USB Flash Drives Best Price Bargains Fair Value To Sell Or Buy 8GB 16GB 32GB

Are you looking for a bargain price for a usb flash drive? To Buy or to sell? What is the real cost from a wholesaler in 2009? Want to be sure you aren’t paying too much? Or that you might be cheated or scammed?

An interesting article from CBC News

The frankenflash project has been warning people about counterfeit and/or fake flash memory sold on ebay for a long time. Selling counterfeit, fake and faulty items on the Internet is much easier than selling them on a market or in a shop. Buyers only have a picture and a description to go on.

We think this article on the CBC News website makes it fairly clear how widespread fraud on the internet is:

http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2009/12/03/counterfeiting-online-selling.html

The fact is that when buying flash memory items the rule is TRUST NO-ONE! Even reputable high street stores, computer magazines and respected internet sellers have found themselves supplying customers with fake or faulty flash items.

Anyone who buys flash memory items (memory cards, MP players, USB flash drives etc) is advised to test with the free program h2testw.

SOSFakeFlash Releases Report On eBay For Fake Flash Memory Sold. The Different Price Lists From Wholesalers In The Orient For Flash Memory Products. Fakes verse Genuine.

eBay is not a good place to buy or even sell usb flash drives, memory cards or mp3 mp4 players. Sellers and resellers need to be aware there are usually two different price lists offered in the Orient for the same items. Choose the wrong list and you will regret it.

Fake MP3 MP4 Players. Wrong Memory Flash Chips. Electrical Hazards.

Are you a seller thinking of selling MP3 MP4 Players on eBay? You need to be very careful who you choose to import from in the Orient. Many are fakes, false capacity – they have had their memory storage chips reprogrammed to lie about their real size. Recently SOSFakeFlash uncovered two additional issues with these items.

Kingston Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Memory Card Counterfeit SD4/32GB

Beware Kingston Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) Memory Card Counterfeit SD4/32GB advertised as 32GB with this packaging is counterfeit – fake! Kingston did not produce these. The memory card is likely to have a real capacity of only 2GB. This model was recently sold on eBay.

Front:

Back:

Testing revealed a true capacity of only 2GB. The serial information also failed validation at Kingston.

Avoid being frauded or scammed. Do not buy this memory card in the packaging shown, you risk loosing your photos. Do not sell this usb flash drive! Instead, if you wish to buy on the internet visit a Kingston’s site to determine the models offered and find on of their authorized resellers.

Important Reading:

• USB Flash Drives Best Price Bargains Fair Value To Sell Or Buy 8GB 16GB 32GB
• Genuine Verses Fake Counterfeit USB Flash Drives – A Guide – USB Flash Chips Used – Grades A B C D
• Buying Kingston and Sony USB Flash Drives On eBay Safely – A Guide
• Kingston USB Flash Drives – Detect Counterfeits And Fakes – Product Verification
• H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives

Report in to SOSFakeFlash if your testing confirms you have a false capacity device.

What is the key factor that determines whether you buy a fake flash memory MP Player, usb flash drive or memory card?

How can you know if a mp player, memory card or usb flash drive is suspect? How can you quickly spot a fake – flash capacity! See TechChip’s recent article: How Can You Spot Fake Flash Memory Chips? What Is the Key Factor That Determines If MP3 MP4 Players, USB Flash Drives Or Memory Cards Are Fake Capacity?

Flash Memory Prices Are Rising – Digitimes Reveals Why.

The FrankenFlash Project has been reporting that prices for memory flash chips are going up, not down. A recent article published by Digitimes on 14 September 2009: Apple demand causing serious NAND flash shortage in Taiwan confirms this. Digitimes reveals why the prices are rising.

digitimes’s reported the following prices:

The average spot price of 16Gb multi-level cell (MLC) chips rose 0.85% to close at US$5.17 on September 11, and the 32Gb part was up 0.5% to US$7.13, according to DRAMeXchange. In the contract market, average pricing for 16Gb chips climbed 7.2% to US$4.48 in the first half of September, and 32Gb went up 4.3% to US$6.80.

For potential sellers and buyers this information is very important to know. Unfortunately a lot of older smaller capacity flash memory chips are being digitally altered to report a size much larger than the actual capacity.

Bit’s and Bytes Math

Memory manufacturers do not refer to memory chips in GB – Gigabytes, they use Gigabits. This confuses a lot of people. Is there a difference? Yes.

It takes 8 bits to make a byte. Therefore in consumer terms you must divide any size reported in Gb, by 8 – this will give you the size consumers are familiar with – GB.

What does this mean for prices?

