Why Buyers Are Frauded For Kingston DT200 USB Flash Drives Advertised In 32 GB 128 GB 256 GB Capacity? The Sad Story On eBay Flash Memory.

In the winter of 2010, fake Kingston DT200 usb flash drives began appearing on eBay. The number of listings grew and peaked in April 2010. A new site was created to combat the number of listings, FakeFlashSentinel also known as ” Fake Flash Memory – Internet Watchdog”. Instead of individual listings, the “Buy Now” listing offering hundreds of item units appeared on eBay.

The prices were incredibly cheap on eBay and of course required immediate on the spot payment from the buyer. If you bid, you buy – NOW! No chance to reconsider, or reflect on the purchase, no chance for common sense to start nagging you about whether the price was just too good to be true.

The Sentinel site, in conjunction with free lance FakeFlashCommando’s managed to decrease listings during the spring and early summer of 2010. eBay raced to suspend sellers from Asia to Europe. Kingston Technologies had pressured eBay effectively.

Things grew quiet, listings for DT200 fakes were less common, then suddenly out of now where an avalanche of fake DT310 usb flash drives appeared! It began escalating in the summer of 2010 and continues to increase – daily!

It has become worse. DT200, DT300 and DT310 are appearing daily on eBay for sellers around the world, not just those based in Asia. Most use the Buy Now listing, others use a single listing offering many units.

Do a lot of people become victims on eBay for flash memory? Yes. Especially when they bid and buy Kingston USB Flash drives.

Why do they become victims? eBay buyers just don’t research the prices for flash memory. Consider this recent listing:

Just looking at the buy now price, should warn people to stay away. Instead, for just this one listing, so far 586 eBay members have purchased one.

You would think they knew better, but the sad truth is they don’t and that is exactly what an eBay fake flash memory seller is counting on.

You see, a lot of people compare usb flash memory pen sticks to external usb hard disks. We all know that external usb hard disks are becoming cheaper all the time. You can buy bigger capacity for less money each month. So many assume this is also true with flash memory. Big mistake!

The technology to miniaturize capacity in a thumb drive is expensive! Very expensive for high capacity such as 64GB, 128GB and 256GB. Most use 16GB chips. It is one of the reasons these flash drives are thick, a lot of chips are stacked. Think in terms of a RAM stick you buy for your computer with a long row of flash chips, double sided and then consider several PCB boards inside your flash drive. Good profile images are available at TechChip’s site. See the Genuine Kingston catgory.

While SOSFakeFlash and FakeMemorySentinel are doing their best to try and protect eBay members from fake flash memory sellers, new listings appear every day.

It’s clear that a lot of people are not getting the message until it is too late! When eBay members start reporting the seller, eBay just pulls the plug on the seller. Kapoof! The listings disappear and so other people who bought from the seller can no longer access the item they bought. Clever isn’t it?

Mind you, both SOSFakeFlash and FakeMemorySentinel do their best to capture the listings. It’s part of documenting the fraud on eBay:

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

The truth is, if you want to buy a Kingston USB Flash drive, you should visit the local Kingston site in your country. Look up the model you are interested in. Kingston provides hot links to suggested retailers and you can see the prices they charge.

Okay, so you think they are selling too high, making a BIG profit. No, the mark up is not that high. One of the best sites for reference on usb flash drive pricing at the deepest possible discount for genuine items is a site called Newegg.com. You should look at what they have to offer and the current prices! There is no better or more accurate reference tool for for the average consumer. A quick visit to newegg will reveal in a hurry why you became a victim!

A news site called FakeFlashNews offers a lot of new information on the fake flash memory problem and what brand names are being counterfeited. Did you know some sellers are offering a DT200/256 GB? A model never made? You can even pick the color you like the most! If you think a usb flash drive at 256GB is too small and you want a larger size, no problem, fake flash memory sellers offer the DT200 in 1TB capacity!

One of the biggest challenges to deal with the Kingston usb flash drive counterfeit and fake capacity problem is?

Spreading the word! There is a lot of coverage for the English language, but not for other languages. Over 60% of eBay members frauded for fake usb flash drives on eBay do not readl English! So the problem is not only about understanding prices, it is not knowing there is a fake flash usb flash drive problem in the first place!

If you can write in other languages, you can help spread awareness! You can visit forums and internet sites in your country to warn people about the dangers of buying usb flash drives on eBay. Over 95% of all listings are for fakes. If you were frauded and you have your own site you can document it there. To get search engine traction so people find your article, consider adding linked to the FrankenFlash project sites:

http://sosfakeflash.wordpress.com/
http://fakememorysentinel.wordpress.com/
http://fakeflashnews.wordpress.com/
http://fixfakeflash.wordpress.com/
http://flashdrivefacts.wordpress.com/
https://flashfakecentral.wordpress.com/
http://flashchiptech.wordpress.com/

If you are a victim and you are wondering how you can help please read:

How Are People Fighting Against Fake Memory MP Players, USB Flash Drives And Memory Cards? eBay And The Internet.

Additional Information:

Global Report – eBay Fake Memory 2008 – 2009

Kingston read:

Kingston USB Flash Drives. How To Check You Have A Genuine One And Not A Counterfeit – Easy Guide. Kingston Technologies Fighting To Protect Consumers And Itself From Counterfeits.

Kingston DataTraveler 310 DT310/256GB Fake USB Flash Drives Flooding eBay! Fraud Warning.

Kingston DT310/256 Counterfeits Sold On eBay!

256GB Kingston DataTraveler Leather USB 2.0 256 GB – The Most Famous Counterfeit Fake Sold

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.

eBay Erasing Evidence Of Fraud – Protection Of Fake Memory Sellers Increasing. DT200/128GB Kingston DataTraveler Fakes Continue To Be Sold On eBay.

Warning KINGSTON DT200 DATA TRAVELER 128 GB USB FLASH DRIVE eBay Fakes – A Guide

Kingston Technologies Under Attack From Fake Flash Memory Seller Piranhas In The Orient. DT200 Counterfeits 8GB 16GB 32GB Flood Global Market.

Current Prices For Genuine Kingston DataTraveler 200 128GB USB2.0 Flash Drives DT200/128GB And For Fakes – A Guide

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