Watch out for the.fone.depot on ebay

[#1]

They are selling FAKE Kingston sdcards.

Just bought one, and as per usual ran f3 to test it. 

Average writing speed: 8.25 MB/s

SECTORS ok/corrupted/changed/overwritten

Validating file 1.fff ... 2097152/ 0/ 0/ 0

Validating file 2.fff ... 2097152/ 0/ 0/ 0

Validating file 3.fff ... 2097152/ 0/ 0/ 0

Validating file 4.fff ... 2097152/ 0/ 0/ 0

Validating file 5.fff ... 2097152/ 0/ 0/ 0

Validating file 6.fff ... 2097152/ 0/ 0/ 0

Validating file 7.fff ... 2097152/ 0/ 0/ 0

Validating file 8.fff ... 1871341/ 225811/ 0/ 0

Validating file 9.fff ... 0/ 2097152/ 0/ 0

Validating file 10.fff ... 0/ 2097152/ 0/ 0

Validating file 11.fff ... 0/ 2097152/ 0/ 0

Bought a 16Gb actual capacity 8Gb!

So waiting on ebay refunding me, and have contacted Kingston about these fakes being sold in the UK.

[#2]

Not that I am likely to buy things like that off an ebay seller - unless it is a company I have dealt with before, but out of curiosity, how long have they been going, and what are their ratings like?

[#3]

Their feedback mentions fakes more than a few times over the last six months.

I guess you could kick yourself for not noticing that.

These SD cards are fake! Seller ignored return request. Ebay refunded.

THESE SD CARD ARE 100% FAKE DO NOT BUY CHECK PACKAGING ON LINE. FAKE FAKE FAKE

Complete dud: looked fake, didn't work, but the seller was courteous and refunde

Faulty Card sent, did refund

Micro sd card didn't work, prompt refund.

[#4]

I didn't look at the f/b just the figure 152 so not a new seller. They have been trading for over a year.
Problem lies in that a lot of people will NOT check the disc just put it in the camera/phone/why and not until they get corrupt pictures will they notice.
Kingston have confirmed it is fake and they have the details of the seller to shut them down.

[#5]

If more than a couple of customers complain something is fake on ebay why do they not investigate it whilst suspending the account ?

[#6]

What?!?! And make them actually work for the money they take in selling fees? No, can't possibly happen...

[#7]

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@gleneagles wrote:

ebay why do they not investigate it

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Only if they are losing money, otherwise they are just a "venue".

Their current debacle is about off site sales. Charging/fining users just if they believe it has occurred with no evidence whatsoever. When alleged money loss is involved only then do they take a hard line.

[#8]

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@gleneagles wrote:

If more than a couple of customers complain something is fake on ebay why do they not investigate it whilst suspending the account ?

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They do.. or at least they did to a colleague of mine years ago who was trying to sell fake rolex watches on ebay. I was utterly stunned that he even admitted to trying it. It wasn't the first dodgy thing i noticed about him either yet management loved him. You can tell what kind of company they were to work for from that!

@HairyMcbiker thanks for the tip off. Like you say I guess a lot of folks will just forget the size of the thing until it fills up and then they've thrown away the packet etc so easy money for the scammers. I wouldn't buy memory cards on ebay, I won't touch them from a local market trader either. Anything that has big scammer potential i avoid buying online unless it's a well known brand / company.

[#9]

Well it WAS a Kingston card so I thought it might be kosher.
Last time I got a Sandisk and they replaced it as faulty not fake.

[#10]

Anyone with the right equipment can produce labels / lookalikes. Just because it says Kingston doesn't mean it is!

Unfortunately you seem to have had quite a lot of bad luck buying your memory online, i hope you have better luck in the future.