16Gb multi-level cell (MLC) / 8 = 2GB chip. A 2GB chip costs $5.17
32Gb multi-level cell (MLC) / 8 = 4GB chip. A 4GB chip costs $7.13

spot prices on average are a little lower for “contracts”

16Gb multi-level cell (MLC) / 8 = 2GB chip. A 2GB chip costs $4.48
32Gb multi-level cell (MLC) / 8 = 4GB chip. A 4GB chip costs $6.80

Previously reported What Are The Real Costs For Flash Chips In China? Guide 2009

1GB = 3.38
2GB = 4.11
4GB = 6.61
8GB = 13.23
16GB = 29.41

This means:

2GB rose about 25% since April, 2009: from $4.11 to $5.17 US
4GB rose about 8% since April, 2009:$6.61 to $7.13 US

The April 2009 pricing reflected the increasing costs, much higher than 2008 for the same capacity. While information is not currently available for 8GB or 16GB, you can expect they also rose in price and as they are more recent chips, perhaps a great deal.

Consumers and potential resellers for usb flash drives, mp players and memory cards need to be extremely careful.

Only mentioned are the actual costs of the memory chips. The prices do not include the extras needed actually create a usb flash drive, mp player or memory card. The other parts, labour costs to assemble, modest profit of the manufacturing facility, modest profit of a wholesaling site – for genuine capacity items have been excluded.

If you are a seller thinking of selling please read:

So You Want To Sell On eBay For USB Memory Flash Drive PenSticks – MP Players – Memory Cards? Can You Make An Honest Profit And Sell Cheap? and consult other articles at http://flashdrivefacts.wordpress.com/

Please research and becareful. The FrankenFlash Project and it’s many sites are combating fraud for false capacity memory chips. These are chips reprogrammed to lie about their real size to operating systems. You should always inspect and test your merchandise for it’s true memory capacity prior to offering it for sale!

Read: H2testw 1.4 – Gold Standard In Detecting USB Counterfeit Drives at SOSFakeFlash . If you review the many comments you will know why this software is so useful.

Practice safe selling:

1. Research your intended product.
2. Find out what the costs are for memory chips.
3. Buy from reputable sources.
4. Test your merchandise!
5. If flash memory devices fail testing:

• If it fails testing with H2testw, take the item apart to inspect the memory chips.
• Visit http://flashchiptech.wordpress.com/ for link information to chip manufactures to decode the chips you found to determine the real size.
• If it is a brand name product report it to the brand name. Include the source of acquistion.
• Photograph, document. See http://fixfakeflash.wordpress.com/ and http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/ for examples.
• Take legal action against your acquisition source according to how you paid and the laws of your country.
• Please do not attempt to sell the false capacity items to reclaim your costs. You only make the problem grow. If you are reported to the project and they investigate, you could find yourself on the internet.
• You are welcome to report the source of your fake flash memory acquisition to sosfakeflashdrive@gmail.com.
• Feel free to leave a comment on an article at any of the FrankenFlash Project sites. Make sure to post your testing results along with your testimony for items purchased outside of eBay. This is important. It warns other potential sellers against purchasing from your source!

The FrankenFlash Project is a co founded effort. Fake flash sellers on eBay (victims) and eBay buyers together started the project. It was not founded solely by buyers who became victims of false memory flash chips. Avoid the potential nightmare that comes from buying false capacity memory. RESEARCH YOUR PROJECT. Test items by category before offering for sale. Periodically continue to randomly test your orders. You are quality control. Protect yourself. Protect your buyers.

You can earn money by selling, but expect a modest profit. If you are being offered unrealistic prices, you will receive false capacity items. Digitimes has given some of the current prices and has explained some of the reasons why they are increasing.

Producing high quality flash drive chips, is expensive. There is a lot of overhead – the inspection process for flash memory chips is repeated at various stages during the manufacturing process. It is not only carried out at the end! During the retesting, more and more chips are discarded as they move through the process. These are often the chips that some how end up in fake capacity usb flash drives, mp players and memory cards.

Both resellers and consumers need to be prepared to pay realistic prices. If either or both do not, expect false capacity memory to be the result and the nightmare of consequences that come with fake memory.

Corsair USB Flash Drives – Buying And Selling – A Guide

Are you interested in buying or selling Corsair USB flash drives? The Flash Survivor and Flash Voyager usb flash drives are well known. Excellent products with a 10 Year Limited Warranty. This is much higher then most brand names currently offer.

• If you want to buy one, could you buy it just anywhere?
• If you want to sell them could you buy them from any wholesalers?

