Are these 74 GBP 16 TB SSD's from N. Korea or do they work


jimbo45

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Saw these on a UK website -- 16 TB for 74 GBP (approx 80 EUR/USD).

https://www.fruugo.co.uk/16tb-ssd-h...MI_pGtpInB-gIVhu7tCh0OkgZIEAQYBSABEgLnEvD_BwE

Amazon had similar for 10TB ssd at around 60 GBP / 62 EUR/USD

I bought 1 from Amazon UK (only 3 left in stock -- so whether these are experimental or whatever)

OH well if it's no good then it's only 60 "Quid" as the Brits say -- will be delivered here after 2 days from UK -- No VAT as its "Educational stuff" !!!! but there's the wretched extra customs bit because the UK is no longer in the Customs union or Single market so that costs around the same as the VAT would have done. !!! GRHHH !!!!!

Anybody else tried these.

I'll let people know how I get on with it.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Looking at recognized manufacturers such as Crucial and Kingston, 4 Tb external SSDs are in the £400-500 range so I would be wary.

One review already on Amazon -

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 September 2022

Nobody makes even a 1TB card this cheap. You'll lose your data and your hair. The real capaicity will be a fraction of this. DON'T SAY YOU WEREN'T WARNED.
 

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This isn't the first time huge and cheap SSDs or USB sticks have popped up and been scams.
 

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Oh well even if a scam -- sometimes one takes a punt !!!! -- I can afford it. I usually an very wary of this type of stuff -- and in any case Amazon has a good returns policy -- also if you pay with a CC you are guaranteed against goods that aren't fit for purpose.

Always pay with CC's on the web rather than Debit cards as in most jurisdictions Credit card purchases are guaranteed -- even if the seller won't refund then the bank or CC issuer has to.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Oh well even if a scam -- sometimes one takes a punt !!!! -- I can afford it. I usually an very wary of this type of stuff -- and in any case Amazon has a good returns policy -- also if you pay with a CC you are guaranteed against goods that aren't fit for purpose.

Always pay with CC's on the web rather than Debit cards as in most jurisdictions Credit card purchases are guaranteed -- even if the seller won't refund then the bank or CC issuer has to.

Cheers
jimbo
Have you ever tried to claim on a credit card? It is virtually impossible. You have to prove item is faulty and seller is not giving redress which is much easier said than done.

On a UK credit card, the protection does not apply if item is under £100 anyway. No idea about an Icelandic card.

Also, ot depends how you bought it e.g. if you buy it from a 3rd party seller on Amazon, it is debatable if you are covered.

This is quite a good guide but it does not state that the credit card company will go to the ends of the earth to avoid paying LOL.

 

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Have you ever tried to claim on a credit card? It is virtually impossible. You have to prove item is faulty and seller is not giving redress which is much easier said than done.

On a UK credit card, the protection does not apply if item is under £100 anyway. No idea about an Icelandic card.

Also, ot depends how you bought it e.g. if you buy it from a 3rd party seller on Amazon, it is debatable if you are covered.

This is quite a good guide but it does not state that the credit card company will go to the ends of the earth to avoid paying LOL.

Amazon returns have always worked for me -- although I've only returned about 3 items. Just print label from their returns, re box item(s) and either take to a post office (or here you can give to the mail man to take to the mail collection / disp[atch area) - all Free -- no postage etc needed.

I've claimed air travel back without issue on a credit card -- no probs either. Product in this case is supplied and delivered by Amazon.

OK if it all goes pear shaped -- it's just part of life's learning experience -- but it's just possible there's some bonkersly cheap stuff being tested out there -- Risk to reward ratio as usual applies as well as "Caveat emptor" of course.

As for CC's -- American Express is the one in these cases to use -- there's never any hassle with them. Some of the more dubious ones offering high risk customers "repair bad credit stuff" who shouldn't have them in the first place at high interest rates are more likely to do that since the default rate of their customers is quite high - and they didn't learn from the last banking crisis basing their "value" on dubious financial derivatives -- popularly known then in the USA as "Sub Prime Slime".

I suspect the thing if it works at all will be 1 TB. We shall see. I'm really quite curious now.

Cheers
jimbo
 

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It will steal your nuclear secrets :oops:

A Guy
 

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I'm not as negative about these 'SSDs' as some, especially if they are being supplied direct by a 'reputable' online retailer as opposed to though a 'market place' provider on the same site. I've had two 'cheap' SSDs, though only 1TB which were used as PortableApps and 'datasync' Drives on a daily basis. One lasted 18 months of use on a daily basis and started to show signs of file corruption after about 18 months and the other has lasted 3 years primarily as dedicated portable music storage so far, but is subject to far less less write activity, but as both were more robust, of similar size/weight and cost less than a quarter of the price an equivalent capacity thumb drive I'm still content with the value for money.

Any warranty obviously only covers the device and not what's stored on it, but it is a buyer beware situation. I accept that they are cheap for a reason so:

- I do not expect them to last anywhere near as long as branded option, especially if heavily used. Anything beyond the warranty period is a bonus!
- I accept that they are likely to be manufactured from cheaper components with limited quality control; i.e the quality/performance of the memory chips may prove to be more closely related to those used in basic thumb drives; and may be capable of far fewer read/write cycles than a branded SSDs; and, perhaps more importantly, the controller chips may be less reliable.
- I do not expect sparkling performance - Depending on use, average read/write times can prove to be closer to that of a high capacity/low cost thumb drive than to a branded SSD
- I do not rely on them as the sole source of storage/backup for any software/data I can't afford to lose.
 

