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Sandisk Fake CF Card ??

jvora

Member
Hello :

Not sure where to post this - Hope it's ok :eek: - Also, do kindly bear with me, as this type of subject may have been discussed in the past - Here goes . . .


I remain concerned about a recent purchase of four 8GB CF Cards - Although the order was placed from Amazon.com's site, the order is fulfilled by " Komputerbay LTD " - Prior to placing the order, I did check Komputerbay LTD's ratings and over the various periods ( i.e. 1, 3, 12 Months and Lifetime ) the satisfaction ratings is over 96% which gave me the confidence to place the order, but on receiving the Cards, I noted the following -

1. Each of the 4 CF Cards did not have any packaging - Just an extremely sticky white paper tape that secured the usual translucent plastic cases. This white tape had the basic info on it, capacity etc.

2. The rear of the CF Card itself ( the part where one can number the card, write the owner's name, etc ) too were inconsistent - 2 Have a red colored band on the top with Sandisk printed in white. While the other 2 is all white with Sandisk written in red.

More than point 1, I am concerned about point 2.

I did visit Sandisk's website to see if there was a way to input the card's serial number to confirm if the cards were legit or otherwise, but could not find such a way to check this on-line. I do recall checking the serial numbers online was possible 3 to 4 years ago which was the last time I purchased Flash Cards prior to this purchase.

Any ideas how this can be confirmed ??

Anyone have similar issues??

Await the replies.


Jai
 

Dustbak

Member
I have 2 fake Sandisk CF cards as well (4Gb). They are almost impossible to separate from real ones. They even came in the same kind of packaging.

The only way I could tell they were fake was after really close inspection with images of real cards and pointers to look at but most telling was the write speed which was way less than the genuine cards. It happened several years ago, the cards are now the IV and more recent the Pro & Extreme.

This was a lesson that I have learned. Since I have only bought them from stores I could walk in that are nearby.

I would suggest to take it up with Amazon and try to return them.
 

Steen

Senior Subscriber Member
Hi Jay
If I were you I would take close up / macro photos of the sticky white paper tape, the plastic cases and the cards and then ask Sandisk about it.
Who knows, maybe they will even switch the memory cards for you in order to get the fake cards as proof ?
 

Jorgen Udvang

Subscriber Member
I believe Sandisk used to encourage people to send them fake cards. Don't know if they do anymore, but it's probably a good idea anyway.

I never buy cards from others than shops that I know and trust. They are so cheap nowadays anyway, so no reason to take any risks.

Here's a quote from Rob Galbraith, whose website is a major resource for anything about cards:

Beware of counterfeit cards Knockoff flash memory - CompactFlash and SD/SDHC/SDXC cards that appear to be from a major player (SanDisk is the brand that seems to be most widely counterfeited), but are actually knockoffs with labeling and packaging that closely mimics if not matches the real thing - is widely available on the Web these days.

If the deal seems too good to be true it probably is. We strongly recommend that you buy from a reputable retailer to minimize your chances of getting stuck with a fake, one that probably won't have the performance, reliability, compatibility or even the capacity of the brand and model you thought you were buying.
 

MMPhoto

Member
Morning,

Again buying on-line? As Jorgen just mention, the cards are cheap and available at all time in plenty quantities from any local photographic stores.

Seeing holding in my hand is the best way to make sure that the product is what I expect it to be. There is to many places on-line selling items that are not what advertise to be.

When I compare on-line prices plus the shipping, versus the price from my local supplier. I found out it comes out about the same plus or minus 10%, is it really that much of a saving?

Sorry to hear that you got another miss represented product.
 
R

Ronan

Guest
Morning,

Again buying on-line? As Jorgen just mention, the cards are cheap and available at all time in plenty quantities from any local photographic stores.

Seeing holding in my hand is the best way to make sure that the product is what I expect it to be. There is to many places on-line selling items that are not what advertise to be.

When I compare on-line prices plus the shipping, versus the price from my local supplier. I found out it comes out about the same plus or minus 10%, is it really that much of a saving?

Sorry to hear that you got another miss represented product.
Where in Montreal do you purchase your cards? I get mine at Lozeau, but they are pretty expensive compared to what I pay in NY.

Où à Montréal achetez-vous vos cartes ? J'achète mais cartes chez Lozeau, mais elles sont assez chers comparés à ce que je paye dans NY.
 

MMPhoto

Member
yes, you are right Ronan. Same here I am down in NYC about 6 to 7 times a year. Many products are cheaper and you can get products that are no more distributed in Canada due to the much smaller market.

In Montreal there is Photo-Services they have a much better price structure then ll Lozeau. And they carry all the Broncolor, Profoto and the lower brands and all the cameras in a good inventory. With the rentals of the same brands.

The other store is Royal Photo, their Downtown store is run by a really nice person that as been servicing Pro's for the last 22 years.
 

jvora

Member
Hello All :

Many thanks for all the replies -

I called Sandisk, read the Serial Numbers to them - Over the phone they confirmed that the Serial Numbers were genuine, but to make absolutely sure, they asked me to photograph each of the 4 cards, ( front and back ) and email it to them - I have JUST received their reply and it should be ok for me to share their reply here as the email did not mention any "Confidential Clauses, etc."



Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 7 days.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

To access your question from our support site, click here.


Subject
Fraudulent Inquiries for Memory Card

Discussion Thread
(XXXX.) 02/01/2011 10:32 AM
Dear Jai,

Thank you for contacting SanDisk Customer Support. We have received and reviewed your emailed images and as per the images all of your Extreme Compact Flash cards are genuine SanDisk cards.

For further queries you can contact us at 1-866-102-2055.

Thank you for your support and cooperation.

Best Regards,
XXX

SanDisk Customer Support


Customer (Jai) 01/30/2011 11:14 PM


Dear XXX :

Thanks for your mail - As requested, here are the front and back images of the 4 CF cards.

Although I shared the Serial Numbers with you over the phone, I am providing them here once again for your reference :
1. Sandisk CF Card Extreme 8 GB UDMA 60MB/s - No. 1 = XXX
2. Sandisk CF Card Extreme 8 GB UDMA 60MB/s - No. 2 = XXX
3. Sandisk CF Card Extreme 8 GB UDMA 60MB/s - No. 3 = XXX
4. Sandisk CF Card Extreme 8 GB UDMA 60MB/s - No. 4 =XXX

Kindly confirm if the above CF Cards are Original or Fake.

The docket number of this query as provided to me over the phone is : XXX.

I will await your reply.

Thanking you,

Jai


Well, seems the cards are genuine Sandisk products - Phew !!


Thanks all,


Jai
 
R

Ronan

Guest
yes, you are right Ronan. Same here I am down in NYC about 6 to 7 times a year. Many products are cheaper and you can get products that are no more distributed in Canada due to the much smaller market.

In Montreal there is Photo-Services they have a much better price structure then ll Lozeau. And they carry all the Broncolor, Profoto and the lower brands and all the cameras in a good inventory. With the rentals of the same brands.

The other store is Royal Photo, their Downtown store is run by a really nice person that as been servicing Pro's for the last 22 years.
I know of Photo-Services, my colleague use to work there. I also purchased a D2h from them, sometime ago. Now that you mention it, it's been awhile since i'v been there...

Never heard of Royal Photo, i'll take a look.

If you ever want to grab coffee or something, shoot me a PM, i'm located 10 mins from downtown :) Enjoying the snowstorm? :D
 
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