Currently Corsair offers:

Flash Survivor CMFUSBSRVR-8GB 8GB CMFUSBSRVR-16GB 16GB CMFUSBSRVR-32GB 32GB Flash Voyager GT CMFUSB2.0-16GBGT 16GB

Flash Voyager CMFUSB2.0-4GB 4GB CMFUSB2.0-8GB 8GB CMFUSB2.0-16GB 16GB CMFUSB2.0-32GB 32GB CMFUSBHC-64GB 64GB

Flash Voyager Mini CMFUSBMINI-4GB 4GB CMFUSBMINI-8GB 8GB CMFUSBMINI-16GB 16GB

Note the capacity sizes offered for Flash Survivor, Flash Voyager GT or Flash Voyager and Flash Voyager Mini. There are no other capacities offered for these models by Corsair. You won’t find any 128GB, yet.

So where is the best to buy? Where is the cheapest price to be found? If you are a consumer, eBay would be the place – you would think. If you are a potential seller, from a wholesaler or wholesale internet site in China, seems logical.

Wrong. That fabulous 10 year limited warranty? Wave it goodbye. The only smart place to buy from if you are a consumer is from a Corsair authorized reseller, period. If you want to sell them, then you need to become an authorized reseller. It is not just about the warranty, it is the fact you are likely to acquire false capacity usb flash drive(s).

We will show you two things to help you understand:

1. Corsair’s Warning
2. A Victims Documented Corsair GT Voyager Fake.

Corsair’s Warning

Counterfeiting is a serious problem for flash nand memory based products. Corsair, just like all the other brand names is having it’s merchandise counterfeited.

The issue is serious enough that Corsair now publishes the fact at their support site. If a company does this, they do it because they have no choice and want to warn consumers. If you log in to http://www.corsair.com/helpdesk/default.aspx, then select Flash Memory followed by a Flash Voyager USB Pen Drive model you will see the following message:

NOTICE: Warning about counterfeit Corsair drives

Key is the following:

“We have recently seen some number of counterfeit Corsair drives available in the market, usually from unauthorized sellers or third party sites such as EBay”

SOSFakeFlash can confirm that the eBay is a third party site where counterfeit Corsair USB Flash Voyager have been sold. In fact, in the last year of SOSFakeFlash’s operation it is the only internet site reported so far where these counterfeits have been sold.

Many sellers hoping to make a large profit bought these counterfeits from wholesaling sites in the Orient, they then offered them on eBay. As a result, not only did these eBay sellers have many angry buyers, if reported to SOSFakeFlash with supporting evidence, their reputations permanently stained from having sold fake flash. SOSFakeFlash in the interest of eBay members issues internet alerts to warn people around the world. eBay has a global presence. Counterfeits are also false capacity devices. For usb flash drives, this spells disaster! Data loss. A consumer’s files gone for good.

A Victims Documented Corsair GT Voyager Fake

One eBay victim documented his purchase and also photographed the fake Flash Voyager GT 16GB in various stages of disassembly for the public to inspect. Anyone who wants to see what a fake Corsair usb flash drive looks like will want to read this article.

The photos are very large and detailed. The victim dubbed “CaptainVoyager” also has a sense of humour. You need to use your mouse over the photo’s to see the little captions.

Victim Of Counterfeit Flash Voyager GT 16GB and 32GB Purchased On eBay Creates A Visual Guide

CaptainVoyager takes you step by step right down the the circuit board. If you think you may have bought a counterfeit Corsair as a consumer or even as a seller you will want to compare your usb flash drive(s) against his.

The moral of the story for both buyers and sellers is to only buy Corsair Memory products from authorized resellers. If you return a counterfeit to Corsair there will be no warranty. Not only that, you will never see the usb flash drive again.

If you return a drive that is counterfeit, we will notify you that the drive is not genuine, and the drive will be discarded.

Don’t go looking for super cheap fabulously priced bargains. There aren’t any. You could lose your data, your money and even end up creating a website to present your fake counterfeit Corsair to the public and display your lesson learned.

Counterfeit Kingston flash memory items removed from ebay

The frankenflash has been working with Kingston for some months to have listings for counterfeit Kingston flash drives removed from ebay. This is both for the sake of buyers and to help Kingston defend it’s well earned reputation for reliability. The sale of counterfeits undermines buyer confidence in brand names because when something goes wrong (as it inevitably does with counterfeit flash drives) it does not occur to most people to blame the seller – instead they blame the brand!

However (with all the other issues the long-standing members of the project deal with) we did not have the manpower to hunt out all those selling counterfeit Kingston until recently. However we now have a dedicated Kingston counterfeit hunter who has become very experienced at hunting down these and has developed a good rapport with Kingston. He now heads the counterfeit team at the fightflashfraud branch of the frankenflash project. As a result these counterfeits are being removed more quickly than ever before.

