Several years back some friends & myself purchased a total of 7 assorted USB flash memory sticks from various Asian sellers on Ebay. All turned out to be fakes.
End result, those sellers were removed by Ebay so I assumed this scam would decline over time...
Presently requiring a larger capacity card for a recently purchased video camera I first contacted an Ebay power seller (clean record) of multiple 32GB C6 cards for a guarantee of genuine capacity. Detailed our past experiences & warned I would immediately test for true capacity. He assured me they were genuine so I went ahead after having also asked one of his positive feedback (of this card) customers. (Who later discovered his was also a fake)
The "32GB C6" card I received from him has tested as a 2GB C2 fake, digitally altered to lie about its capacity!
It will display all the files uploaded as being present but NOT return most of them,
Any more data over a 2GB limit is LOST.
Have since received a refund from Paypal after a battle in which I refused to return this fake intact for likely re-sale.
Had to supply a qualified 3rd party report after which paypal conceded returning this fake was possibly illegal & directed me to destroy it.
From my research since on this topic, I've come to the conclusion that the purchase of any type of flash memory device online is risky.
There is a free tool for testing flash memory at: http://tinyurl.com/55ybfs (H2testW tool)
Lots of information at: http://tinyurl.com/y98srcs (sosfakeflash)
Details on my card: http://tinyurl.com/y8cdngg
Hoping details of my experience will assist others as Ebay is still allowing this seller (one of many) to list these cards & I've contacted many of his customers who have confirmed theirs are also fake.
G.
This is reasonably old news, that being said, which seller?
There's a fake usb tutorial on ebay, and apparently only two resellers make the list as legitimate. If the OP's reseller was to be one of the supposed genuine sellers....
Thanks but this info is well known, sad you were out of the loop even after being burnt once from it.
Ebay is full of fake crap, not limited to memory.
Same deal here. Purchased a 32GB SDHC card that ended up being a 2GB card.
Lost my cash as paypay required me to post back registered post to china at a cost of over 20 bucks. Just thought I would be throwing good money after bad.
Big tip is dont by any sort of SDHC off ebay. They are all fake.
At least yours was 2GB.
I bought a sandisk extreme III 32GB SDHC the other week (eBay local seller), and it was actually a very early (ie. fn slow) 128MB card reconfigured. I mean come on, thats like painting a daewoo red, and then selling it as a ferrari.
Just did a check on this same seller's Neg feedback this evening.
He has 12 buyer feedback reports of fake flash cards in the past month & I've been contacted by a similar number that had left positive feedback before discovering the truth & are now filing claims. Yet Ebay is still allowing him to place multiple listings of these fakes.
G.
Yet Ebay is still allowing him to place multiple listings of these fakes.
They don't care. They are making a fortune off it.
There is a free tool for testing flash memory at: http://tinyurl.com/55ybfs (H2testW tool)
Interesting looking tool, thanks for sharing and a :D aura for this post.
Big tip is dont by any sort of SDHC off ebay. They are all fake.
They're not all fake, although you do need to test any flash you buy on eBay with h2testw (or anywhere else for that matter, the fake flash bastards sometimes take in small-time resellers too.) Reading through the seller's feedback, googling their name and comparing the auction pictures to pics of known fakes are all good to do. SOSFakeFlash is an invaluable resource.
But yeah, it's almost impossible to find real >2GB flash memory (SD cards or USB drives specifically, but all kinds of flash can be faked) on eBay, has been for a long time. The fakes are priced low enough that nobody buys the real deal, so nobody lists it for sale.
anything coming from China / HK is fake, use your head a bit and you'll know that these sellers are lining eBays pockets with more fees than they want to lose. So eBay ignores it :)
I bought a cheap no-name 2GB Flash drive from Officeworks last year, it never worked, I wonder if the bigger retailers are getting fake drives as well.
I bought a cheap no-name 2GB Flash drive from Officeworks last year, it never worked, I wonder if the bigger retailers are getting fake drives as well.
Not fakes, just bad luck. For a little project i did, i imported 300 units, only 2 of them failed. Id classify never working and masking the storage space two different things.
these sellers are lining eBays pockets with more fees than they want to lose. So eBay ignores it :)
Whose the bigger criminal lol =P
+1 sos fake flash site is excellent and is quite comprehensive.
