Need help buying a used HDD

I have a quick question regarding HDDs. What exactly should I be looking out for when picking up a used HDD? I always make sure to check the photos and run tests in HD tuna to see if there are any bad sectors, but is there anything else I'm missing? I also noticed the "Power on Hours count" metric—basically how many hours the drive has actually been running. Is that something worth worrying about? If it is, at what point does that number get high enough that I should probably just pass on the purchase?

For me, the most important thing is making sure there aren't any bad sectors—that's the real dealbreaker. Honestly, how many hours the drive has actually been running doesn't matter all that much to me. I mean, maybe the HDD is just sitting there acting as extra storage—kind of like my own setup—while the OS and all the heavy lifting happen on an SSD or some other drive? If you're buying a used drive just for bulk storage, it probably hasn't even seen much heavy write activity anyway. 🤷

Is it even worth buying used HDDs these days? With current prices and those shorter warranty periods, I have my doubts. Let’s be real: nobody actually guarantees your data. You handle that with backups—which, let's face it, almost nobody does until they desperately need to. Buying a new drive at least gives you some kind of baseline protection, whereas a used one is just a total gamble.
The Power on Hours count is such a relative metric, too. It’s not just about how long it ran; there’s a huge difference between a drive that spent its life sitting in a junker case with zero airflow versus one that lived in a well-ventilated setup. Some look fine on paper, but then you start using them and suddenly problems pop up that only more advanced software tools can confirm...

I’d say just steer clear of used HDDs—it only takes a little bit of physical rough handling, which won't show up on any software scan, to leave the drive completely trashed.

I'm basing this on two used HDDs I picked up recently that both died on me within a week.

Plus, let's be honest—hard drives aren't exactly breaking the bank these days, and you get the peace of mind of a solid warranty from Best Buy. I actually lucked out when I picked up a WD Green about a year ago; it was still vacuum-sealed when I got it, which felt great. If you can find a brand-new drive at a decent price point, why wouldn't you just grab it?