This fake flash angel (you know who you are!) has been awarded gold wings for his sterling efforts to warn sellers and buyers of fake flash items as well as his work with Kingston. Unfortunately sometimes we can’t get the message out quickly enough to stop some items being sold -if you find that a Kingston item vanished from your won list claim a refund through Paypal. Ebay knows it is counterfeit and there is no excuse for not refunding your money.

The frankenflash project is a worldwide coalition of ebay members who are former victims of fake flash fraud. We have a number of small teams working within the various branches of the project who work on different aspects of the problem. We have a dedicated team in the fightflashfraud branch who specialise in hunting out counterfeits.

What is a counterfeit?

A counterfeit anything is a cheap copy of a brand name item. Though counterfeits are always lower quality than the genuine article there is an additional problem with counterfeit flash memory items. A counterfeit fragrance, handbag, pair of counterfeit shoes, jeans or other such items may be poorer quality and less durable than the genuine article but at least they are useable and unlikely to cause damage.

Counterfeit flash memory is an entirely different story.

The user of a counterfeit Gucci handbag is unlikely to find that when she opens her handbag everything she put in it has either disappeared or turned to dust. The wearer of a pair of counterfeit Kalvin Kleing boxers is unlikely to find that his dangly bits have either vanished or shrivelled up and become unusable. The user of a counterfeit flash memory item is not so lucky.

Buyers of counterfeit flash memory, besides being defrauded financially, can end up with considerable amounts of lost and corrupted data. Anyone using a counterfeit will eventually find all their data (treasured photos or videos of the family, important business documents or whatever) has either been lost or corrupted. Why?

Because, as well as not being manufactured by the brand whose name they carry, they are also fake capacity. Once the true capacity (usually tiny in comparison with the capacity they seem) is exceeded – pouf – everything (or almost everything – depending on how much was “saved” to the drive) is gone or corrupt.

If you bought a flash memory item on ebay that bears the Kingston name and the item has mysteriously vanished from your won list it is no doubt because the item was counterfeit. Under pressure from Kingston, ebay has been forced to remove the item.

If you have not yet paid for it – do not do so!! If you have paid, claim a refund through paypal. Look at the refund advice on the sosfakeflash blog – this was written by previous victims of fraud to help you by giving you the benefit of their experience. Use it to overcome the barriers paypal often put in the way of victims of fraud. The knowledge you glean will arm you to deal with paypal’s tacticts to try and hang onto your cash.

Ebay Fake USB Flash Memory – FakeFlashNews Reveals Details On The Don Of Fake Flash In The Orient!

FakeFlashNews has just released an indepth report from an SOSFakeFlash investigation on the most sinister counterfeit ring operating on eBay for fake flash mp players, memory cards and usb flash drives. The fraud appears to be estimated in the millions.

eBay Fraud – Heng Fung House – Home To eBay Counterfeit Ring – Lei Sio Hong. Connected To The Don Of Fake Flash In the Orient – 3ToTrade. SOSFakeFlash Investigation.

eBay Seller jiejie5544 Violates International Postal Laws Selling Fake 32GB Memory Cards On eBay

eBay insists that listings and transactions comply with the laws of the countries where both the seller and the high bidder reside. Confirmed fake flash seller jiejie5544, violated international law by marking his fake 32GB memory cards as a gift on the CN 22 customs declaration form.

Reference: Ebay & International Law – Listings And Transactions – Postal System For Counterfeit Fake USB Flash Drives, MP Players, Memory Cards

Shipping envelope back:

shipping envelope front:

FakeFlashNews just confirmed that jiejie5544 is part of a counterfeit ring:

eBay Fraud – 32GB Memory Cards New Counterfeit Ring Lee Kin Ming Discovered By SOSFakeFlash

Notice the poor quality of this 32GB flash card:

It you are a potential seller for 32GB memory cards, be careful. 32GB capacity is not cheap and any self respecting manufacturer will not offer such a sloppy presentation with stickers attached willy nilly. There is pride in manufacturing genuine capacity memory cards. For sellers of fake and false capacity memory cards, it is another matter. Who cares? It isn’t real capacity anyway. You should not violate international postal laws marking the items you sell as gifts, you could face prosecution in your country. Resist any pressure from potential customers, obey the law and sell safe.

If you bought a memory card like this on eBay or at any internet site, test it immediately for genuine capacity!

For eBay buyers of this memory card read SOSFakeFlash’s alerts:

• jiejie5544 – Urgent! Did You Buy A 32GB Memory Card From This eBay Seller?
• yaya0331 Ebay Fake Flash Seller Emergency Alert – China

So You Want To Sell On eBay For USB Memory Flash Drive PenSticks – MP Players – Memory Cards? Can You Make An Honest Profit And Sell Cheap?