On a side notes my dad unwittingly bought a 16gb flash drive off ebay for $10, no surprise when it arrived it was only 2gb. He emailed the seller and they claimed they accidentally sent the wrong item and immediately issued a full refund and allowed us to keep the 2gb flash drive. My dad left neutral feedback and within a few hours of posting the seller was offering to either send us another 16gb flash drive or refund us twice what we paid(we had already received a refund at this point) in return for retracting the feedback. Long story short we got 16gb and 2gb flash drive for free.
We choose the 16gb flash drive and now we have a 16gb flash drive which cost us $0! :)
I wonder what they would have offered if you'd negged, rather than just a neural? You still got the sellers user id?
I wonder what they would have offered if you'd negged, rather than just a neural? You still got the sellers user id?
http://myworld.ebay.com.au/lingwawa98982009 However he's no longer a registered member :(.
In Thailand this is a problem with Kingston USB drives especially when purchased near the Thai-Malaysian border. Some of them look like 32GB but have a note in small print on the package stating they are only a gift item. They are usually 4GB but there is some software on them that tricks Windows into showing 32GB. It's only when you start transferring files and can only transfer 4GB you find out you have to format the drive to keep it working.
well a workmate of mine also went on holidays over thailand recently
and he purchased himself two 16gb mp3 players
when he bought it back home to load music into them. after 2gb the drive would say that it was full
well he gave it to me seeing i was the comp wiz at work lol
and first i noticed was that it was formated in FAT filesystem
the problem with this filesystem is that it's limited to 2gb only... so after a quick format
to FAT32, everything turned out fine and he was able to load/play all his music properly
that was why my previous post was asking about what type of filesytem it was
My dad left neutral feedback and within a few hours of posting the seller was offering to either send us another 16gb flash drive or refund us twice what we paid(we had already received a refund at this point) in return for retracting the feedback. Long story short we got 16gb and 2gb flash drive for free.
Congratulations, you helped them to rip off other people.
These fraudsters rely on getting bad feedback removed – it means they can keep that particular account active for longer (they have dozens of accounts each, they age them so that they aren't newly registered, they buy positive feedback by selling items like screen protectors below cost... considerable time, money and effort goes into preparing each account and they try to keep them going for as long as possible.)
That's why the fake flash sellers end up with 99.8% positive feedback – most people don't check whether the drives are fake and don't notice their files corrupting until after they've left feedback, and of the people that do notice, most can be bribed into retracting their feedback.
These cards are formatted as Fat 32 which has a 4GB limit on individual files.
If you try to upload a file larger than 4GB It will result in a 'drive full' error.
However this has no bearing on the actual capacity.
A genuine card using Fat32 will accept multiple files up to it's rated capacity provided all are less than 4GB each.
A fake however will accept all files uploaded but only return data up to it's true capacity & then display a lot of empty folders.
G.
If Palpal/ebay ask (force) us to return the fake to the seller, is it illegal in Australia to send counterfeit products in the post?
is it illegal in Australia to send counterfeit products in the post?
Yes it is illegal to send known counterfeit items in the post. Your other option is to take the item to your local police station and have it destroyed and they give you a receipt for it saying so. Then you can upload that doc to PayPal and they have to refund you.
Paypal are being devious, they can't force you to break the law. This info is buried away on the paypal site somewhere, because this is the only legal outcome in this case and they must abide by it.
There's a fake usb tutorial on ebay, and apparently only two resellers make the list as legitimate. If the OP's reseller was to be one of the supposed genuine sellers....
One of the 2 is the author of the guide.
One of the 2 is the author of the guide.
Yes, I know.I was considering it slightly self effacing until I realized the votes for it far outweighed the votes against it, so I've forgiven that.
what kind of file system is it using by the way?
im just curious. FAT by any chance?
I obtained one of these a few years back. '32GB sony viao' it said, but it was really an 8GB. I got it for $10, so I was quite happy to pay $10 for an 8GB, and I looked cool at uni for having a 32GB USB :D
LOL
But anyway, it was a FAT, and it failed if I tried to format it in any other system. I'm guessing you know something about it since you mentioned this, so why is that?
