Did decide to go the used drive route just saving up and waiting for the right deal from a good seller. I did notice on eBay specifically that some sellers have tested drives for a great price per tb with a shit seller’s warranty (30 days to 1 year) but offer insurance for a significantly longer length of time for a few more bucks. I’m wondering if that’s a good alternative to having a long seller’s warranty? Just assume I will back everything up properly so drive failure won’t be a massive concern I just want the option of returning it or getting a replacement if need be.
There’s a lot of good suggestions here, but I just wanted to add that I absolutely wouldn’t rely on a random eBay seller’s warranty in any way. I made that mistake early on in my journey. I came back to find my seller had deleted their account (probably to start another and skip out on warranties).