Do you want to make a lot of money on eBay fast, selling mp players, memory cards and usb flash drives? If you buy from wholesaler internet sites in China, beware! To many eBay sellers are quick to buy and begin counting the profits as soon as they list! Why? Frequently they buy as low as $5 for a 16GB usb flash drive and sell as high as $25! Sometimes much more. Sounds great doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, most sellers do not bother to do their homework and research the true costs of nand flash chip technology. If they did, they would probably decide to bake cookies to sell at a fund raiser then sell on eBay. The sad fact is, the profit margin is very small for selling true capacity items. Only if you can move in volume will you make a modest profit.

SOSFakeFlash has been forced to introduce a zero tolerance policy for false capacity and or counterfeit flash items sold on eBay because the situation is so bad. Just one investigation with evidence and you as an eBay seller could end up on their fake flash sellers list, even have an alert published on the internet! They have never retracted or removed an alert yet from the internet and they are unlikely to. A seller is required to submit proof that he has refunded every single buyer in full (postage and handling charges too) along with an apology to every buyer. If there is data loss as a result, also compensate the buyer for the loss equivalent to the importance of the data and it’s reconstruction (when possible) – pretty stiff terms don’t you think? No, crying “I am a victim too!” will not get you off the hook, unless you are prepared to do what is required.

Be safe. Be smart. Do your home. Research the items you wish to sell. Test them at random to make sure your supplier doesn’t send you a “mixed box” (true capacity with fake capacity mixed in). If you want to sell a brand name, don’t buy from an Oriental wholesaler site please, unless they are authorized by the brand name. You will only end up with counterfeits and fakes. If the seller says they are authorized, contact the brand name to make sure. It is worth the wait and a few emails. Better than getting into the cross hairs of the battle raging on eBay and losing your seller reputation for ever.

Recently FakeFlashNews published an article we think you should read. It is being published here. You can learn a lot from it. Also see a sample of what SOSFakeFlash will do to an eBay seller caught selling false capacity items. Read on the grading system for nand flash chips and also the current prices in 2009.

Published at FakeFlash News:

Ebay offers very low bid and buy prices for memory cards, mp players and usb flash drives. It gets members excited. Often in a very short period of time, they will buy many items in a period of only one to two weeks. So cheap, so affordable!

Only when the items begin to arrive and the consumer starts having problems with mp players that refuse to load songs after a certain point, or memory cards will not transfer pictures to a PC or error messages begin to appear when attempting to access a file on a usb flash drives do they suspect something is wrong!

Of course there is something wrong! The devices have a low grade memory storage flash nand chip. It is not the size advertised. It can’t be. The price paid was too low for the true costs of the advertised size for the storage chip!

Fake flash sellers sell digitally altered items, reprogrammed to “appear” an advertised size. When victims test or take the items apart, they are able to prove they received an undersized flash nand storage chip from the eBay seller!

One of the best and most recent example is a devious fake flash seller, ebidetrade001 on eBay. FakeFlashNews is republishing an article from SOSFakeFlash. It sums up the experience and conclusions of eBay members who have been frauded for over five years.

From SOSFakeFlash:

ebidetrade001 is an eBay seller of Counterfeit (Fake) Flash USB drives. Registered in Hong Kong, ebidetrade001 is using private auctions to hide his fake flash sellers and using multiple auction listings. More than 500+ items have been sold.

Report in to SOSFakeFlash if your testing confirms you have a false capacity device.

Don’t forget to leave the calling card of “SOSFakeFlash” and “H2testw” in your feedback to help others. Do not change your feedback to get a refund – you will only create more victims. With Private Auctions the only way to defeat the fraudster is make your negative feedback count!

A Victim observes:

I gave this guy the benefit of the doubt because i thought it might have been his supplier who chipped the drive.
However all of his answers to communications through eBay and PayPal dispute show the classic signs of a scammer, as described on your site.

He has now hidden his auctions of this type of item, but all of his other items (e.g. 0.05 cent styluses, etc.) remain in clear view.

After buying this drive I now find him reported as suspect. Pity I didn’t find this site before I bought the item.

Using chipgenius and iflash, I have successfully reflashed this drive to it’s correct 3.6GB capacity and I guess 3.6GB for $14.00 is still cheaper than I can get one here in Australia, but it still leaves a nasty taste in my mouth.

This is the first bad experience that I have has on eBay after more than 200 transactions. I won’t be buying any flash memeory product on eBay ever again.