I purchased a 32GB SD card on eBay just before Christmas and when I made the payment I emailed the seller telling them they better not send me a fake card as I'd seen a couple of feedbacks saying this however there were many others that seemed to be satisfied.
Anyway I waited and waited for it to arrive but when it didn't I emailed them again and they apologised saying it must have got lost in the mail and they would send me another one. I was getting pretty sceptical at this stage so I requested it to be sent with some sort of tracking which they said would cost me an extra fee which I duly paid. As I still haven't received anything I sent them more emails and finally contacted eBay to open a dispute but as the auction ended over 45 days ago they couldn't do anything but told me to try Paypal as I paid everything through them (I know Paypal are owned by eBay) so after a drawn out call to Paypal they opened a dispute for me. The seller had obviously been stringing me along to exceed the 45 day dispute window which I wasn't aware of as I've never had a dispute. Will now wait for the resolution.
The seller is XPRODEAL and I note from their feedback they've been getting lots of similar complaints over the last month: They have had 363 negative comments in the last 12 months but 209 of these have been in the last month alone. Think they must be in trouble so stay well away from them.
By the way, there is a site you can go to which scrapes all the feedback comments from an eBay seller: Toolhaus.org
My advice is not to buy from XPRODEAL
If Palpal/ebay ask (force) us to return the fake to the seller, is it illegal in Australia to send counterfeit products in the post?
IMO returning a fake intact to the seller only adds to the problem as most likely it will then be re-sold.
Consequently I informed Paypal I did not wish to return the item but if they insisted I would mark the Customs Declaration "Return of FAKE/COUNTERFEIT GOODS to FRAUDULENT EBAY SELLER on STIPULATION from PAYPAL Australia Pty Ltd"
In my case Paypal then conceded posting a fake item may be illegal & required an independent report be faxed to them.
After which they directed the item be destroyed & refunded the purchase price but not the cost of having the fake tested.
G.
and it failed if I tried to format it in any other system.
Partition it to 8GB instead of 32GB and you'll have a fully working 8GB drive. :)
... $10 for an 8GB, and I looked cool at uni for having a 32GB USB :D
LOL
But anyway, it was a FAT ...
but the FAT filesystem is limited to 2GB
how would it even work at 8GB? lol
and another thing. if it's look too good to be true [32gb usb for 10buxs] then it probably is...
i paid $10 for a 32gb flash drive from HK on ebay but it was a 4gb, when i received it i looked at the size then gave them positive feedback, few mins after i realised it was fake :P i then made a dispute but paypal wanted me to send it back to the seller.. if i did it probably would have cost more to send it back than what my refund would be.. so i didnt bother.. 4gb for $10 isnt tooooo bad i guess.
Oh and i was fooled by his feedback, think everyone else did what i did.. gave him positive feedback without actually testing the drive :/ he was 100% with over 1000s sales of flash drives..
My advice is not to buy from XPRODEAL
Or we could just buy from the local retailers. Of course the 32GB flash drives will be more expensive because that's what you're paying for (something that works).
Are there any actual verifiable success stories of purchasing high capacity flash drives from Ebay? Just asking – I haven't bought from Ebay in a long time. It doesn't seem worth it in the long run (unless you're just buying random miscellaneous stuff, not high-tech gadgets in demand).
Also some of the scammers are tricking ignorant people.
Like they will sell 32Gbit which is only 4GB.
I bought what was listed as 32gb drive for $35 had fair idea was not 32.
He had glowing feedback from other buyers of these so I took the gamble.
Here is a snippet from H2testw
The media is likely to be defective.
3.7 GByte OK (7861568 sectors)
28.1 GByte DATA LOST (59060928 sectors)
Details:9.2 MByte overwritten (18920 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
28.1 GByte corrupted (59042008 sectors)
9.2 MByte aliased memory (18920 sectors)
First error at offset: 0x000000009bc24040
Expected: 0xe26e06965320d840
Found: 0xe26e0696ff20ff40
So looks like 4gb drive.I have opened dispute and escalated to claim
Will now await outcome.
