3 ms·

you're still feeding the machine, and assuming you can catch cases where something is merely lower quality rather than completely fake

jqpabc123 2y ago
If there are too many returns, the machine doesn't get fed; it gets punished. Amazon and other retailers have played this game for a very long time and they aren't in it to lose money. In my experience, the thing most commonly faked with memory cards is the capacity --- for example, an 8Gb card altered to appear 64Gb, until it is formatted. If you want extra assurance, buy Amazon branded cards. In this case, Amazon assumes almost all the risk so there is little incentive for fakery.
- Forgeties79 2y ago
  > If there are too many returns, the machine doesn't get fed; it gets punished. On Amazon? I highly doubt it. The threshold for “too many returns” is probably rarely hit. MicroSD’s are super cheap - people don’t return things that are cheap because they don’t consider it worth their time. Then these companies go and pay people for good reviews and just keep flipping inconsistent/garbage products. If punishment were a real thing that companies had to deal with then this wouldn’t continue to be a problem. It’s been this way for many, many years. Amazon has no equal competitor, there’s nowhere else for folks to go and people rarely look at the specific vendor they’re buying from. As far as they’re concerned it’s all Amazon.
  - jqpabc123 2y ago
    Amazon back charges the vendor for every return --- which likely includes return shipping and handling. I can assure you, Amazon doesn't just "eat" these costs. Remember, Amazon holds the cash for all sales. The cost of returns is extracted from vendor disbursements. A fake card sold for $10 may cost the vendor $20 if it gets returned.
    - Forgeties79 2y ago
      If enough people return the item which again, with microsd cards, is likely not nearly often enough on Amazon. If “the system worked” i.e. companies get appropriately punished for selling bad products, then this issue wouldn’t still be so widespread. It’s basically a feature of Amazon now. People just assume they’re going to randomly get junk. It’s baked into our expectations at this point.
      - jqpabc123 2y ago
        Amazon returns are very easy --- maybe even too easy. I suspect the real issue with memory cards is that most people probably don't check them. The solution is --- don't be like most people.
        Forgeties79 2y ago
        It is significantly more work to return an item than to buy one, it’s very asymmetric.
  - nothrabannosir 2y ago
    > Amazon has no equal competitor, there’s nowhere else for folks to go and people rarely look at the specific vendor they’re buying from. I’ve bought more off target.com than Amazon and I read at least one other commenter here who does the same. Walmart.com also has a wide range of products. Even sd cards. Which are still going strong. https://www.target.com/s/microsd https://www.target.com/s/microsd
    - deleted 2y ago
      [deleted]
- reboot81 2y ago
  Validrive[1] can validate actual vs advertised storage area. Maybe works on SD-cards aswell? 1 https://www.grc.com/validrive.htm https://www.grc.com/validrive.htm
- circuit10 2y ago
  Just formatting it isn't enough, you need to use a tool that does a test that writes to all the storage and reads it back
  - jqpabc123 2y ago
    Formatting is a base level test that doesn't require any additional software. A lot of cheap cards from China can't even pass this basic test.

jqpabc123 2y ago

If there are too many returns, the machine doesn't get fed; it gets punished. Amazon and other retailers have played this game for a very long time and they aren't in it to lose money. In my experience, the thing most commonly faked with memory cards is the capacity --- for example, an 8Gb card altered to appear 64Gb, until it is formatted. If you want extra assurance, buy Amazon branded cards. In this case, Amazon assumes almost all the risk so there is little incentive for fakery.

Forgeties79 2y ago
> If there are too many returns, the machine doesn't get fed; it gets punished. On Amazon? I highly doubt it. The threshold for “too many returns” is probably rarely hit. MicroSD’s are super cheap - people don’t return things that are cheap because they don’t consider it worth their time. Then these companies go and pay people for good reviews and just keep flipping inconsistent/garbage products. If punishment were a real thing that companies had to deal with then this wouldn’t continue to be a problem. It’s been this way for many, many years. Amazon has no equal competitor, there’s nowhere else for folks to go and people rarely look at the specific vendor they’re buying from. As far as they’re concerned it’s all Amazon.
- jqpabc123 2y ago
  Amazon back charges the vendor for every return --- which likely includes return shipping and handling. I can assure you, Amazon doesn't just "eat" these costs. Remember, Amazon holds the cash for all sales. The cost of returns is extracted from vendor disbursements. A fake card sold for $10 may cost the vendor $20 if it gets returned.
  - Forgeties79 2y ago
    If enough people return the item which again, with microsd cards, is likely not nearly often enough on Amazon. If “the system worked” i.e. companies get appropriately punished for selling bad products, then this issue wouldn’t still be so widespread. It’s basically a feature of Amazon now. People just assume they’re going to randomly get junk. It’s baked into our expectations at this point.
    - jqpabc123 2y ago
      Amazon returns are very easy --- maybe even too easy. I suspect the real issue with memory cards is that most people probably don't check them. The solution is --- don't be like most people.
      - Forgeties79 2y ago
        It is significantly more work to return an item than to buy one, it’s very asymmetric.
- nothrabannosir 2y ago
  > Amazon has no equal competitor, there’s nowhere else for folks to go and people rarely look at the specific vendor they’re buying from. I’ve bought more off target.com than Amazon and I read at least one other commenter here who does the same. Walmart.com also has a wide range of products. Even sd cards. Which are still going strong. https://www.target.com/s/microsd https://www.target.com/s/microsd
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
reboot81 2y ago
Validrive[1] can validate actual vs advertised storage area. Maybe works on SD-cards aswell? 1 https://www.grc.com/validrive.htm https://www.grc.com/validrive.htm
circuit10 2y ago
Just formatting it isn't enough, you need to use a tool that does a test that writes to all the storage and reads it back
- jqpabc123 2y ago
  Formatting is a base level test that doesn't require any additional software. A lot of cheap cards from China can't even pass this basic test.