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View Full Version : BBW: eBay rife with fake memory sticks



Captain Wrong
01-27-2007, 11:20 AM
Sorry if this is old news, I looked and didn't see it.

Anyway, I was wanting to buy a 4GB MS Duo for my PSP and there were some great deals on eBay so I picked up a copule of SanDisks from a US seller. That seemed to be safe as I'd heard Sony was being extensively bootlegged and far east sellers were almost certainly suspect.

The cards came really fast and didn't ship from China (sometimes a seller lists as US but the stuff actually ships from China) but the cards seemed off somehow. Could it be the smudgy serial numbers on the back that appear to be the exact same number on each card? Maybe it's the adapter with the cheap printing that doesn't fit as smoothly as my real SanDisk one? Or it could be the generic instruction sheet that looks like it was printed in the same factory that prints chopstick wrappers? How about the lack of MagicGate when I checked the card's info on my PSP?

Yeah, I got faked. I should have known better, but I got caught in a heat of the moment snipe and let my guard down. I'm in the process of getting my money back, but I'm irritated to say the least.

This is a pretty good guide for the Sony sitcks:

http://reviews.ebay.ca/FAKE-Sony-Memory-Stick-Pro-Duo-MagicGate-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001236041

I didn't see anything on line specifically about my sticks, but let's just say I read enough stuff about all flavors of memory cards on eBay to gather than a vast majority of what's up there is bootleg.

What's so bad about it? Well, these cards are siginificanlty slower than my real SanDisk cards. Also, it's pretty much a given that these cards are going to crap out sooner than later. Many people report losing photos and data as soon as a month after purchase! Plus, they aren't covered by any warranty. When it dies, you're SOL.

So, that's my public service announcement for today. Unless you're willing to take your chances with a much cheaper counterfit product, I'd add flash memory cards to the list of items you shouldn't buy on eBay.

Kejoriv
01-27-2007, 12:19 PM
link to your auction.
i wanna check it out.
thanks dude

Captain Wrong
01-29-2007, 10:20 AM
The seller's name is encoreunlimited. Basically, if I return it, at my expence, he'll test it and "if" it's fake send me new ones. Umm...I don't think so. Play me for a sucker one, ok, but twice? Nope. I'm taking this to PayPal and hoping for the best. I can see from the feedback I'm not the only one he's sold a fake to and with the volume of auctions there's no way this guy doesn't know he's selling counterfit goods.

Kitsune Sniper
01-29-2007, 04:42 PM
Hahaha. I'm not lauging at you, but at the jerk... A friend of mine bought a Sony memory stick from that guy and he said it was legit.

I always check if the seller is shipping from China or Taiwan. If he is, I ignore the seller and look elsewhere.

Captain Wrong
01-30-2007, 02:03 PM
Yeah, his sticks are totally fake. The fact that he's not shipping from China made me trust it, but I should have known better.

Didi your friend get his money back or anything?

gdement
01-31-2007, 09:33 AM
What's so bad about it? Well, these cards are siginificanlty slower than my real SanDisk cards. Also, it's pretty much a given that these cards are going to crap out sooner than later. Many people report losing photos and data as soon as a month after purchase!


I've read that fake flash cards are often reprogrammed to report more capacity than they actually have. So for example a 2GB flash stick would believe itself to have 4GB of storage. If you go beyond it's actual capacity it naturally has major problems.

Kitsune Sniper
01-31-2007, 03:11 PM
Yeah, his sticks are totally fake. The fact that he's not shipping from China made me trust it, but I should have known better.

Didi your friend get his money back or anything?

No, he says it's a legit card. He hasn't said anything about any problems.

samael64
02-01-2007, 12:58 AM
Tell SanDisk about him as well, they may want to prosecute.

Ed Oscuro
02-01-2007, 03:52 PM
Thanks for the heads-up. Hate it when people pull this stuff.

tornadostormxl
02-03-2007, 12:54 PM
Will paypal refund you if you buy a fake?

jajaja
02-03-2007, 01:10 PM
Will paypal refund you if you buy a fake?

Yes, but you must be able to prove it. I complained once when i bought a pirated GBA game and the seller refused to give me a refund. Paypal told me i needed proof so i went to a gaming store and got them to sign a document i made. I then faxed this over to Paypal.

I didnt get any money back because Paypal said i had to provide a tracking number for the package i had to send in return. It would cost me alot since it was overseas. Crazy that i have to cover shipping because the seller sent me a bootleg game. If i did i would get my money back tho (if there was anything in the sellers account that is), but it wasnt worth it because of the damn high return shipping i had to cover. So i just forgot the whole thing and left the seller negative feedback.