Beware of Sandisk LIMITED Warranty

[Oregonian2]

It is by no means trying to save a few bucks the reason I buy it on
ebay. I bought a lot of things on ebay, it is just convenient more
than anything.

If just for convenience, I'd suggest newegg.com

Mike

 

[Joe0Bloggs]

A fake card also reports itself to be 4GB, that's how it tricks you and the camera into believing you can take x thousand x-fine jpegs.

The capacity of a fake card can only measured by looking at how many MB of images you can write normally to the card before everything goes south.

It is a genuine card. My Pavalion a1710n recognizes it as a 4 gb
card. I think it is a bad card. I faxed Sandisk the proof of
purchase, which is my receipt through Paypal. Tech support went to
ebay to look at the auction, seller said bulk packaging on the
auction which I did not realize until today. I think they should just
replace my card, it has a 5 years warranty on it which is down the
drain now...

 

[Arrowman]

I bought a lot of things on ebay, it is just convenient more
than anything.

So, buying a memory card from an unknown person for a fraction less than the price you would pay to a retailer (online) for a new card, with warranty, is "convenient".

Oh, the irony

And your only response on this thread has been to continue to blame SanDisk for the problem.

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[Joe0Bloggs]

"Minor fakes are a cheaper brand of card with fake SanDisk stickers, which may well work perfectly well. Major fakes look like, say, a 2Gb card, but don't actually have that much storage, leading to entertaining errors when your write operations fall off the end of the memory that's actually there."

http://www.dansdata.com/flashswap.htm

'Look like' includes reporting itself as 4GB to your computer as well as your camera.

 

[Arrowman]

I am really surprised to find out Sandisk has
an absurd policy.

What's absurd about a policy that says they won't treat as new a product bought from a person on eBay?

I won't be buying any Sandisk from now on.

You should be wondering whether it was a Sandisk card you bought this time

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[Arrowman]

I paid $40 bucks for it, I think I'll sell it off on ebay if it keep
messing up.

You're not serious, are you? I mean, you don't expect to say that and then expect anyone on this forum to take you seriously, or help you in future, when you have a problem?

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[stsong]

I do not know about the warranty policy of Sandisk, Lexar or Kingston until yesterday nor do I know about so many fake cards are out there. No one can proof to me that I have a fake one not even Sandisk, because the fake one looks very real! Buying on ebay as a convenience is my personal choice. If you choose not to buy on ebay, that's your choice, I wouldn't say bad things about your choice.

 

[stsong]

Since none of the members replied buy from ebay, why would you care? What does that has to do with getting help on the board?

 

[pptphoto]

Yeh, it's your choice. And you got burned. Now you want to burn someone else so you can recover your measly $40. Then you have to bad mouth a good company because you bought from an unreliable source, an obviously fake card. Then you were on here last week trying to figure out to "recover" a poorly written image on your obviously bad, fake card. What a loser.

 

[Robert 55]

I see from this post that you received the card without original packaging:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1014&message=24713901
That in itself should have been a warning. More info on cards is here:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007 , including a link to an example of a fake card: http://members.shaw.ca/fakesandisk/

I understand you are angry. But the parties to be angry at are not Sandisk, nor the people on this board. The first one is the party who sold you the card, the other you can find by looking in the mirror

Now as I said, take your loss:

• contact the ebay seller. Try for getting your money back. Give honest feedback
• if that doesn't work send a complaint to e-bay
• you seem to be sure the card is real. Check with Sandisk. Sandisk cards have edge stamps, they could check the number for you
• if you're on a Mac or use Vista check the card properties [see my second link]
• don't try to sell the card as working. You will probably be found out anyway. It takes a certain talent to be crooked.

Since none of the members replied buy from ebay, why would you care?
What does that has to do with getting help on the board?

Even if people were not active on e-bay [they only stated they won't buy a high risk item like this], most of us prefer to be [and to be thought of as] honest and fair-dealing.

 

[Stringmike]

I checked out your seller on eBay and he seems rather odd - a US seller who started out selling accessories for dogs and cats and who now sells large volumes of memory cards. Hmmm!

