# Fucking counterfeit memory cards **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 3, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456 "2008-12-03T04:30:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/1 "2008-12-03T04:30:19Z")
So I recently bought a PSP and I decided getting a big memory stick would be a good idea. So I go to ebay searching for deals on memory sticks. That would be mistake #1. Mistake #2 would be buying from a seller in China. Mistake #3 would be not realizing that $13.99 for a 4GB Memory Stick would be a “too good to be true” situation. I already reported it to PayPal and left negative feedback to the seller. Fuck that stupid Chinese conman and fuck me for for falling for it. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/2 "2008-12-03T05:32:52Z")
No no… tell you what, I’ll buy it off of you. I have a Bank Check made out for $5000, so if you can just cash that for me, and send me $4500 of it, you can keep the other $500 to pay for the memory card and your time and trouble! How’s that sound? I would meet in person, but I… uh… work for the UN, and am busy in Australia right now. –DR TRISTAN ESQ FOR THE PRESIDENT ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/3 "2008-12-03T08:35:22Z")
> [@Xan](#): > > So I recently bought a PSP and I decided getting a big memory stick would be a good idea. So I go to ebay searching for deals on memory sticks. That would be mistake #1. Mistake #2 would be buying from a seller in China. Mistake #3 would be not realizing that $13.99 for a 4GB Memory Stick would be a “too good to be true” situation. > > I already reported it to PayPal and left negative feedback to the seller. > > Fuck that stupid Chinese conman and fuck me for for falling for it. This situation happened some years ago with pendrives. You could get a 4 GB pendrive for an incredibly low price. I got one. Inserted it in my computer and it was recognised as 4 GB. Copied a small file and worked fine. But when I tried to copy a large file it didn’t work. After much messing around I found a utility which allowed a “low level formatting” and it turned out the real capacity was 64 KB. It seems they just somehow write the header so that it reports whatever capacity they want. As I say, This is extremely common all over China. Having said that, many sellers are not part of the scam and are being scammed themselves. They are just as ignorant as you are. I have seen several cases on ebay of sellers who were all distraught when a whole bunch of buyers turned angrily on them but they had sold the pendrives in good faith. My advice is to take it up with the seller first. Demand restitution. An honest seller will certainly make you whole again even if they lose. After all it was them who were taken in. They should go after their own supplier. If the seller does not reintegrate you then is the time to complain to ebay. But not before. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 9:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/4 "2008-12-03T09:08:10Z")
Very timely thread! Last night my GF gave me a 4Gb thumbdrive and I haven’t tested it yet. _Testing._ Ayup!.. 4Gb and it was only _8_ bucks. But whether is an authentic Kingston drive or not I don’t know. Package and drive look good quality. Sorry Xan ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/5 "2008-12-03T11:31:33Z")
I only buy Kingston or Crucial (or a highly rated manufacturer at NewEgg) memory and it hasn’t let me down yet. I just think of it in terms of how much cheaper it is now than it was a year ago, and it doesn’t bother me if some fly by night company is selling it for 40% less. The hassle is not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Uvula\_Donor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Uvula\_Donor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uvula_Donor)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/6 "2008-12-03T11:55:16Z")
Check your local GameStop/Electronics Boutique/EB Games for good deals on Sony memory. I got a 4 gig Pro Duo there for $15. Yes, it was used, but all used memory at EB is wiped and tested before being resold. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/7 "2008-12-03T13:32:29Z")
Good heavens, do people still buy things from China on ebay? I’ve got a grand total of three transactions under my belt (bought two things and sold one), and even I know that China = bad. Still sucks though. ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Badger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/848f3c/32.png) [@Dead\_Badger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Badger)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/8 "2008-12-03T13:44:50Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > Ayup!.. 4Gb and it was only _8_ bucks. But whether is an authentic Kingston drive or not I don’t know. Package and drive look good quality. Just FYI, capacity isn’t the only thing that can be dodgy. A lot of the really cheap sticks use memory that isn’t rated for more than a few tens of write cycles (i.e. stuff that would normally be used as read-only memory on something much cheaper). So while the capacity may be correct, they die after only a few copying sessions. Hopefully that’s not the case with yours, obviously, I’d just be careful sticking any precious data on it for a while… ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/9 "2008-12-03T15:05:13Z")
> [@Dante](#): > > Good heavens, do people still buy things from China on ebay? I’ve got a grand total of three transactions under my belt (bought two things and sold one), and even I know that China = bad. > > Still sucks though. That is a totally unfair statement. I have a long history on ebay and have bought quite a few things in China and never been scammed. I would rather buy from someone with good feedback in China than from someone with bad feedback in America. Feedback counts more than location. There are plenty of honest and reliable sellers in China. And quite a few scumbags in America. IF you use reasonable precautions you can avoid the bad ones where ever they are. ---
