Samsung told Louis Rossmann it couldn't replace his failed 4 TB 990 Pro under warranty because of a memory shortage, while its Amazon storefront listed the same drive for $949.
Rossmann runs a data recovery and repair shop in Austin, Texas, and bought the 990 Pro from Best Buy about a year ago. When the drive began writing at 20 to 160 MB/s, well below its rated 6,900 MB/s, he contacted Samsung for a warranty replacement. The process hit obstacles immediately: his initial ticket was closed because he had not submitted a photo within 24 hours, even though that window had not elapsed. After restarting the claim and shipping the drive in, Samsung's technicians declared it "verified as good" and returned it unrepaired, then cited the shortage to explain why no replacement stock was available.
That shortage claim is the crux. The 990 Pro has roughly quadrupled in price since Rossmann bought his, and when prices spike that sharply, the gap between "we can't replace it" and "we'd rather not replace it" becomes impossible to see from the outside. A warranty on a commodity that has surged in value is worth exactly what the manufacturer decides it's worth when you need to use it.
Rossmann announced he would take Samsung to small claims court, saying on camera he looks forward to "costing you more money in legal fees than what you would have paid to simply replace my drive." That is a precise use of the system.