Comment by navane
1 day ago
My fan broke after five? years of near 24/7 use. Customer support was very easy to reach. They sent me a new one after I sent some serial numbers as proof. They asked me then to break off a blade, and a picture of it so I didn't have to sent it back.
I get why. But that still seems wasteful
But would it be more wasteful than shipping a parcel with broken equipment?
If the old one could still be used, they shouldn’t send a new one anyway.
Well, if it can still be repaired but the producer doesn't want to bother and just sends a new fan, that's fine. That doesn't mean a repairable product should be destroyed and sent to a landfill just because it makes Noctua's logistics easier.
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Anecdotally, when my Xtrfy MZ1 mouse cable started shorting 5V to ground, they required a similar process (cutting the cable) before sending a replacement.
This was their response when I asked why: > Yes this policy was put in place because there was multiple instances of people reselling their faulty products after receiving a replacement.
> The secondhand buyers then reached out to us, let down to have received a broken product.
I'd imagine it's a similar reason for Noctua.
It’s a chilling effect on folks that buy one noctua fan and want to get another free one by claiming the first one is broken.