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/10 "2008-12-03T15:15:13Z")
Here’s more information on the subject: [http://reviews.ebay.ca/FAKE-Sony-Memory-Stick-Pro-Duo-MagicGate-Cards-Exposed\_W0QQugidZ10000000001236041](http://reviews.ebay.ca/FAKE-Sony-Memory-Stick-Pro-Duo-MagicGate-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001236041) The seller contacted me and says he’ll give me a refund if I take back my negative feedback. Like I’m going to do that. ---
**Author:** ![Xan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ac8455/32.png) [@Xan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xan)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/11 "2008-12-03T15:24:53Z")
> [@Xan](#): > > Here’s more information on the subject: [http://reviews.ebay.ca/FAKE-Sony-Memory-Stick-Pro-Duo-MagicGate-Cards-Exposed\_W0QQugidZ10000000001236041](http://reviews.ebay.ca/FAKE-Sony-Memory-Stick-Pro-Duo-MagicGate-Cards-Exposed_W0QQugidZ10000000001236041) > > The seller contacted me and says he’ll give me a refund if I take back my negative feedback. Like I’m going to do that. Also, the seller has another feedback from another buyer of a similar product saying that theirs was a fake as well. ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/12 "2008-12-03T20:35:56Z")
I recently bought a real Kingston 4GB drive for $8. It works fine. Sometimes manufacturers have to clear out excess inventory and they would rather sell at a small loss today rather than sell at an even bigger loss next month. There are some vendors in China that are professional criminals. They remark CPUs, counterfeit other companies’ products, sell chips that failed testing as good chips, produce motherboards with BIOS software that lies about what was installed on the motherboard, and anything else that will make a quick buck. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/13 "2008-12-03T21:13:38Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > That is a totally unfair statement. I have a long history on ebay and have bought quite a few things in China and never been scammed. I would rather buy from someone with good feedback in China than from someone with bad feedback in America. Feedback counts more than location. There are plenty of honest and reliable sellers in China. And quite a few scumbags in America. IF you use reasonable precautions you can avoid the bad ones where ever they are. Oh, I’ll always trust feedback over location, but all things being equal, I’ll buy from Asia last. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/14 "2008-12-03T21:29:24Z")
There are a few things I won’t buy from eBay for this very reason: - Memory cards (particularly Sandisk, Kingston, Lexar) - Thumb drives - Gillette razors the exception (for flash memory) is if it’s either someone I’ve dealt with before or someone who’s just selling one they’ve owned but don’t sell them regularly, and the latter only if they have good feedback. I will never, _ever_ buy razor cartridges off eBay. Incidentally, 4GB for $14 isn’t a good price – at least not around here. I can get them around that price locally, or 8GB SDHC Class 6 for about $35. (Yeah, that’s SD, but Sony MS around here only adds about a $5 premium.) ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/15 "2008-12-03T21:44:53Z")
> [@Xan](#): > > Also, the seller has another feedback from another buyer of a similar product saying that theirs was a fake as well. If it is not an honest mistake but rather it is a scam then eBay should cancel the account and throw the book at him. Why don’t they do it? ---
**Author:** ![DudleyGarrett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d9b06d/32.png) [@DudleyGarrett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DudleyGarrett)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/16 "2008-12-03T21:52:24Z")
Jeez, why does it have to be a CHINESE conman, you fucking racist? ---
**Author:** ![mks57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@mks57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mks57)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/17 "2008-12-03T21:55:51Z")
> [@sailor](#): > > If it is not an honest mistake but rather it is a scam then eBay should cancel the account and throw the book at him. Why don’t they do it? It would cost money and they don’t care. I’ve dealt with some of these people. When you point out that they are selling fraudulent goods, they deny it or blame their supplier. And next week, they are still selling the same crap. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/18 "2008-12-03T21:56:37Z")
I once bought a “too-good-to-be-true” MP3 player on eBay. I got it and the english instructions were pretty much inscrutible (as opposed to the Chinese instructions, which if I read Chinese might have been perfectly scrutable) and the thing was a piece of junk. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/19 "2008-12-03T22:27:09Z")
> [@DudleyGarrett](#): > > Jeez, why does it have to be a CHINESE conman, you fucking racist? I don’t know that it HAS to be but it seems that, in fact, he IS Chinese. What’s YOUR problem? ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456/20 "2008-12-03T22:34:47Z")
Buying any kind of memory product online, even from a reputable seller, is asking for trouble imho. I only buy memory from brick and mortar stores, in case it needs to be returned, which is often enough. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fucking-counterfeit-memory-cards/475456.md?page=2)