how do I buy a hard drive?

[a a]

The last time I bought a hard drive was quite a while ago and then it wasn't that hard to work out what the best option would be (it was an IBM Deskstar), but now there seem to be several companies selling things called Deskstars and a lot of problematic elements with everything I look at: it will be either used, or might be used but it's hard to tell, it has alarming reviews that suggest there can be quite different things hiding under the same label, or they were good a year ago and now they're falling apart, or they were built in China and are designed mostly to spy on you.

What can I do?

I need something around 2T under $100.

[fzabkar]

https://www.backblaze.com/blog/best-hard-drive/

[a a]

Thank you!

By the little I understood that it looks like HGST Deskstars are probably the best buy.

Many of the buyer reviews I see on Amazon and New Egg of drives being sold by goHardDrive give the impression they may be refurbished or second hand without the product description coming right out and saying so.

How confident would you be in buying one?

[labtech]

Do not buy refurbished.