I have opened dispute and escalated to claim
Will now await outcome.
Good luck, hopefully they don't side with the seller for the $ they rake in from fees etc.
You might as well name and shame the seller.
zok.34 feedback 100% score 28 member for just over 2 years
No more items for sale They have sold a few 32gb and 16gb no negatives more than likely they havent checked the capacity of them.
You might as well name and shame the seller.
Might as well add this one as well "shukmart"
I currently have a dispute open with paypal for 2 x 16GB which show as 2GB
It costs more but I always buy items such as flash memory and hard drives locally from a respected computer shop.
MSY sell Kingston 32Gb @ $83.
Newegg sell most of their 32GB flash drives for US$70-80.
What makes any of you think you're going to pick up one on eBay for less than half the price well known reputable discount retailers sell them for? Good buyer feedback or not, don't the prices these drives are offered at scream fake???
What makes any of you think you're going to pick up one on eBay for less than half the price well known reputable discount retailers sell them for?
Because people don't know the market. You get on eBay and those prices are virtually all that there is.
What makes any of you think you're going to pick up one on eBay
There are bargains to be had.4 years ago I got a 320gb seagate HDD for $37.50 and its still going strong today in an external docking station.
I have been buying and selling for over 5 years and this is only the second time I have been stung so will take a risk sometimes.
There are bargains to be had.4 years ago I got a 320gb seagate HDD for $37.50 and its still going strong today in an external docking station.
That's an EPIC bargin, especially for back then!
That's an EPIC bargin, especially for back then!
Going on memory it was listed seegat drv large or similar misspelling
In the days before ebay had spelling correction suggestion there were many bargains if one had the patience and time to search misspelled words.
I have contacted 2 others who bought the "32gb" flash drive and 1 has replied.\
He tested his after I told him about h2testw(many thanx to grump3)
Same result shows as 4gb he too has lodged claim.
I would urge anyone unsure about the usb sticks to test them before posting feedback.Person has sold about 5 and all have left positive feedback
They do show as 32gb in properties so that would convince some people they are what they say they are.
Was unsure if naming these ebay sellers of fakes was permitted here but as others have been named:
sunfeixia2009 presently has 7 individual listings of 'More than 10, buy it now' 32GB SD cards at $45-$50.
Despite my reporting him to Ebay/paypal I note through his feedback he has sold at least another 85 since yet only 12 negative reports?
Going on memory it was listed seegat drv large or similar misspelling
I have a brand new top of the range Nokla phone for sale if your interested ;-)
edit: A link just in case you want to read about how good my phone is – lol
http://www.hothandset.com/2
Paypal have advised that they have refunded my payment to xprodeal so I'm actually glad that they didn't end up sending anything to me...saves me having to return fake goods.
Fake 32 Gb Kingston Flash Drives on Ebay
I bought a 32 gb Kingston usb flash drive advertised as being "Genuine Kingston 32GB Memory Stick" from a local Sydney (Burwood). The price was good (less than $50).
It showed as 32gb under win 7 but when I tried to fill it with data it exhibited all sorts of errors and painfully slow write speeds.
The H2testW showed its capacity as around 8 gigabytes.
I emailed the test results and scans of both the packaging and drive to Kingston and asked for their opinion on its authenticity. They quickly replied, saying it was counterfeit, and asked for details of the seller which I gave them.
I deliberately had chosen a local seller because I knew I had some comeback if there were problems.
I told the seller that it was a fake and that I wanted a refund of my payment and postage. The seller's response was to offer an exchange which I refused.
My final suggestion to the seller was, given that the drive had been advertised as genuine but was a fake, his best option might be a rapid and full refund. This I received the next day.
My advice: pay a bit more – perhaps $15 more- for one at Officeworks-and save yourself time and trouble.
I notice the seller is still selling them:
the ad contains the words " Genuine Kingston 32GB Memory Stick
(To collect more Positive feedback, we decided to sell these USBs with Cost Price)"
Fake 32 Gb Kingston Flash Drives on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/K
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/N
Is this the item and the seller?
