Transparen Hard Drive Data Recovery Pricing Is Simple - First We Offer The Good Stuff, then (if you insist), we offer the cheap stuff
Lately, Transparen Data Recovery has been getting a number of calls that proceed as follows:
Hard Drive Crash Victim: How much will it cost to recover data from a Maxtor 80 GB drive with clicking noises, or which makes various beeps, or which simply cannot be seen from the operating system even though it seems to be recognized by the bios, or whatever.
Transparen: Well, it really depends what might have gone wrong with the drive. Sometimes we receive drives that have no problems whatsoever. In that case, the cost is only the $225 evaluation fee. Or sometimes, we receive drives which other data recovery companies have failed to recover - and these can range up to $2300 for our standard 3-5 day service, or even more, if you need the data in 1-2 days, for instance, and it has physical problems requiring it to be repaired in a clean room, or if you need us to work evenings and weekends...
Hard Drive Crash Victim: Oh, ok bye.
And, then, we feel really bad, because - we told the truth, and then the client probably went to some other data recovery company - and, admittedly, there are a lot of other companies that claim to know how to recover data from hard drives... and had a conversation like this:
Hard Drive Crash Victim: How much will it cost to recover data from a ...
Other Company: $500. 88% success rate. Look our website.
Hard Drive Crash Victim: Great! It's a Maxtor 80 GB drive...
Other Company: Yeah yeah we do those all the time, no problem.
Hard Drive Crash Victim: Ok - so, how can I start?
Other Company: Look at our instructions on the website. Follow them exactly.
Hard Drive Crash Victim: Wow your prices are so low!!!
And the problem here, is that the client is led to believe that they are comparing apples to apples, when in fact they are comparing a commercial-level service to a consumer-level service. So, what's the difference?
Well, for starters, when the competition says they have an 88% success rate, we are saying that 88% of hard drive recovery situations are so easy that they could have been completed successfully by ordinary technicians, without the benefit of all the data recovery and hard drive recovery research that costs so much money - in fact, 88% of hard drive lost data recoveries are so easy that it's a wonder they made it all the way to a data recovery company in the first place. When we get data recovery jobs that are that easy, we charge less than $400, whereas our competition will end up charging more than $700, even if they say $500, because of various clauses and terms in their service forms.
So, now, we have to have conversations like this:
Hard Drive Crash Victim: What's your cheapest data recovery service?
Transparen: It's $225.
Hard Drive Crash Victim: No, really, what will it cost to recover my data from a hard drive with a burning smell, so I dunked it in cold water?
Transparen: Well, are you sure you want our cheapest service? That's really for if you don't care about your data - I mean, it would be like sending your drive to a computer shop that claims to do data recovery but has no research budget for ensuring that every job gets done with high quality standards. If this data has any value - you should be asking for us to solve the problem, with no risk (or very very very low risk).
Hard Drive Crash Victim: If I say that the data is important, you'll charge me more - and I know all this stuff's easy anyway, so just give me your $500 data recovery. No pressure - just get it back whenever.
Transparen: How about this - for $225, we'll do a high quality data recovery, and give you a quote for the results, and a list of files. Then, you'll have 30 days to take us up on that offer. Plus, we can give you an estimated success rate for a cheaper recovery. In the 30 days, if you have lots of time, you could ask us to do the sloppy data recovery - the kind that you would get if you went to a $500 shop. If we can get the files you want, then you may have the lower price, just as if you had gone to a discount data recovery shop. And, if the files are in rotten shape, then you will have the option of taking us up on the high-quality data recovery.
Hard Drive Crash Victim: So, I could get the $500 price, but the comfort of having a high-quality data recovery option in case the cheap attempt fails?
Transparen: Yeah - we don't really think it's ethical to do the cheap data recovery first, because what if the data was really important, and the cheap data recovery ruined the drive? Also, cheaper=slower+riskier+poorer results... But, we have to do something to show people the difference between the high-quality data recovery and the cheap one, so by comparing both file lists, you will have a fair idea of what can be done for what price.
Hard Drive Crash Victim: Okay, so how can I start?
By taking this approach, our hope is that clients will realize the difference between high quality and low quality data recovery - and also that they will see the benefits that come from getting data back reasonably quickly, compared with having to wait and wait for data. But sometimes, the data is not time-sensitive, and in fact it is merely of sentimental value. So, we offer the option of "doing our best" without taking advantage of the research and development results that are available for commercial-level data recovery jobs.
