I need to archive a large amount of photo and video files and DVD's are getting too impractical. I am looking for a suitable bluray drive but every time I ask on Amazon or Ebay "does this drive work with linux?" I seem to get just about 50-50 yes and no answers. All of the forums/blogs I read seem concerned only with movies. Has anyone had any experience with using bluray for data storage with linux? Are there any particular drives to choose or avoid? Do they work well with K3b?
I would prefer an external drive that could be attached to different computers however I could use an internal SATA drive if necessary. I am only interested in data archival, no need or desire to watch movies on this machine. I am currently running Mint 17 however thinking about upgrading to 17.1 because I hear so much good about it.

Honestly at this point I don't believe you can pick an unsupported model drive. The main issue is the software chosen to get the job done. A quick google search will show numerous software available to burn your Blu Rays.
Cdrecord, brasero, k3b, & Nero should all be able to get the job done.