This is not an unusual reaction to a fake flash experience on eBay, it is the standard reaction. The victim, learned a lesson we all learned the hard way. In taking up the challenge to repair the usb flash drive and succeeding, it is not unusual to end up with a only 3.6 GB instead of 3.9 GB for a 4GB flash chip. It means that the nand storage chip was a reject. Read Genuine Verses Fake Counterfeit USB Flash Drives – A Guide – USB Flash Chips Used In USB Flash Drives – Grades A B C D

In paying $14 AU our victim paid a premium of about 33% for the privilege of acquiring a fake usb flash drive according to the costs in: What Are The Real Costs For Flash Chips In China? Guide 2009 for this usb flash drive:

If only there would be a way to post the information on the cost of nand flash chips on eBay! Just how quickly would the buying and biding stop for most of what is offered in usb flash drives, MP Players and memory cards! eBay would lose one of the most important sources of revenue, eBay members would finally be spared from nightmares resulting from fake flash acquistion. Fraudsters in the Orient and elsewhere would be out of business soon. No demand, no supply.

not yet investigated:

ebidetrade001 addresses:

LAW KWOK CHUNG

ROOM 501, TIN LONG HSE.
TING PING EST.SHEUNG SHUI
N.T.
HONGKONG

zhang yuan lin

12A, Lijingge, Yunjing Haoyuan, Chunfeng Road,
Luohu District
Shenzhen
Guangdong Province
518000
China

To understand about Fake Flash Sellers Read:

• fengfeng_joy2008 Fraud – Conversations between THH And Fake Flash Seller On Fake 32GB Memory Cards. Tale of Denial, Bribery And Violation Of eBay’s Feedback Policies
• FAKE 16GB 32GB 64GB – Conversations Between A Fake Flash Seller and A Victim – The Truth About the Scam Exposed

Important Reading:

• PayPal Refunds Victim Of Fake – False Capacity USB Flash Drives Purchased On Ebay. 8 Month Battle Leads To Success.
• Escalation In False Capacity USB Fake Memory eBay! SOSFakeFlash News July 3rd, 2009
• eBay Victims do not leave positive Feedback or change FB to positive to get refunds!
• eBay – What To Do When Sellers Demands You Change Your Negative Feedback To Positive For A Refund Or Demands Positive As A Condition Of Refund – A Guide
• USB Flash Drives Best Price Bargains Fair Value To Sell Or Buy 8GB 16GB 32GB
• Why Leave Immediate Negative Feedback For an eBay Fake Flash Seller?
• MP Players On Ebay – Current Prices For Cheap Fake 2GB 4GB 8GB 16GB 32 GB SOSFakeFlash’s Report
• SOSFakeFlash Consumer Education Week 20090605 – 20090612. The Problem of Counterfeit and Fake Memory Sold On Ebay

Report in to SOSFakeFlash if your testing confirms you have a false capacity device.

Do You Want To sell Kingston DataTraveler USB Flash Drives On eBay Or the Internet? Becareful.

Recently The FrankenFlash Project uncovered a seller who was determined to sell counterfeit Kingston DataTraveler usb flash drives. The seller operates on eBay and also has an independent site. Operating under the name uk-choice and ukmobi this seller sold fake 8GB usb flash drives. When confronted, instead of removing the items for sale the seller simply changed the listing description to state the capacity found in testing, not realizing just how dangerous it was to consumers. It is a very serious case of fraud.

If you buy from an unauthorized wholesaler of Kingston Technology you are asking for only one thing, trouble. If you think that you are simply cutting out the middle men, and that this explains the lower prices, you are dead wrong! The sad fact is, the profit from selling true capacity usb flash drives, mp players and memory cards is small. To make money, you have to move volume! Too many honest sellers learned this the hard way on eBay, they were forced to close shop and even sell below their costs to try and reclaim at least some of their investment.

Most people think this is a hot selling item with large profits waiting in the wings. Unfortunately this is not true. SOSFakeFlash and also FightFlashFraud are committed to finding and publishing fake flash sellers on the internet. FakeFlashNews also publishes the most important stories to increase consumer awareness.

If you are thinking of selling do your homework first! You don’t want to be reported at those sites, if they have evidence they will never consider removing it. The FrankenFlash Project is devoted to stopping this problem and there is now a zero tolerance policy in effect.

To see just how some people are so stubborn and motivated by greed and ignorance we are publishing the article presented at FakeFlashNews.

From FakeFlashNews:

Some sellers will do anything to make money. The case of uk-choice and ukmobi demonstrates just how far a seller will go to sell and offload false capacity usb nand technology to consumers causing data loss. This recent case first published at SOSFakeFlash demonstrates that sellers are often ignorant of the technology they sell and are determined to sell the items no matter what.

