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How Not to Buy a SSD

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Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#11

Post by zargon »

unsnap_biceps wrote: post #6
jchw wrote: post #4

In general I am afraid to buy storage devices except directly from the vendor at the moment. I've heard that there's also lots of fraudulent HDDs being sold with botched SMART data, even on Amazon, even marked as "New", even sold by Amazon. Scary proposition unless you're dying to test out your RAID array redundancy.

I've moved over to almost exclusively buying from B&H. They generally have similar prices to other vendors and they manage their own inventory directly with manufacturers, so no concerns about fraudulent hardware.

Me too, for the same reason. Also if you use their store credit card, they give a discount equal to the sales tax.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#12

Post by kaelwd »

Moru wrote: post #7
jchw wrote: post #4

In general I am afraid to buy storage devices except directly from the vendor at the moment. I've heard that there's also lots of fraudulent HDDs being sold with botched SMART data, even on Amazon, even marked as "New", even sold by Amazon. Scary proposition unless you're dying to test out your RAID array redundancy.

I'm curious with what you mean with "Even sold by Amazon". The last few years I see nothing but reports of cheap fake products over Amazon. Years ago I ordered some T-Shirts to test and they were all fake versions that barely survived the first wash. Haven't ordered anything since then.

Amazon is literally just aliexpress with faster shipping at this point.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#14

Post by tomoiaga »

eMag is full of fake SSDs. Don’t ever buy from sellers, only if sold by eMag directly or from a reputable seller that you know. And it’s not only SSDs. This has been going on for many years and yes, when you give in to promotions like 70-80% the price of an original you usually get a fake.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#15

Post by stroebs »

I’d also like to point out that those Kingston A400’s are notoriously terrible and had a firmware bug that caused the behaviour you describe if you don’t update it before it happens.

I purchased 10 genuine new from a verified vendor and 6 had to be RMA’d within the first year.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#16

Post by trenchpilgrim »

reeddavid wrote: post #10
Moru wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious with what you mean with "Even sold by Amazon". The last few years I see nothing but reports of cheap fake products over Amazon. Years ago I ordered some T-Shirts to test and they were all fake versions that barely survived the first wash. Haven't ordered anything since then.

I think this comment references something many people don't realize: Even items that say "Ships from Amazon, Sold by Amazon" could be counterfeit, because the inventory from third party sellers is co-mingled with Amazon's own inventory. If you see "Ships from Amazon, Sold by RandomCompany" you might worry about counterfeits. But the "Sold by Amazon" item might also have been sourced from (or counterfeited by) "Random…

I began noticing this about seven or eight years ago when the oil filters I bought changed from official ones to obvious counterfeits (certain pieces were missing entirely + media was much thinner than the real ones). Had to switch to a local auto parts supplier to guarantee the correct part.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#17

Post by trenchpilgrim »

moepstar wrote: post #9
jchw wrote: post #4

In general I am afraid to buy storage devices except directly from the vendor at the moment. I've heard that there's also lots of fraudulent HDDs being sold with botched SMART data, even on Amazon, even marked as "New", even sold by Amazon. Scary proposition unless you're dying to test out your RAID array redundancy.

> even sold by Amazon Honest question: after all the reports of co-mingled inventory, plain fakes etc. being sold by Amazon - for years i might add - do you really consider Amazon being a reliable source for anything that is not some unimportant trinket? I went from spending > 10k€ per year to less than 5%, probably not even that, on there, all by their own fault. And i see no reason to buy there anymore: - the defau…

I quit Prime months ago and honestly the only feature I miss is fast shipping for household items.

I can find the same or better prices (including shipping) from other suppliers.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#18

Post by prmoustache »

kaelwd wrote: post #12
Moru wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious with what you mean with "Even sold by Amazon". The last few years I see nothing but reports of cheap fake products over Amazon. Years ago I ordered some T-Shirts to test and they were all fake versions that barely survived the first wash. Haven't ordered anything since then.

Amazon is literally just aliexpress with faster shipping at this point.

In my experience, Amazon is also generally more expensive than online shops specialized in one domain for branded non generic aliexpresslike items.

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#19

Post by Cervisia »

senectus1 wrote: post #2

Had the same issue with a Crucial drive from amazon. looked just like the real thing but for some small discrepancies. Performed like an absolute dog and the SMART data was waaaay off. amazon just refunded me the whole amount and I pulled it apart to see what was inside: https://imgur.com/a/NUSuuEh quite annoying, though also amusing.

There is nothing obviously suspicious with what's inside. The SATA form factor was designed for HDDs; solid-state drives usually are not much larger than a M.2 drive.

These flash part numbers look like Intel. This is actually plausible; until 2018, Intel and Micron had a flash partnership. And while their Crucial brand has some good high-end drives, they are also willing to sell absolute bottom-of-the-barrel trash.

What are these discrepancies, and what's off in the SMART values?

Re: How Not to Buy a SSD

#20

Post by terribleperson »

prmoustache wrote: post #18
kaelwd wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazon is literally just aliexpress with faster shipping at this point.

In my experience, Amazon is also generally more expensive than online shops specialized in one domain for branded non generic aliexpresslike items.

With the exception of those shops who sell on Amazon, who have to offer a better price on Amazon than on their own site.

I'm noticing an increasing number of brands who don't have an official Amazon presence, probably for that reason.

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