Originally Posted by
i.draw.fast
tinuod ba gyud ni?
kit-an lang nako sa ebay:
A very high percentage of all 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and now 16GB, 32GB, 64GB USB Flash Drives listed on eBay are counterfeit items and have fake & overstated capacities. No Name 16GB to 128GB USB Flash Drives are mostly FAKE!
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They were reprogrammed from much smaller cousins 512MB, 1GB, 2GB capacity drives for quick profit!
Don't be foolish thinking you got a "CHEAP 4GB / 8GB / 16GB / 32GB / 64GB / 128GB" deal, in fact you were paying for a "VERY EXPENSIVE 1GB / 2GB" hacked sticks. The sellers are laughing their way to the bank!
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Most of the well-known branded counterfeits even have brand new packaging, serial numbers like a real mccoy.
COMMON counterfeit brands found flooding on eBay are:-
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SanDisk - Cruzer Mini (SDCZ2) or Cruzer Micro (SDCZ4).
- Most fake SanDisk display the capacity as 'G' instead of 'GB' on the item and packaging.
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FAKE SanDisk Cruzer USB Flash Drives Exposed
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FAKE SanDisk Extreme Compact Flash Cards Exposed
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FAKE SanDisk Ultra Compact Flash Cards Exposed
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FAKE SanDisk Ultra Secure Digital Cards Exposed
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Sony - Micro Vault.
- Counterfeit Sony Micro Vault does not bundle with software such as 'Virtual Expander'.
- Most fake Sony display the capacity as 'G' instead of 'GB' on the item and packaging.
- All Sony Vaio USB Flash available on eBay are counterfeit as 'Vaio' refers to Sony proprietary branding reserve for Sony notebook series only.
- All Sony 16GB USB Flash drives on eBay are counterfeit.
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FAKE Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo MagicGate Cards Exposed
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FAKE Sony Micro Vault USB Flash Drives (Exposing soon!!!)
* Kingston - Data Traveller I & II.
- Counterfeit Kingston does not bundle with software such as 'Migo'.
- A well-known counterfeit Kingston Data Traveller with an identical serial number appearing across all 4GB (white body with black handle) and 8GB (white body with orange handle) versions at the back of its retail packaging, SN: TCO7773-00156959, LK: A510M1D-5380562U. On the side of the item it may have some small printing showing 'DTI', 'KF08 1 9 0 5 5V' and '5262-014.AOOLF CHINA'.
- All Kingston 16GB USB Flash drives on eBay are counterfeit.
* Imation - Swivel & Mini.
- Counterfeit Imation does not bundle with software such as 'Imation Flash Manager'.
* BenQ, Dane-Elec, Hyundai, Laser, LG, Toshiba, Transcend, TwinMOS.
* No Name or Unpopular Brand.
A very high percentage of the counterfeit flash memories are using Hyperstone and iCreate memory controllers, instead of the original manufacturer's own memory controller!
How to tell if your USB drive is counterfeit and has fake oversize capacity?
* The fake will deceive you by displaying the 'false/oversize' capacity when you connect it to your PC, however they will NOT be able to store the data to the stated capacity.
* So you MUST perform data test by writing a BIG (1GB/2GB/4GB/8GB) file to the usb drive, then READ back the same file from the usb drive to another location on your PC to compare. The READ back process is the only proven way to uncover its 'REAL' capacity.
* A genuine USB flash drive will complete data transfer of a single 1GB file anywhere from 50 to 180 seconds writing to. Usually the writing time is twice as long as the reading time.
* The fake will take an excessively long time (1 to 7 hours) only 'pretending' writing but the data was not actually being written. Hence when you try to read it back, it will claim data as being CORRUPT. Many have reported that many strange files/folders eg. 00000.000 will appear and you cannot delete them.
* The fake flash drives are usually shipped out from ASIA especially from China, Hong Kong, Korea or Singapore, and they are also listed on Australian, UK, USA and European's eBay.
* The counterfeit model cannot be located or matched with any genuine models on the manufacturer's web site.
* Counterfeit 'USB Flash Drive / Compact Flash / Secure Digital / Memory Stick' are flooding the eBay market at very low Buy-It-Now (too good to be true) price to make you think is an absolute BARGAIN.
How to avoid buying fake/counterfeit USB Flash Drives?
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HIGH volume sellers do not guarantee items authenticity and in fact this tends to be the sign of counterfeit sellers with items usually set at less than half the market price in your country.
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NEVER to be deceived by the high eBay feedback of the seller by not doing your homework, this is how it traps one after another. Findings are many provide positive feedback too early upon receiving an item without having the item being properly check out and tested first, hence many regret.
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REMEMBER to check the seller's past selling history and especially AVOID sellers who have their bidder's ID protected or hidden.
* GENUINE SanDisk, Sony and Kingston USB drives ALWAYS bundle with preloaded manufacturer software on the unit.
* CHECK the model against the manufacturer's web sites to see if you can find a match. Some are easy to spot.
* AVOID misleading slogans such as 'Opening special', 'New product not yet available in your country' or 'I am using one and it works very well for me'.
* BEWARE of sellers that only list high-risk flash memory categories, such as 'SanDisk USB flash drives, SanDisk secure digital cards & Sony Memory Stick Pro Duo' and sellers that are using original SanDisk / Sony web download pictures to list corresponding counterfeit items as they do not represent the actual item that you will receive!
* WATCH OUT for low Buy-It-Now item (value needs to be over $25 to be elligible for coverage under eBay Standard Purchase Protection Program) and where shipping fee far exceeds its item value (Circumventing eBay fee).
* WATCH OUT for item disguised as eBay listings from your country but dispatched from China.
* CONTACT SanDisk/Sony/Kingston counterfeit Hotline.