It is a frightening example. Consumers mean nothing. The reputation of Kingston Technologies means nothing. The only thing that seems important is to SELL! Get the investment back. Those who sell these devices in the Orient know exactly what they are doing. Those who sell these false capacity items in the West show their ignorance, stupidity and their greed.

If you wish to by MP Players, usb flash drives or memory cards, you should stay away from eBay. If you want to buy at an independent internet site, be extremely careful. Frankly Techreporters advises that if you really need these items, buy in a local reputable retail store. It will cost more but you will be spared from potentially becoming a victim and the nightmare that follows from trying to save a little.

The story of uk-choice, ukmobi is a perfect example of what is out there on the internet waiting for you!

From SOSFakeFlash:

uk-choice is an eBay seller of Counterfeit (Fake) Kingston DataTraveler Flash USB drives. Registered in the United Kingdom, uk-choice also has an independent website, ukmobi. This seller is ignorant of the technology he sells. One of the worse examples the FrankenFlash Project has uncovered so far. You will find this example astonishing!

Advertising at 8GB for this model,the photo is correct for the 8GB DataTraveler. Only they actually say the size is 4GB and in fact that is the tested capacity. The information on this fact has also independently been preserved.

Is it possible this seller simply has no understanding of the products he sells, or employee’s don’t?

On eBay uk-choice has released dangerous false capacity usb flash drives for sale. Furthermore, in using private actions for usb flash drives, uk-choice earns the classification of devious. This auction category is the most dangerous for nand based flash technology, it has allowed too many fraudlent sellers to victimize eBay members and to escape detection – increasing the number of victims.

As a result of complaint, what did uk-choice do?

1) Continue to list on eBay

But modify the title, yet show the same correct colour for the Kingston DataTraveler 8GB. Then further down in the listing shows:

Sorry there never was a 4GB Kingston DataTraveler in Black!

2) Makes similar changes at their own website.

Their website: http://www.ukmobi.co.uk/Product_info.asp?id=1501

The FrankenFlash Project has never seen such stupidity or ignorance of technology. Both uk-choice and ukmobi SELL technology. Are you frightened? If not you should be!

The test results for this usb flash drive:

Warning: Only 7983 of 7984 MByte tested.
The media is likely to be defective.
3.9 GByte OK (8285056 sectors)
3.8 GByte DATA LOST (8064128 sectors)
Details:2.8 GByte overwritten (6048096 sectors)
0 KByte slightly changed (< 8 bit/sector, 0 sectors)
984.3 MByte corrupted (2016032 sectors)
1.5 KByte aliased memory (3 sectors)
First error at offset: 0×00000000fcd70000
Expected: 0×00000000fcd70000
Found: 0×00000000aa55aa55
H2testw version 1.3
Writing speed: 6.45 MByte/s
Reading speed: 18.6 MByte/s
H2testw v1.4

We doubt very much that this fraudster has been staying up all night performing low level formats to return these usb flash drives to the correct size of the actual flash storage chips. Any consumer who uses this flash drive would lose data after 3.9 GB without a corrective to return the usb flash drives to their actual capacity.

Even if uk-choice and ukmobi did this it is fraud. Why? Contact Kingston to ask their opinions!

uk-choice and ukmobi stubborn resolve to unload these dangerous devices to unsuspecting consumers demonstrates just how low some sellers can be. Anything to make money, anything to recover their capital. It doesn’t matter that they are harming Kingston Technologies reputation or causing data loss to consumers.

Profit at any cost, is the mantra uk-choice and ukmobi chant.

Guide – How To Prove A Fake USB Flash Memory Pen Drive Stick Pen To Be False Capacity – A Visual Example

A Fake usb flash drive, is a memory pen stick that has been digitally altered – reprogrammed to lie to an operating system about the real size of it’s flash nand storage chip. Once you exceed true capacity of the chip, you begin to loose files. People do not suspect the real reason, thinking it an error in the data transfer. Only when it happens again and again do they suspect there is something more… How can you find out if you have a fake usb flash drive?

Reprinted from InspectorTech’s site http://fixfakeflash.wordpress.com/

Kingston Technologies Releases DT300 256GB USB Flash Drive To Market – Biggest USB Flash Drive In The World!

Kingston Technologies has just released the biggest usb flash drive in the world – 256GB. The DataTraveler 300 offers the highest capacity yet for a usb flash drive. It is currently only available the Far East, Europe, Middle East & Africa.

Read: Kingston’s press release of July 20th, 2009

Visit the Kingston site to inspect this new usb flash drive line:

DataTraveler 300

We are presenting photos of this new usb flash drive for your inspection. The current list price for the DT300 256 GB is over £600 pounds. Do not expect to find this usb flash drive offered anywhere for much less. It is the only 256GB flash drive on the market, it is also the only Kingston usb flash drive that offers this capacity. When in doubt about a usb flash drive model that carries the Kingston brand name, please visit a Kingston Technologies website!

