I have to handle shipping (out of pocket too) and if I want to cross ship, I have to put down a deposit then they hold my funds until they get the RMA drive, if not received in 30 days or something close to that, they charge me.
To your point about having to RMA, they had the same exact problem with the Vertex 2. A few months after the reviews came out, people who bought them had major issues and it took months to fix and the same thing happened with the Vertex 3. I am not saying they didn't get the problem resolved in the end, but I've seen less issues with other vendors post initial release that I will take a chance with them over OCZ next time. I for one can not continually afford the $15 for shipping both my current and future SSDs or losing my PC because they didn't learn from their past issue and institute safe guards to prevent it. Thus I am unfortunately stuck with a defective drive and unable to resolve it in the short term and I hold OCZ responsible for it.
To your point about you being confident about this being the best drive, all I have to say is this "If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas". I do not trust them based on their record and I will not believe their word or anyone's initial results until after a few more months of people buying their drives. I just can not in good conscious recommend them after what I've seen and personally experienced, not to mention the money I personally lost to fix an issue that isn't fixed.
I totally trust Techgage and your reviewing methods, it's what happens after the fact that is beyond your control and only in OCZ purview to change, and with two generations of the same problem their record speaks for it's self. Hell I planned and bought my OCZ Vertex 3 based primarily on Techgages review, so I didn't go off half cocked or miss informed. What I did do is trust OCZ when they said the problem that happened with the Vertex 2 wouldn't have with later products, well it did and I got burned by OCZ not Techgage. Therefore when OCZ can stand by their claims and promises, I will believe them but it will take a while for that to happen. Unfortunately for the both of us, only time will tell.