Did I get the replacement drive from Dell I paid for?

[Middletown Bob]

I recently ordered a replacement hard drive for my Inspiron 1520 laptop from Dell. What I ordered from the website was listed as a Dell drive, item # 341-9334, 320G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for $145.99.

What I received was a Western Digital Scorpio Blue drive of the same spec - part # WU082 as listed on the packing slip with an SKU that matches the item # listed above (341-9334).

The problem I have is that the Dell website also advertises a Western Digital drive of the same spec and manufacturer's model # (WD3200BEVT) as the one I was shipped but for $52.99 (usually $64.99). The Dell part # for this drive is A2436199 - its full manufacturer's model # is WD3200BEVT - 75ZCT2.

So my question is, did I get the replacement drive I paid for or a cheaper substitute? Or is Dell charging almost a $100 dollars difference for drives that are identical? Should I just order the cheaper drive and send back the one I received?

I've spent over an hour on the phone with Dell customer support and still have no answer. I couldn't find any information from the Western Digital site about qualitative differences within the same model that might explain the price difference. Any help in explaining this would be greatly appreciated.

 

[cjl]

If you ordered a 5400RPM, 320GB SATA drive and got a WD Scorpio Blue, you got a good drive. There's nothing to worry about, and you aren't getting a low quality drive.

 

[Guest]

As hard drives are fairly generic, in the circumstances I would threaten to cancel the order and if they don't offer a reduction go and buy the WD drive at the cheapest vendor you can find.

 

[mikey5802]

You probably got RIPPED!! I would call them back and point out the issue of the price difference between the two drives and request a refund of the price diff. Ask to speak with a supervisor if necessary!!

 

[jdp245]

I would return it and buy the same drive someplace else. You have to be careful with Dell's pricing. Same thing happened to me when I bought a copy of Office 2007 with my wife's laptop. It was almost full price, but what they sent was the OEM version with just one license, instead of the three licenses that the retail version comes with. I called and complained and they took the OEM version back and sent me the retail version for the difference. They made good on it because I complained, but most people probably just get screwed.