Buying Enterprise Class Servers on a Budget

In 2012 I returned to the UK from the BVI and set about establishing an office which eventually expanded in to a fully fledged web design and IT consultancy.  As with any start-up, the budget was tight and there was a laundry list of things needed, not the least of which was a good reliable network server.

Having been used to the pricing for enterprise rack servers in the USA market, which isn’t cheap to begin with, I was absolutely stunned by the prices of new rack servers in the UK.  I immediately started shopping around on Ebay for pre-owned units but was hesitant about buying a used server from ‘some guy somewhere’.

After a quick search however, I happened upon ‘Bargain Hardware‘,  a company specializing in re-conditioned enterprise class equipment (see their Ebay store here (http://stores.ebay.com/bargain-hardware-store),

Impressed with the level of detail in their item descriptions, the excellent pricing and the near-perfect feedback rating (99.7% Positive Feedback across 41333 sales!), I decided to give them ago.

Shipping & Packaging

I was amazed to see that my server arrived within two days of  ordering it, despite my opting for the free standard shipping.  The server came extremely well packaged in a new box.

Post Sales Support

I truly believe that you only get the measure of a company when something goes wrong – until it does, everything is a fairly simple sales and logistics operation.  When I ordered my first server from Bargain Hardware, a tiny typo in the description meant that while I was expecting a DVD-ROM drive, the unit arrived with a CD-ROM drive – not exactly the end of the world.

I called Bargain Hardware and the gentleman I spoke to was apologetic and arranged for a courier to come and collect the server from my building.  At this point I had spotted another bargain on their store and took the opportunity to upgrade, with Bargain Hardware making this as easy sending a little extra money via PayPal.

Server Update: 18 Months

The first server I ordered – a Dell PowerEdge 1950 – is still going strong and hasn’t given a moments trouble, despite running 24/7 for the past 18 months.

Would I Buy Again?

I would and I have buy from Bargain Hardware again, I’m currently shopping for my third server, as well as having bought various smaller items from them.  Even if I could find the same items elsewhere for the price or cheaper, my loyalty is determined by what happens *after* I buy an item and the Bargain Hardware guys came through in fine style.