Was I just taken? Bought a 1tb SSD and only 111gb shows up

[iluvdeal]

I'd install CrystalDiskInfo and see how many writes and power on count/hours the drive has.

 

[ctark]

Samsung has their own software to determine information about the drive. It shows up at a 850 EVO 120gb, so it is certainly a 120gb drive, no to mention the serial numbers dont match up.

I don't think the box even come shrink wrapped from the factory after watching quite a few unboxing video's of the same type of drive, so that right there is a red flag. The seal on the box was in the correct place, but that can easily be done. As far as price I didn't think $225 was out of the realm of possibility. I know they go for about 290 when they aren't on sale and I thought I had seen them around 225 on sale before, but I could be mistaken.

Lesson learned, ebay is scam city. I already knew that going in. I just wont buy computer hardware from ebay anymore. I'm waiting on the sellers response to the claim I made in paypal, so far nothing.

 

[thesmokingman]

You paid with cc via paypal right? You're more protected via cc, but in cases of clear fraud like this then banks will take action. In cases not so clear, they won't move a finger.

 

[bigboxes]

Lesson learned, ebay is scam city. I already knew that going in. I just wont buy computer hardware from ebay anymore. I'm waiting on the sellers response to the claim I made in paypal, so far nothing.

I use eBay whenever I need a used part to fix an older computer. It's great for old parts that are no longer made. But when I want new stuff I just stick to Amazon/Newegg or Microcenter/Fry's when I have to have it in person. Last year I had issues with new mobo and router that I just received. I sent back to Amazon for a replacement. Easy peazy. Ordered a video card from Amazon through a reseller. Reseller sent me a lessor card. I think it was intentional. Whatever the case, sent it back ASAP and ordered it's replacement directly from Amazon. Amazon didn't send me the free game that was promised with the purchase and refunded me $30+ dollars. Amazon is awesome!

 

[nerp]

How do you "dig deep" on these Hard Drives. I picked up a couple of 3TB drives that were white label from GoHardDrive. They ended up being Hitachi drives and HD Sentinel reported them as new. Just curious what else I could use to look into it.

Few folks have bought big batches of sequential drives and a few in the lot they 'forgot' to wipe the smart data. Ooops. Certain models of their drives with lots of negative reviews have some interesting stories. I can't say for sure all their stuff is bogus but too many people with horror stories. Plus, there is no way that these massive lots of unused and highly desirably HGST drives are just sitting around unsold in some warehouse for ONE guy to filter out with no competition. It's just shady all around.

Hey, they are good drives. I'm sure many of them even used will churn away for a decade or more no problem.

 

[nerp]

I use eBay whenever I need a used part to fix an older computer. It's great for old parts that are no longer made. But when I want new stuff I just stick to Amazon/Newegg or Microcenter/Fry's when I have to have it in person. Last year I had issues with new mobo and router that I just received. I sent back to Amazon for a replacement. Easy peazy. Ordered a video card from Amazon through a reseller. Reseller sent me a lessor card. I think it was intentional. Whatever the case, sent it back ASAP and ordered it's replacement directly from Amazon. Amazon didn't send me the free game that was promised with the purchase and refunded me $30+ dollars. Amazon is awesome!

Yes, I stick with Amazon and Newegg for this reason. They are too big and make too much money to worry about scamming one guy the $30 difference between one card or another. They must make a ton of money running marketplaces for resellers or they'd have shut them down already with all the scammy stuff out there.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Lesson learned, ebay is scam city. I already knew that going in. I just wont buy computer hardware from ebay anymore. I'm waiting on the sellers response to the claim I made in paypal, so far nothing.

Ebay can be scam city. Some things NOT to buy on ebay, are flash-memory devices, and software, unless you are buying from the ebay store of a well-established business. (Like Newegg or BestBuy.)

 

[poohbear]

Ebay can be scam city. Some things NOT to buy on ebay, are flash-memory devices, and software, unless you are buying from the ebay store of a well-established business. (Like Newegg or BestBuy.)

I totally agree. Why risk the headache to save $20-$30? Some of us are busy as hell & peace of mind/convenience is certainly worth the extra $20-$30. How much do we spend on drinks, going out, or even coffee a month? These hardware parts usually stay with us for years. Whats $30 over the course of 2-3 years? Peanuts.

 

[Micrornd]

FWIW all my 1tb EVOs from Newegg came in factory shrinkwrap/cellophane, and my PROs did not, so I wouldn't consider that an issue.

 

[tcsenter]

If it was a seller with high feedback then just contact them and give them a chance to resolve it. I had similar issue of not getting what I paid for which "could" have been an intentional scam but the seller promptly shipped a replacement or gave full refund with apology. Didn't even require me to return the first one.

 

[VirtualLarry]

FWIW all my 1tb EVOs from Newegg came in factory shrinkwrap/cellophane, and my PROs did not, so I wouldn't consider that an issue.

Interesting. I bought two 120GB and two 250GB 850 EVO SSDs from Newegg, and neither one of them was in shrink-wrap, IIRC.

 

[Blue_Max]

Ebay can be scam city. Some things NOT to buy on ebay, are flash-memory devices, and software, unless you are buying from the ebay store of a well-established business. (Like Newegg or BestBuy.)

After hearing about the USB keys where the original size was hacked to show ~10x the storage on first glance, but would get errors once you finished writing to the original space (eg, a 16GB key hacked to look like 128GB worked fine until the 16GB ran out...)

...yeah... I won't buy used flash storage if I can help it.

 

[ctark]

If it was a seller with high feedback then just contact them and give them a chance to resolve it. I had similar issue of not getting what I paid for which "could" have been an intentional scam but the seller promptly shipped a replacement or gave full refund with apology. Didn't even require me to return the first one.

This also gives them an opportunity to get money out of their paypal account in case they lose. If he wanted to serve me he can do so while in a paypal dispute. Each dispute is mutually exclusive and it doesn't affect his reputation or future in each way. I haven't given feedback and if he works with me then I will give him positive feedback. So far he hasn't responded to paypal so it makes me think he's not going to do anything.

 

[ctark]

Update in original post.

 

[UaVaj]

consider yourself lucky. most of the times it never ends like that.

 

[nerp]

Convoluted way to get a free 120gb ssd, but hey.

You'd think that ebay/paypal would track how often this occurs with some sellers and ban them after a while.

 

[dontsh00tmesanta]

The problem was you got it on ebay

 

[bigboxes]

It made me feel dirty just to read the outcome. Why would eBay let this seller continue to do business is beyond me. I'm happy for you OP. Still a lot of work that you shouldn't have had to do. I hate crooks.

 

[Magic Carpet]

So I got a 120gb SSD for free I suppose. Don't know why I get to keep the item but it saves me the hassle of returning it and now the wife has an SSD to use for her Sims 4 game.

Not bad a deal, minus the stress. Congrats

 

[Ketchup]

It made me feel dirty just to read the outcome. Why would eBay let this seller continue to do business is beyond me....

We wouldn't see what is going on between ebay and that business, so hopefully they will be taken down soon.

 

[Elixer]

If it was me, and since this thing will have 0 warranty anyway, I would open it up, and check out the PCB inside, and take pics.

 

[Shmee]

Glad it worked out in your favor.