WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!! WARNING!!!!! MIKE, THE OWNER OF FLASH DRIVE DIRECT IS CURRENTLY IN CHINA. WE HAVE JUST BEEN APPROACHED BY AN ILLEGAL SOFTWARE SELLER WHO SELLS A SOFTWARE THAT CAN BE LOADED ONTO SMALL MEMORY CHIPS (IE 128mb) AND MAKES THE CHIP READ AS IF IT IS A 1 GB OR 2 GB....THIS SCAM IS HOW YOU ARE BEING RIPPED OFF....YOU MAY BE BUYING 64MB, 128MB OR? AND THE CHIPS SOFTWARE ALTERED TO READ AT A LARGER MEMORY....OF COURSE IT WON'T ACTUALLY MAKE IT A 1GB...BUT BY THE TIME YOU BUY IT FROM THE NET AND GIVE IT TO YOUR CLIENTS IT IS TOO LATE........WE HAVE BOUGHT A COPY OF THIS SOFTWARE FOR $80!!!!!!! WE WILL BRING IT HOME NEXT WEEK AND PROVIDE IT AS A DEMONSTRATION ON LINE......BEWARE.....!!!'How to safely buy and sell flash drives! What are knock-off flash drives? How you can be ripped off!?
Everyday I get a number of phone calls from distributors who have conflicting and often incorrect information about the cost of flash drives and what constitutes a worry-free flash drive and one that may fail as much as 30-40%.
I thought it would be a good idea to clear up misconceptions and provide some solid information on promotional flash drives.
At the heart of the problem there is a lot of misinformation about flash drive prices and the cost of memory. A flash drive is made up of 2 cost elements, they are

The chips account for about 70% of the cost of a flash drive. It also costs almost the same to make a 1 GB chip as it does a 128MB chip so that is why there is no big price difference between the two.
Flash drive chips are a relatively new technology and as such there are only a few manufacturers. The most important manufacturer for promotional flash drive chips are those made by Samsung and Hynix.
This is why there is very little price difference between 500 units and 1000 units. The simple fact of the matter is this…..the manufacturers can sell all the chips they make (and more) and have no reason to give anyone a deal (unless you are Apple). Currently the demand for flash chips is far greater than the supply.

Many distributors and end-users believe they can buy flash drives at unusually low prices. These prices are generally found online and are often quoted direct from the Chinese manufacturer or through their North American or European agent.

On the Chinese government web site Global Sources if you type in Flash Drives you get over 3700 different results. The reality is there is only about 300-400 actual flash drive factories in China. Flash Drive Direct owns a major portion of one of these.
The other 3300 results are brokers, agents, scammers or just plain rip-off artists. To get listed on Global Sources or Alibaba does not require any background check or legitimacy. All that is required is money.
The reality is that quality memory costs are the same for every legitimate flash drive manufacturer as the demand for chips far outstrips the supply. Flash Drive Direct pays the same for 1000 1 GB pieces of memory as we do for 10,000.
So how is it that there are all these really inexpensive quotes out there? What are you buying? Who are you buying from?
Firstly…..read this article……..ever heard of recycled memory? Here is what it is….the high failure rate waste from the chip “wafer” is sold on a grey market. Last year alone Hewlett Packard sold over 1 BILLION POUNDS of this memory. It is ok for use in a cheap Chinese toy…but do you really want it in a legitimate business tool where a client could lose all their data?
(RAV PLACE PICTURE HERE)

The Scoop on Chips

USB Flash Chips are divided up into 4 different classes/standards.

Grades A, B & C. And unofficially, Grade D

Grade A:
Tier 1. These are bona fide premium chips with the flash chip manufacturers name & serial number imprinted on the chip itself. These chips are produced by manufacturers such as Samsung and Hynix. They are the most expensive, but also the most reliable offering a lifetime warranty. These are the chips that Flash Drive Direct uses exclusively.

Grade B:
Tier 1 OEM flash chips. These are made by legitimate chip manufacturers but are without the manufacturer's name imprinted on them. These chips are reliable but are not of the same standards that the manufacturer would consider putting their name on it.

Grade C:
Here’s where the quality issues & problems begin. These will be some of the least expensive flash drives but have a very high failure rate. These chips are called recycled or reclaimed flash chips. They are the chips considered waste from the "wafer" that the original manufacturer does not want and considers to be garbage. These have a 30% - 40% failure rate. They are sold by the pound.

Grade D:
The unscrupulous flash drive supplier will actually imprint an original manufacturer's name on the Grade C chip. It may read Samsung or Hynix, etc. but is most definitely junk. In a country that is infamous for knock-offs such as jewellery, watches and handbags……..why wouldn’t here be knock-off flash drives?

Payment: All off-shore purchases are pre-paid to a Chinese bank before shipment. What is your recourse if the product fails? A reputable supplier such as Flash Drive Direct gives you protection by US commerce laws and the insurance provided by Visa or MasterCard.
Conclusion: You may find flash drives cheaper than at Flash Drive Direct, but they won’t be better….or even the same! As the old saying goes………The taste of a bargain is easily replaced by the bitterness of being fooled.
So if you think you can buy cheaper please go ahead, it is at your own risk. If you want quality please consider working through your distributor and a reputable supplier.