Changing Trends In The Sale Of Fake Memory On eBay For USB Flash Drives, Memory Cards And MP Players. SOSFakeFlash Advises Do Not Buy From eBay Sellers With Low FeedBack Scores. Avoid Sellers with Scores Under 300+ To Protect Yourself From Potential Fraud. Learn Why.

eBay is still the best place to be frauded with false capacity flash memory items. Listing appear daily for obvious fakes and counterfeits. The battle rages. Frauded buyers on one side, eBay and fake flash memory sellers on the other.

Two main sites are fighting to expose sellers, SOSFakeFlash and FakeMemorySentinel. DragonDakel’s FakeMemorySentinel publishes listings offered on eBay and advises buyers to test their items for real capacity prior to use. SOSFakeFlash publishes eBay sellers caught with fake flash memory selling. FakeMemorySentinel is proactive while SOSFakeFlash is reactive.

Between the two sites, fraudulent sellers are loosing volume of their fake memory sales.

According to both, trends have changed. Less powerseller id’s are involved in selling fake memory. eBay seems to have adopted a new position and will suspend powersellers, if enough buyers complain.

Powersellers in the United States who expand their product line to include flash memory tend to be the ones most impacted by eBay’s change in policy. Unfortunately, not researching the product and the true cost of flash memory lead many to ruin.

As the number of powersellers offering fake memory on eBay decreases a new trend has emerged.

eBay id’s with a zero feedback score or with less then 10 selling memory cards, usb flash drives and mp players are selling fakes. Most of the listings according to the investigative team for the FrankenFlash project are easy to spot, though not always.

The number with low feedback scores offering fake memory on eBay is escalating. Powerseller fake flash memory sellers no longer command. About 30% of the listings are removed by eBay within the first few days of listing.

About Low Feedback Fake Flash Memory Seller Tactics:

If not caught immediately:

1) Delay shipping to the last possible moment, using time to avoid receiving feedback.

2) Not leaving feedback for buyers.

3) Closing account before items begin arriving, avoiding feedback all together.

For these sellers, if a negative appears or a dispute filed by a buyer, eBay immediately suspends the id. All listing information vanishes from the internet. The only evidence left is at FakeMemorySentinel.

If a low feedback id is among the 30% removed immediately, the seller simply uses a new id and repeats the same listings. There are cases where the seller used four eBay ids in less than one month. The the law of averages, hoping eBay will overlook an id. It is also a stubborn pursuit to sell fake flash memory.

Most of the the low feedback ids follow what SOSFakeFlash coined “Hit and Run”.

Their favorite listing? “BUY NOW“. Often the seller sold as many as 500+ units before caught. Some offer exceptionally low prices, others raised prices to appear more genuine.

What happens to the buyers? According to SOSFakeFlash, only eBay knows. Are they all refunded? Unlikely.

The greatest mystery for everyone involved in promoting awareness on the sale of fake and counterfeit flash memory items?

Why so many buyers continue to buy?

It is impossible to buy 256GB flash memory capacity for $25 US or even $200 US.

Yet so many eBay buyers continue to queue for DT200, DT300, DT310 fakes being sold in “BUY NOW”.

eBay members appear willing to buy from eBay sellers with zero or less then 10 FB. At prices most unrealistic and are demonstrating eagerness to take risks.

Meanwhile eBay sellers with higher feedback scores not researching actual costs for Sandisk, Kingston, Sony, Corsair, continue to loose their eBay reputations.

So why does SOSFakeFlash advise eBay buyers not purchase usb flash drives, memory cards or mp players from a seller with a score less than 300?

The change in trends.

Sellers quickly suspended by eBay or who close their accounts on eBay. In quiet a few recent cases as frauded buyers leave negative feedback to warn other buyers, some sellers make their feedback private. An honest seller would never try to evade. It doesn’t stop their pending eBay suspension, however.

A seller with a higher score and one who has been on eBay for a long time, is more likely to take responsibility for accidentally selling fake memory, though not always.

An honest seller will not ask you to change your feedback. They will voluntarily remove their listings, contact buyers and refund them with an apology. They will not try to con you with “faulty” or “defective”.

You can usually tell if a seller made an honest mistake by their actions.

Do they accept responsibility and try to make amends or do they attempt to deny and hide?

The changing trends for fake flash memory sales on eBay are disturbing.

It shows eBay is not sincere in addressing the problem, instead more interested in ending internet exposure about the problem.

A lot of people do not have sympathy for buyers who pay $25 US for 256GB usb flash drive whose best price is over $700 US for the genuine item at true memory capacity.

This is probably unfair to most eBay buyers who become flash memory victims.

USB external hard disks continue to drop in price. Hard disks use an older technology. Consumers do not understand the manufacturing of flash memory chips, the costs associated with their creation and most importantly the number of quality tests needed to ensure they are reliable.

They confuse Gigabyte capacity of the external usb hard disks with usb flash drive pen sticks. External usb hard drives in 500GB capacity are now offered at $100 US, often much lower. Add the mistake of reasoning in buying on eBay you are remove middle men and the retailing store. Buyers on eBay convince themselves the low prices are real and genuine for flash memory.

Now add the increasing number of low feedback eBay sellers appearing and disappearing with rapid speed and you have a lethal combination for increased flash memory fraud on eBay.

Additional Reading:

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?

eBay Flash Memory Fraud Continues. 8 Years later, eBay Continues Cover Up For Fraudulent Asian Sellers. 8GB 16GB 32GB 64GB 128GB 256GB Advertised Capacity = 4GB Real Capacity Or Less

Genuine Verses Fake Counterfeit USB Flash Drives – A Guide – USB Flash Chips Used In USB Flash Drives – Grades A B C D

SOSFakeFlash – eBay Fraud Flash Memory Upgraded Digitally Altered Capacity. Status Report November 2010. Best eBay Prices For USB Pen sticks, Memory Cards, MP Players. Warning – 95% Of eBay Listings Are For Fake Memory.

Kingston DT310 eBay Beware! Fraud Continues For Counterfeits And Fake Capacity. Learn Become A Smart Consumer. There Are No Cheap Prices For DT 310 At Real Flash Memory Capacity!

eBay Seller Of Counterfeit SanDisk SDHC Extreme Fake Cards, margarita.marjorie United Kingdom Stopped. Did You Buy From This Seller? Did You Know You Could Report Fraudulent SanDisk eBay Sellers?

DT200 256GB – New Capacity Offered By Kingston Technologies. DT200 Now Comes in 256 GB Or Does it?

Kingston DT200 Offers New Capacity – 1TB USB Flash Memory Stick. The Biggest Capacity For A USB Flash Drive Is Available From aliexpress.com. Wholesale Cost For DT200 Is Not Expensive, It Is Cheap. Profit From Selling Upgraded Flash Memory.

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Buying A Kingston DataTraveler DT200 128GB Flash Drive On eBay? What You See Might Not Be What You Receive. Have a look.

Global Report – eBay Fake Memory 2008 – 2009

SOSFakeFlash Announces Phase III For Operation Fake Flash Storm Against eBay. Toward A Fake Flash Drive Free World – No More Counterfeits – No More Data Loss! Using Social Media To Fight Fake Memory. Do You Have A Facebook Account?