Did you report the fraud to eBay?
sadly I have also fallen for this scam. Seller offered to refund 50% of my payment as a show of good faith towards the postage costs.
I sent it back regular post not registered because registered would have cost more than the bloody memory stick was worth.
Of course seller denied ever having received anything back from me and I was left out of pocket and without even the 4gig stick (sold as 16) to show for it.
The stretched this on too long to leave negative feedback.
Oh well, live and learn. I hate though that eBay seems to be protecting these scum.
sadly I have also fallen for this scam.
I sent it back regular post not registered
I was left out of pocket and without even the 4gig stick
I hate though that eBay seems to be protecting these scum.
Sorry, but it appears that you did the 'wrong' thing.
The correct actions are:-
Open a PayPal "dispute" and escalate to a "claim".
Report the fraud to eBay's TS dept.
Report the sale of counterfeit (fraudulent) item(s) to the Police (or at least threaten the seller with this).
If/when PayPal ask you to return the fake item, tell them "no", and that you will be either destroying the item or handing it to the Police as evidence.
Report the fraud to eBay's TS dept.
ebay wont do anything,
I gave them notice of a fake auction (for 12volt garden sprayer) they have not done anything about it. the auction is now x3 , 1 with 15 buyers.
This is why you dont bother buying memory cards from ebay, things that can be faked and faked heaps, why risk saving a few bucks.
ebay wont do anything,
Of course they will!
I gave them notice of a fake auction (for 12volt garden sprayer) they have not done anything about it. the auction is now x3 , 1 with 15 buyers.
Send me the item number(s) and/or member's details by whim.
I just had half a dozen or more listings removed and several sellers NARUed – took under 12 hours.
Are you using the "Report this Item" link, AND the 'Fraudulent listing' option?
This is why you dont bother buying memory cards from ebay, things that can be faked and faked heaps, why risk saving a few bucks.
Good advice.
Sorry, but it appears that you did the 'wrong' thing.
The correct actions are:-
No need to be sorry. That was indeed my point. I got suckered.
This thread (and the entire "on the internet" forum) is great for educating the public about how to handle these situations. I was naive and I lost $15 or whatever. Had it been more money involved I probably would have taken more time online to research my options. As it was I learned a lesson worth more than $15 to me.
Replying to A3
pattox writes...
Fake 32 Gb Kingston Flash Drives on Ebay
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/K
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/N
Is this the item and the seller?
Did you report the fraud to eBay?
-------------------------------------------
Yes, that's the one!
No I didn't. I guess because I thought that it a futile exercise. My perception is that Ebay clearly knows, but "doesn't really want to know".
Also, in spite of the following press release, which points out that there is a maximum jail term of 5 years for selling counterfeit items, the Australian Federal Police seem very passive about following through
In the end I think the most effective way of dealing with these is by airing details of cases like this so that people simply stop buying particular items such as flash drives if there is a high risk of being swindled.
If you do buy items on Ebay that have a high chance of being fake then at least buy from a local seller. In my case, if I hadn't received a prompt refund I would have reported the matter to the NSW Police as fraud, and taken consumer action against the seller.
I usually only buy memory cards from sellers with at least thousands of feedbacks with at least 99% positive.
No I didn't. I guess because I thought that it a futile exercise. My perception is that Ebay clearly knows, but "doesn't really want to know".
How do you expect eBay to know, if you do not tell them? I can not report these listings as I have no evidence/knowledge of the items being fraudulent (counterfeits with fake capacities). Only you can report these listings.
Also, in spite of the following press release, which points out that there is a maximum jail term of 5 years for selling counterfeit items, the Australian Federal Police seem very passive about following through
Again, Have you made a report? You can do this on-line via the Queensland based on-line Internet Fraud site.
There was a thread about this recently. A flash drive reporting incorrect free space, turned out it was the way the user formatted it, the helpful WP user who was helping told the OP to format using a special program and it opened all the free space.
Having said that, why do people still buy cheap flash drives off ebay and gt shocked when they dont perform as expected :S
Dad just returned from china with a 32gb drive, asked me to load some songs on it, I thought "here we go" and BEHOLD.... it worked fine.