I visited Orange Hardware's website looking to purchase a Western Digital PR2100 NAS with no drives. This specific unit was important because I needed to replace a failed unit ASAP and the product was being discontinued by Western Digital.

The item I was looking for was listed as available on Orange's website for $600. After putting it in my cart and checking with their chat attendant, I learned that the item actually wasn't available but I was told a "refurbished" unit was available with 10TB drives for $800. This was 33% more than I intended to pay -- and I didn't want or need the drives -- but I opted to go ahead with the purchase.

To say I'm disappointed with what I was sent is an understatement. By most definitions refurbished means "professionally inspected, repaired, cleaned, and restored to a high standard of quality, often meeting the original manufacturer's standards for functionality and appearance." The unit I received is nowhere near "refurbished" -- it's USED. Plain and simple.

The unit was shipped in a plastic bag stuffed into an ill-fitting generic box with nothing more than the power brick. (No manual, no warrantee information, nothing). The NAS enclosure itself has at least one dent and several scratches on it. The locking mechanism that holds the internal drives in place is worn and doesn't latch firmly. The cooling fan and air vents on the enclosure were caked in dust and I had to clean them myself.

Although I didn't need the drives, their inclusion was ostensively what made the $800 price seem tolerable. But the drives themselves were also clearly used and were mismatched in brand/type. (I have to ask: how many times does a hard drive have to be installed/removed from a NAS enclosure to leave wear marks on the steel mounting rails?)

BEWARE of anything these people sell as "refurbished". They're selling used stuff and trying to pass it off as like new. If I had known better there is NO WAY I would have paid $800 dollars for a visibly used NAS. I would have been better off just shopping at Ebay.