STICKY:  -!!BEWARE!!- of fake memory cards on ebay

Ahh the power of documentation. So he put both statements in writing

MHO wrote in post #9664985
I got conned on eBay on 2x Extreme IV Sandisk 8GB CFs.
I even asked the seller (someone from HK!) if they were the real deal and his reply was "YES"!

They arrived and they were poop! Fake as you like, so I disputed the sale and his reply was: "they are just like the genuine ones but a little slower!"

So I ended up getting my money back and eBay asked me to dispose of the cards (which I obviously did! )

But the cards never even work like any other CF! they constantly give errors and some card readers don't like them at all!

Methodical wrote in post #9666292
Ahh the power of documentation. So he put both statements in writing

Yep! he did indeed and it bit him right on the Arse

I ended up with 16gb of slow but usable memory and a full refund

Edit: question removed, just buying local now that I found a good sale that just started at Henrys.com makes it only about $15 more. To those who are interested its $35+tax for the Sandisk 8GB Ultra 2 Class 4, (2nd gen), guessing clearing out stock for the new branded ultra 2. Best price I have seen from a retailer in Canada.

Buy from a legit retailer and never have a worry. B&H, Adorama, Henry's, Calumet, Samy's....

Buy from a scammer on fleabay and you might save a dollar or two today....that ends up costing you hundreds or thousands down the road. Caveat Emptor.

I bought 32GB verbatim from Walmart, its great and the other good thing is I have four of them so I have like 120GB of SD card class 6, it works fine. If someone wants something cheap try walmart or some other place. I lost alot money trying to buy a cheap camera in China. Its not worth it going a short cut

This is why I don't buy memory cards on eBay. I usually buy it at Best Buy. They would have sales on them every week for a great price.

Hey all, wanted to share my recent eBay memory card experience. I purchased an 8GB 60MB/s Sandisk CF card from one of the many Hong Kong based eBay sellers. They had a 99.4% rating and their feedback appeared solid, so I went for it. It arrived within a couple of days (how the heck can they ship so quickly for free?!), in a reputable Sandisk package. The card was in the plastic card case, which was inside a sealed plastic package, which was inside a chipboard box.

Tossed the card in the camera, formatted, and went out shooting. My previous card was the Ultra II, and while it worked okay in my old Rebel XT, it choked on the files my 7D was trying to write. This new card was handling the full 8fps with no problems, and I was a happy camper.

The next day I become a member of this forum, start browsing around, find this sticky, and start feeling a bit queasy. I searched around the web for more info, and finally contacted SanDisk online help. They had me provide the serial number, and then send in some pics of the card. A follow up email from them revealed that the card was a legitimate Sandisk card. Whew! Bullet dodged, but man what a stressful couple of hours there.

So, I suppose my point is that some of these eBay merchants are reputable, but unless you've already had prior experience with a particular one, there's no way to tell. In the end, I saved about $8.00. Totally not worth the anxiety that followed. My next purchase will be with an authorized dealer in the states. However, I can fully recommend this particular eBay seller, user name "sinceritytrading". My transaction with them was as good as it gets on eBay, and if I was looking to purchase the same card, I would use them.

Nightdiver13 wrote in post #10262253
Hey all, wanted to share my recent eBay memory card experience. I purchased an 8GB 60MB/s Sandisk CF card from one of the many Hong Kong based eBay sellers. They had a 99.4% rating and their feedback appeared solid, so I went for it. It arrived within a couple of days (how the heck can they ship so quickly for free?!), in a reputable Sandisk package. The card was in the plastic card case, which was inside a sealed plastic package, which was inside a chipboard box.

Tossed the card in the camera, formatted, and went out shooting. My previous card was the Ultra II, and while it worked okay in my old Rebel XT, it choked on the files my 7D was trying to write. This new card was handling the full 8fps with no problems, and I was a happy camper.

The next day I become a member of this forum, start browsing around, find this sticky, and start feeling a bit queasy. I searched around the web for more info, and finally contacted SanDisk online help. They had me provide the serial number, and then send in some pics of the card. A follow up email from them revealed that the card was a legitimate Sandisk card. Whew! Bullet dodged, but man what a stressful couple of hours there.

So, I suppose my point is that some of these eBay merchants are reputable, but unless you've already had prior experience with a particular one, there's no way to tell. In the end, I saved about $8.00. Totally not worth the anxiety that followed. My next purchase will be with an authorized dealer in the states. However, I can fully recommend this particular eBay seller, user name "sinceritytrading". My transaction with them was as good as it gets on eBay, and if I was looking to purchase the same card, I would use them.

Is it still working OK? I checked some of the neg feedback.....didn't look too good .
I think with these it's best to buy from a reputable dealer , I'd hate to have one crap out on me and lose my shots .

The card has been used pretty frequently since I purchased it, and it's still working without a hitch. When I have this one in the camera, my buffer clears noticeably faster than a 400x Transcend I have. I'm not sure if that speaks to the legitimacy of the card in any way, but just something I noticed.

One thing I'll say though is that in most other threads I've read where someone bought a counterfeit Sandisk card, when the customer actually had Sandisk verify the authenticity of the card, they were able to spot the fakes. They approved mine based first on the serial number and then on photos of different parts of the card body, so I'm confident I have a legitimate one. This doesn't mean that Sinceritytrading is 100% trustworthy, but I also can't report anything but a positive transaction with them.

I think for peace of mind, you're better off just buying from an authorized seller, especially considering the very small price difference.

I bought 2 8GB Sandisk Extreme 60mb/400x from Henry's today as they had a weekend sale at about 13% off (covers tax ) . I just feel better with CF Cards knowing they will not crash on me or cause other issues , I guess the extra $$ is worth that .

i bought some cards off amazon. usually i find great prices there that beat flea-bay. i found a great one, 3 2 gig cards for some cheap price (not from amazon but from one of the vendors that sell on the site).
i paid and it came in a few days. They came in retail boxes still taped shut. i tested them out and 2 of the cards worked great , but one didnt. i got errors so i went to sandisc website to check on the warranty. they asked for the serial number on the cards and it came back as fake!
i contacted the seller for a quick refund but im still amazed that they would go thru all the trouble of making fake boxes !

It's pretty amazing the lengths that they go to for these counterfeits. Did you have SanDisk check the other two serials too? They may be working now, but if one was a fake, it would make me doubt the other two.

Oh wow. I'm so paranoid my copy of the Sandisk Extreme UDMA 5 60MB/s 400x card is fake :/
can anyone tell me if this is a trusted reseller?
I just bought it sold by http://www.amazon.com …r=1&seller=A1GC​47N5J8F7IJ (digital media source) through amazon and they look reputable, but then i search there name up followed up by 'scam' and i read people's pissed off because they either didnt refund them, or the shipped item was a different item....
im reallllly paranoid right now, can anyone help? :/

The item will be shippin to my house soon.... i just ordered the item today...

I think you should be OK with a dealer through Amazon plus he looks to be a long time seller with a high count . Sure some negatives but that is expected in the items he is selling .

Hello ppl, i recently bought Sandisk Extreme III 30mb/s memory card and just tested it with HD tach, result was only 20.3mb/s while my second card Sandisk Ultra II 15mb/s result was 18mb/s.
Extreme wasnt what they promise, not even near, is this normal that there can be a so huge difference!
Anybody using same Extreme card here, if so can you test your card?