It is certainly possible that the seller is repackaging genuine Sandisk memory since he has very little negative feedback, so your first line of attack should be the seller. If the seller does not respond, you should file a complaint with eBay. The seller has more to lose than you do and should give you a refund (I know I would).

Perhaps you could also post some photos of the card so we can check to see if it has any of the usual hallmarks of a fake. If it is fake, you really do need to alert eBay about the seller.

--
Mike

There are holes in the sky
Where the rain gets in,
But they're ever so small
That's why rain is thin. ..... Spike Milligan

 

[Carnildo]

seller said bulk packaging on the auction

It sounds like there was no warranty on the card in the first place. This was almost certainly an OEM card: one intended to be sold to a camera manufacturer for inclusion with a new camera. In this case, the warranty (or lack thereof) is provided by the final seller, not by Sandisk.

 

[Oregonian2]

I do not know about the warranty policy of Sandisk, Lexar or Kingston
until yesterday nor do I know about so many fake cards are out there.
No one can proof to me that I have a fake one not even Sandisk,
because the fake one looks very real! Buying on ebay as a convenience
is my personal choice. If you choose not to buy on ebay, that's your
choice, I wouldn't say bad things about your choice.

It's your choice, but you take your risks. The "Genuine" in the eBay title was a hint that there's an issue about fakes (as well as a major article about it in Pop Photoraphy within the last couple months, including Sandisk "real or fake?" photographs). Saying "Genuine" doesn't of course mean that it is (although it could be, dunno for sure). If the seller was one of those Hong Kong sellers that are plentiful, I'd not think so though. Ebay also has a buyer's guide for flash and whether they're fakes, links to them show up all the time in the lower left part of the pages that I recall.

That said, I do get ebay dirt-cheap Chinese klone stuff (some of which claim Japan built cells), particularly for Lithium-ion batteries. But not "fakes" as such, those sold as explicit compatible klones by domestic sellers with long histories of very positive feedback who talk openly about the klones they are selling. I've had very good luck with those (for maybe 15~20% of a name-brand's cost). Just hope they don't explode.

Mike

 

[Corkcampbell]

Hi Mike,

I paid $40 bucks for it, I think I'll sell it off on ebay if it keep
messing up.

Well, I guess that makes some sort of sense. The ignorant can pass these bad items among themselves and then, in a few hundred years, eugenics should thin out the population of people who are fools and who try to cheat other fools.

 

[Corkcampbell]

to years ago when people expected the warranter to pay shipping, etc.; it was added for legal reasons to make the companies safe from silly lawsuits, making the cost of the warranty and product less. This is normal, and a simple Google check would have indicated this.

It is nothing sinister and the folks at Sandisk made the proper decision in your case. If they start taking back every fake or out-of-warranty card bought from a foreign distributor who doesn't have to fund the USA subsidiary's warranty expenses, they would have to increase the prices so that all of us would pay for the stupidity or dishonesty of a few.

 

[Shifter]

You didn't lose any data (you didn't say) and it failed early.
You should be thankful since you actually maybe got a rare dud and
was for free since you won it??

Buying from a reputable dealer either Ebay or from a store is the way to go.
Always look at the previous buyers responses to the Ebay seller.

I've never had a problem with my Sandisk CF cards bought from a real
store. Always dependable, the CF card that is.

===================

I recently won an ebay auction with this title "New SANDISK 4GB 4 GB
SD SDHC SD-HC Card 4GB G Genuine". The card worked ok for a few days
until the pictures turned into garbage. I contacted Sandisk for
product support. Bear in mind that the card comes with a 5 years
limited warranty. You have to really pay attention to the LIMITED.

The following message is direct quote from Sandisk tech support.
"Please note that the terms of SanDisk's warranty policy apply to NEW
products only, to the original consumer purchaser who has proof of
purchase if requested, and are not transferable between parties.
From a review of your documentation it appears that the purchase of
your SD™ Card 4GB was a consumer to consumer purchase, with no
indication that the SD™ Card 4GB was NEW in factory sealed packaging.
We would, therefore, recommend that you seek service from the
individual from whom you made your purchase as he or she may be
entitled to warranty support for this product.
Alternatively, you can submit a Proof of Purchase that validates the
condition of the product as factory sealed, new and not bulk
packaged. "

To many ebayers out there, make sure you buy your product from a
retailer not an individual otherwise your product will not be covered
under warranty.

