu (Susan Margarit) (06/25/91)

In article <11061@pogo.WV.TEK.COM> jonh@pogo.WV.TEK.COM (Jon Howell)
writes:
 
>I've been using MEI's disks for a number of years now.  (Remember
back when
>we had 5.25" disks?  Heh heh.. Boy, THOSE were the days... :^)  The
price
>is right, but it's been my experience that a good number of the
"certified
>200% error free -- if you find an error, we'll buy you a Mac IIfx!"
disks
>do end up unformattable.  I don't know how reliable the "good" (read:
$5
>per disk :v) brands are, but I expect about one in ten or twenty of
my MEI
>bulk disks to fail formatting.  That's OK with be, since the price is
>right (even averaging out the junk ones), but you might want to keep
this
>in mind.
>
>This isn't a slam on MEI; I intend to order a batch of HDs from them
>Real Soon Now. 

Sorry about the lousy quoting....

I have purchased about 40 maxell and fuji HD diskettes while I have
also purchased 25 of the el cheapos. Total body count is 15 dead
premiums and 4 dead el cheapos.  Infer what you will, but I just
ordered another 25 el cheapos.

Jim.

pat@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Patrick E Plaisted) (06/26/91)

In article <SMARGARI.91Jun24225654@emmy.nmsu.edu> smargari@nmsu.edu (Susan Margarit) writes:
>>This isn't a slam on MEI; I intend to order a batch of HDs from them
>>Real Soon Now. 
>
>Sorry about the lousy quoting....
>
>I have purchased about 40 maxell and fuji HD diskettes while I have
>also purchased 25 of the el cheapos. Total body count is 15 dead
>premiums and 4 dead el cheapos.  Infer what you will, but I just
>ordered another 25 el cheapos.
>
>Jim.

Having purchased well over a thousand disks from Micro Center over the 
past 7 years I can say that the error rates on the bulk disks run at 
about 5%.  They do come with a lifetime waranty and Micro Center will
exchange them.  Of course, this is a little easier for me to do because 
I live right down the street :-)

	Pat

tappek@infonode.ingr.com (J. Kurt Tappe) (06/28/91)

Our company buys floppies from MEI in lots of 10,000.  We do have 
a considerable number of disks that do not format, though a
"considerable number" in relation to the amount we order comes
out to less than 10%.  We do send the faulty ones back every
other month or so and they do exchange them.  Sometimes we
use floppies that don't Mac format on our PCs, as they will
simply de-allocate the bad sectors and use the rest of the
disk.

Kurt
--
tappek@infonode.ingr.com  OR  jkt100@psuvm.psu.edu

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