The following eBay traders sell "upgraded" memory cards. These memory cards are a scam.
Some of the excuses they use to fob people off include:-
"Errors may be experienced once the maximum capacity of the memory card has been reached. We suggest formatting the memory stick if problems occur. We recommend that you back up all data, as we cannot be held responsible for any loss of data."
Reformatting the card WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEM
"the speed and capacity will vary with each individual card, each with a minimum of 4GB usable capacity even though it may show there is more available
Errors may be experienced once the maximum capacity has been reached. We suggest formatting the card in FAT32 format if problems occur."
Once you write past the initial 4GB, depending on how the card has been modified you'll either lose everything written from there onwards (with no indication that anything's wrong until you try reading it back) or you'll corrupt whatever you've already stored.
Here's some genuine feedback left as a result of purchasing these fake cards.
Corrupted and I've lost all my photos of my Grandchildren AVOID
Corrupted and I've lost all my photos of my son from birth!
waste of money not warking
Here's what the sellers have to say:-
"Guess you won't be buying one then?" - techtrader2000
"Hi,
Thanks for your input.
The cards are upgrades, which means that they have been upgraded at the factory in china using compression technology to `stretch` the memory with the aim of increasing the cards storage capability
As we state in the listing and in the accompanying letter that the cards are upgraded from 8gb to 64gb but there is no guarantee that the compression upgrade will reach 62.5gb.
This is the lower end of the memory card market, if you want a full specification full capacity card like Sandisk then you will have to move to the higher end of the market. No secret is made of these cards being upgraded, eBay are fully aware of the cards and the technology used in the Chinese factories to stretch each cards memory.
No-one has to buy these cards. There is more than enough warning and information available on relevant listings to give you more than enough information to make an informed choice.
I myself use these cards in my Sony Experia E mobile phone and i am more than happy with them bearing in mind i have been doing so for over 3 years.
If you have purchased a card from us and are not happy with it (despite the very clear warnings which you were shown and should have read) then on this occasion you may have a refund.
You must first return the card in its original packaging un-damaged together with both your eBay screen name and your FULL street name and post code. You must also state separately on a piece of paper the reason for the item being returned.
We sell these memory cards on and offline in our shop and have many satisfied customers going back over 5 years. When buying products which are INTENDED for the cheaper end of the market please ensure that you read the small print before purchasing.
First off all the H2testw works on dedicated cards i.e Samsung, Sandisk but as these cards have been upgraded from 8gb the reading given by the test is unreliable. Its not that it doesn't work its just that the cards have been upgraded.
Also these are not `our` cards, its similar to going into Curry`s and buying a sony TV, the TV sets are not `theirs` they just buy them in as an unbranded product from the Chinese manufactures and once they are branded with the Sont logo they then distribute them to the stores and they sell them on to the public.
We buy these cards in from the Chinese manufactures and then sell them on to our customers (explaining exactly what they are!).
Thanks." - manequin4