 

[Arrowman]

Since none of the members replied buy from ebay, why would you care?

Maybe it would be because some of us have a sense of ethics, even when the action involved does not affect us directly.

What does that has to do with getting help on the board?

Maybe it would be because people are not inclined to provide help to people are overtly stating their intention to do something unethical (or even illegal).

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[Arrowman]

I do not know about the warranty policy of Sandisk, Lexar or Kingston
until yesterday nor do I know about so many fake cards are out there.

Fair enough, we can put that down to naivety. Although I would expect someone uses eBay as much as you claim to, to at least be broadly aware of the pitfalls of buying from private individuals.

I think "Oh, right, thanks" would be a more appropriate response than an angry "Well I didn't know!" That is, if you want people to see you as reasonable, and be wiling to help you again in future.

No one can proof to me that I have a fake one not even Sandisk,
because the fake one looks very real!

Oh, I think Sandisk could probably prove if it's a fake, given the chance. What a silly thing to say.

In any case - it may be afake, it may not. That's only one part of the issue.

Buying on ebay as a convenience
is my personal choice. If you choose not to buy on ebay, that's your
choice, I wouldn't say bad things about your choice.

Sure. But when the pitfalls of your choice have been pointed out - well.... when I come here complaing about how Sandisk refused to honour a warranty on a new, genuine card I bought from a reputable dealer - online or in store - well, let's talk then.

I think it's pretty silly to say "it's a convenience" in the same context as a thread in which you have demonstrated exactly why you should NOT buy memory cards from unknown parties - on eBay or anything else.

Your profile says you live in Tulsa. Population 393049 according to Google. Not a large city, but large enough for this to hold true, I think:

I can leave my computer right now, and be back in 30 minutes with a handful of genuine Sandisk cards bought from a bricks & mortar retailer for a fraction more than I can buy them online. Your "convenient" solution is to buy from an anonymous individual on eBay, wait 2-3 days for them to arrive, and then find they may not be genuine or at least there will be no warranty.

OK, then.

Over all, - the thread has gone this way:

• When people explained the reason for Sandisk refusing to honour the warranty, you vowed never to buy a Sandisk product again.

• When people pointed out that other manufacturers have similar conditions, and why they have those perfectly reasonable conditions, your response was to say 'well I can see why Sandisk isn't worried about losing my business!'

• When people raised the possibility that the card was a fake, your response was 'no-one can provei it's a fake, not even Sandisk!'

• And you said that if the card couldn't be replaced you'd try to unload to someone else. And when that was attacked you asked why we should care.

Oh, I think there's every reason for sarcasm

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[Corkcampbell]

calling him unethical would be an insult to the many unethical people who are actually quite smart. Perhaps "buffoon" would be better, unless you know any buffoons who would be insulted being compared to this....whatever.

 

[Doug J]

Rather than being defensive about fakes, do a simple Google search. You'll quickly learn that there are many counterfiet memory cards sold via all channels, even retail shops. Ebay has been identified as one the largest sources of fakes.

You will also learn that the legitmate manufacturers have posted ways to identify fakes. Some of the counterfiets look pretty convincing, while others are obvious fakes when a side by side comparison to a real card or photo is done. The location, type and numeric sequence of manufacturing codes are some of the things to look for. The fact that the card came without retail packaging is rather large warning sign as well.

A few months ago I found a post/site that compared the inside of 2 cards, one real and one fake. I don't recall which manufacturer posted the information, it might have been Sandisk. Anyway, the OEM markings on both the memory and controller chips inside were very different.

In summary, there are several ways for the consumer to identify fakes and I'm certain the manufacturers can easily authenticate their own products. I suggest you do a Google search and enlighten yourself.

I do not know about the warranty policy of Sandisk, Lexar or Kingston
until yesterday nor do I know about so many fake cards are out there.
No one can proof to me that I have a fake one not even Sandisk,
because the fake one looks very real!

--
Best regards,
Doug
http://pbase.com/dougj

http://thescambaiter.com
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