In June 2009, FlashDrive Facts announced: Kingston Technologies Releases DT200 128GB USB Flash Drive To Market , the DT200 to be the largest available usb flash drive on the market. The DT300 is now the largest available usb flash drive and is only available in select regions of the world.

Do not buy the DT300 Datatraveler usb flash drive from any site or retailer that is not an authorized Kingston Dealer. When available at Kingston websites you should strongly consider buying directly from them to gaurantee you receive a genuine article and not a counterfeit or false capacity item.

Kingston is working very hard to bring new technology to market. They are moving forward with lightening speed. Unfortunately there are always opportunists and fraudsters waiting in the wings to try and cash in on Kingston’s efforts. See the images being presented to help you identify the new drive.

Should you see anyone attempting to abuse the DT300 DataTraveler brand, please contact Kingston Technologies immediately! The groups in the FrankenFlash Project are actively assisting Kingston to detect and shut down fraudulent sellers. No, we are not employed by them, we are all volunteers at the confederation of sites, determined to put an end to false capacity nand based technology being sold around the world.

Once again, Kingston is ahead of the pack in releasing new technology!

Do not expect that you will find latest genuine technology from Kingston in usb flash drives for sale at some wholesaler site in the Orient, you will only end up with a lot of counterfeit and false capacity stock. If you sell such items on eBay and are discovered – you may find yourself on the honour roll of eBay fake flash sellers listed at SOSFakeFlash. When in doubt, write to Kingston and ask them about the site you are considering buying from. Be safe! Earn honest profit.

The DT300/256GB usb flash drive from Kingston Technologies:

Top Closed – DT300/256GB

Top Open – DT300/256GB

Angle Closed – DT300/256GB

Please notice the “thickness” of this usb flash drive. Do you know why? There are a lot of flash drive storage chips inside to give you the 256GB capacity.

Angle Open – DT300/256GB

Back Closed – DT300/256GB

Back Open – DT300/256GB

Ebay & International Law – Listings And Transactions – Postal System For Counterfeit Fake USB Flash Drives, MP Players, Memory Cards

SOSFakeFlash is the site that assists victims who bought fake mp players, usb flash drives and memory cards on eBay. They published useful information recently on international eBay sellers and custom’s declaration information. This information can be useful to frauded buyers. We are republishing it at our site.

SOSFakeFlash’s Randy has important information that may help you with your claim against an international fake flash seller on eBay who sold you a false capacity (fake) MP Player, memory card or usb flash drive on eBay. Hopefully your kept your packaging!

Ebay & International Law

Consult: http://pages.ebay.ca/help/policies/international-trading.html

eBay insists that listings and transactions comply with the laws of the countries where both the seller and the high bidder reside. Users are responsible for ensuring that their transactions are lawful in both countries. eBay strongly suggests that users educate themselves about the laws of their own country and the countries where they plan to do business.

In addition the paypal / ebay complaints that you may submit for the fake flash drive, mp player or memory card, you may also want to consider submitting policy complaints on the seller. Some potential areas that a seller may infringe on local laws or regulations in your country.

1. Starting with the mailing package that the flash device was shipped in. Hopefully, you still have the mailing package.

Starting with the Customs declaration (CN22 form):

A) Did the seller indicate that the product was a gift?

If so, this is not true, and your country customs laws should consider this to be fraud.

B) Is the description on the CN22 correct?

If not, then your country customs laws may be infringed.

C) Did the seller indicate the country of origin?

If not, then again your customs laws may be infringed.

The CN22 form contains the following declaration.

I, the undersigned, whose name and address are given of the item certify that the particulars give in this declaration are correct and that the item does not contain any dangerous article or articles prohibited by legislation or by postal or customs regulations.

If the seller did not complete the form correctly you could also complain to the postal authorities is the sellers country and Ebay.

2. Regarding the contents of the package:

A) Did the flash drive, mp player or memory card or the packing that it came in have “country of origin” markings?

If not, this could be in violation of your countries customs laws or consumer protection laws.

You can use this information to help you pursue your claim if any of the conditions Randy mentioned are found. It can also cut to the quick about any arguments or issues with a Paypal claim. The more evidence you have that laws are being broken, the easier it should be.

We think this is exactly the kind of information eBay could leverage very quickly to help you. Instead of having to argue or dispute on the validity of fake or not fake. We all know that a tested items indicates whether it is or not, but this is another angle and it could be a lot easier to pursue.