Comparison of Used Server Re-sellers that offer Extended Warranties

Hi Everyone,

First post here but I’m a big fan of the youtube channel.

I’ve been searching online (google, Reddit, Spiceworks) for a comparison of Used Server resellers that offer extended warranties such as Server Monkey, Unix Plus, etc but I haven’t been able to find any good comparisons or reviews.

I have found some very basic recommendations or comments about Server Monkey and Unix Plus saying that they are reputable re-sellers but what I’m looking for is more so, what kind of support can I expect if I was to purchase each of there 3 yr extended warranty?

In this case, I’m wanting to buy a rack server that I can configure and re-sell to my client who needs 99% uptime and they would like an extended warranty also.

I’ve bought off eBay before for my own home lab (with no more than a 30 day DOA warranty) but my client is really wanting a extended warranty.

I’ve contacted both Server Monkey and Unix Plus for quotes (Dell R430 or R630). Unix Plus has been much cheaper in cost but their response time has not been the best. They also don’t have much info posted on their website about their warranty support terms and so I don’t have a great feeling about them.

Server Monkey has been more expensive but their response time has been great and their website quoting tool is great also. And their warranty support terms are all listed on their website so that’s another plus.

Has anyone had any experience with respect to warranty for either of these re-sellers?

Or are there any other used re-sellers that offer warranty that I should consider?

Edit:
I should also add that I can almost afford to buy 2 qty R630 from Unix Plus when compared to the 1 qty R630 from Server Monkey so the cost difference is pretty significant but the email communication from Unix Plus has not been very good which concerns me.

Thanks

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I have only did a warranty part replacement once via ServerMonkey and it worked our really well, the next day aired the parts to me. If the client really wants a good warranty, just buy new.

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I’m not sure if you can get 99% uptime without some sort of redundant solution, but based on what you said:

I would buy 2 units and create a redundant solution or use 1 for production and 1 for backup / spare parts.

Hi Tom,

Thanks for the information on server monkey.

I think that I’m going to focus my search on server monkey and met servers. They both appear to have good reviews online and I like the communication/presentation that I’ve received from them.

Yes I agree that getting a brand new server with the warranty from Dell, etc would have been the best option but my client is telling me they don’t have the budget for that right now. I’m just trying to get something in place for them that they can feel comfortable with for the next 2 to 3 years.

Thanks

Hi Beagle,

Thanks for the reply.

Sorry that I didn’t specify but yes absolutely I would plan to have two identical servers set up with redundancy with the hypervisor (xcp-ng).

My concern is that if we lose one host, I don’t want to be waiting for more than a few days to get the first host repaired and back online.

I realize that I’m asking a lot of used hardware but I’m trying to provide my client with the best solution with their budget.

So far I have had very good experience with used servers. Particularly Dell. They just go on forever and you can often find plenty of offers of used parts for an affordable price on eBay.

It’s a trade off between downtime and cost. How much is your customer willing to pay for additional reliability?

You can have a look at xByte. I’ve never purchased anything from them, but their pre-sales team was very helpful when I needed to quote costs to send parts overseas. And they offer advance replacement RMA.

Hi Beagle,

I agree about the used servers. I have bought many used Dell servers on eBay for my home lab or personal use and have never had any issues. It’s also very easy to find parts online if something did happen.

The challenge here is the warranty my customer is looking for.

Thanks, I’ll look into xByte.

In my experience I’ve never experienced a complete loss of a server. The most common server hardware failures I’ve come across are failed hard drives, power supply, and cpu or system fan. If you are worried about warranty turn around time, I would keep a spare FRU’s (warranty support calls these Field Replaceble Units) available. I’ve always informed my clients to keep at least a one spare of each on hand when purchasing used or refurbished systems.