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I'm not as negative about these 'SSDs' as some, especially if they are being supplied direct by a 'reputable' online retailer as opposed to though a 'market place' provider on the same site. I've had two 'cheap' SSDs, though only 1TB which were used as PortableApps and 'datasync' Drives on a daily basis. One lasted 18 months of use on a daily basis and started to show signs of file corruption after about 18 months and the other has lasted 3 years primarily as dedicated portable music storage so far, but is subject to far less less write activity, but as both were more robust, of similar size/weight and cost less than a quarter of the price an equivalent capacity thumb drive I'm still content with the value for money.

Any warranty obviously only covers the device and not what's stored on it, but it is a buyer beware situation. I accept that they are cheap for a reason so:

- I do not expect them to last anywhere near as long as branded option, especially if heavily used. Anything beyond the warranty period is a bonus!
- I accept that they are likely to be manufactured from cheaper components with limited quality control; i.e the quality/performance of the memory chips may prove to be more closely related to those used in basic thumb drives; and may be capable of far fewer read/write cycles than a branded SSDs; and, perhaps more importantly, the controller chips may be less reliable.
- I do not expect sparkling performance - Depending on use, average read/write times can prove to be closer to that of a high capacity/low cost thumb drive than to a branded SSD
- I do not rely on them as the sole source of storage/backup for any software/data I can't afford to lose.
I cancelled the order -- these are definitely a scam and have been removed from Amazon.

When even a decent "Spinner" for 8TB costs around 350 EUR there's obviously "fakery around".

Anyway interesting to see what's out there -- pity people can't use their brains to solve some of the horrendous problems in the world today instead of trying to devise better scams -- if Putin gets his way and launches nukes then honest and scammers alike won't be able to enjoy their profits. !!!!

Cheers
jimbo
 

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Amazon returns have always worked for me -- although I've only returned about 3 items. Just print label from their returns, re box item(s) and either take to a post office (or here you can give to the mail man to take to the mail collection / disp[atch area) - all Free -- no postage etc needed.

I've claimed air travel back without issue on a credit card -- no probs either. Product in this case is supplied and delivered by Amazon.

OK if it all goes pear shaped -- it's just part of life's learning experience -- but it's just possible there's some bonkersly cheap stuff being tested out there -- Risk to reward ratio as usual applies as well as "Caveat emptor" of course.

As for CC's -- American Express is the one in these cases to use -- there's never any hassle with them. Some of the more dubious ones offering high risk customers "repair bad credit stuff" who shouldn't have them in the first place at high interest rates are more likely to do that since the default rate of their customers is quite high - and they didn't learn from the last banking crisis basing their "value" on dubious financial derivatives -- popularly known then in the USA as "Sub Prime Slime".

I suspect the thing if it works at all will be 1 TB. We shall see. I'm really quite curious now.

Cheers
jimbo
I was talking about claiming on credit card for purchases made on Amazon, not claiming on Amazon. Air travel is easier to prove.

Many do not realise Amazon have (had?) a limit on how many times you can use its claims service, so using it frequently on very low claims could backfire. It is hard to tell what the limit is - it used to be 50, but allegedly has been reduced to 5. However, it is hard to find out what the limit is. The consensus now is if you do too many in a short period, they will refuse claims.

My point is if you made (say) 5 low value claims in a short period, and got blocked, you would be screwed if the 6th one was a high value claim.

It is not clear if a block is temporary or permanent.
 

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I was talking about claiming on credit card for purchases made on Amazon, not claiming on Amazon. Air travel is easier to prove.

Many do not realise Amazon have (had?) a limit on how many times you can use its claims service, so using it frequently on very low claims could backfire. It is hard to tell what the limit is - it used to be 50, but allegedly has been reduced to 5. However, it is hard to find out what the limit is. The consensus now is if you do too many in a short period, they will refuse claims.

My point is if you made (say) 5 low value claims in a short period, and got blocked, you would be screwed if the 6th one was a high value claim.

It is not clear if a block is temporary or permanent.
Hi there

Thanks for the info -- I'm usually pretty careful with what I buy on Amazon so I've very rarely needed to return anything. I think the "Multiple" claims is probably more intended for a load of people who buy clothing on Amazon, wear it once to go to a party / gig etc and then return it.

It's a bit like those people who sign up to "Auto Club" things such AA / ADAC etc for vehicle breakdown service and then make excessive use of the breakdown service especially if they have poorly maintained vehicles. Probably a good idea would be for these services to restrict membership or at least use of free breakdown assistance to only people who have whatever current regulations are in force with regard to regular inspection of vehicles as to roadworthiness etc such as in the UK an MOT certificate is required annually.

Anyway I cancelled the order -- amazon also notified me that these products have been withdrawn from sale -- so obviously fake. !!!

I mentioned elsewhere it's a great pity that people who have brains enough to manufacture fake devices and flog them as scams can't use their brainpower to help to solve the horrendous problems the world has currently. If Putin sets off his nukes then neither the scammers or anybody else will enjoy the profits !!!!

Cheers
jimbo
 

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So did it go well then?
 

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External SSDs from reputable companies are priced at about $100 US per TB. For example, a 8TB external SSD is about $800 US. When on sale they might be a little less than that. External SSDs that sell for much less than that are always fakes.

Anybody that buys one of these drives because the cost is low and worth the risk is only encouraging the sellers to sell more junk like this. The only way to stop these scams is to simply stop buying them. Sure a buyer might get their money back but why go through it when it could have been avoided.
 

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