SD SDHC XD CF M2 & MicroSD Memory Cards Buyers Guide : eBay Guides

How Do I Know If Am Buying A Genuine Memory Card..

a)  Ultimately the lowest price will always be key when choosing to buy a product.  However this isn't always the case with flash memory cards.  There is a massive opportunity to sell flash memory at the moment as there are so many accessories that use flash memory.  This means that the flash memory market is currently rife with fakes at the moment due to the massive re-selling opportunities on offer.  The most obvious way to spot whether a memory card is fake is the price.  We regularly spot memory cards on the market at a lower price than what we can buy them for.  This is usually the first sign that the memory card is a fake.  Re-sellers can only offer a very similar price on memory cards to other re-sellers as the price changes daily +/- in the flash memory market.  Our tip is to research the market and see the what the current going price is on a particular format, as you will find that the genuine cards offered by authorised sellers are of very similar price.  It's then down to the buyer to decide who they buy from.

b)  Sandisk are currently the most renowned re-produced fakes at the moment.  Genuine Sandisk memory cards usually come in a blister packed package.  If you see a re-seller offering a sandisk OEM/Bulk memory card then the chances are that it will be fake, especially if its from the UK/Far East.

c)  Also check whether a re-seller is a genuine re-seller of a particular brand of memory.  This is also an easy way to spot whether a seller is offering fakes or genuine products.  Genuine re-sellers are usually authorised re-sellers that have been certified by the Brands distributor.

d)  Our advice if buying from eBay is to carefully check a sellers feedback.

Which Capacity Of Memory Card Is Correct For Me...

Please view our storage chart below as a guide;

Guide for SD/SDHC/CF/MicroSD Memory Cards

Capacity     Pictures                                                                              Music    Video

                   1.3MP      3MP        5MP        8MP      10MP    12MP    Songs     Mins

1GB            1572        905          595          317        260        198         190         102
2GB            3144        1808        1190        635        521        396         380         204
4GB            6288        3619        2381        1270      1038      826         760         272
8GB            12576      7238        4762        2540      2084      1660       1520       544
16GB          25152      14476      9524        5080      4168      3320       3040       1088
       

Guide for XD Memory Cards

Capacity     Pictures                                                                               

                   5MP      6MP        7MP        8MP      9MP

1GB            819        680          586          502        456
2GB            1639     1361        1173        1005        913

Please note the above is only a guide and can vary depending on compression ratios, lighting etc.
Please do not copy the above charts in anyway, which are copyright of www.memorycow.co.uk