Be very careful buying Memory Sticks of any kind on eBay or Amazon third party sellers.

Most of the eBay ones are FAKE. ALL of them from dealextreme.com are FAKES

They are packaged exactly the same, look the same and even work fine in some cases.

So who cares if it is fake?
You will when your data gets corrupted or the stick just plain dies.

Here is how you can tell for sure if you have a PSP and are testing a Memory Stick Pro Duo

-Navigate to your Memory stick
-Press Triangle
-Press X on 'Information'

If next to "MagicGate" it says "Supported". memory stick is Genuine
If next to "MagicGate" it says "Unknown". memory stick if FAKE.

Just buy a Sandisk.

Originally Posted by briandadude Just buy a Sandisk.

Um, what? Sony and Sandisk brands both are copied and sold as FAKES. I have even seen Lexar fakes.

By and large though, it is Sony and Sandisk that can be FAKES.

Originally Posted by Nephilim Um, what? Sony and Sandisk brands both are copied and sold as FAKES. I have even seen Lexar fakes. By and large though, it is Sony and Sandisk that can be FAKES.

Fair enough. Only buy from Buy.com, Amazon.com, or Fry's. Brick & Mortar stores historically lag in pricing.

Originally Posted by briandadude Fair enough. Only buy from Buy.com, Amazon.com, or Fry's. Brick & Mortar stores historically lag in pricing.

This is pretty much implied in the OP, but yes, buying from a known retailer is your best bet.

eBay, Dealextreme, Amazon third party, these would be things to avoid for buying Memory Sticks of any kind.

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http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...Y312X&v=glance

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...tag=slickdeals

im assuming the cheaper one could be a fake??
kinda off topic but related...
are psps only compatible with certain pro duo cards?
im seeing "pro duo platinum II" and "MARK2"...does these cards also work with the psp?
thanks

Originally Posted by SumOG http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...Y312X&v=glance http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...tag=slickdeals im assuming the cheaper one could be a fake?? kinda off topic but related... are psps only compatible with certain pro duo cards? im seeing "pro duo platinum II" and "MARK2"...does these cards also work with the psp? thanks

PSP will work with ANY Pro Duo stick, Mark 2 and Ultra II, etc just have faster write and read speeds that are only noticeable with cameras or when transferring to pc from PSP.

MOST amazon third party sticks are FAKE, if the price is too good to be true, you will get a FAKE. Problem is the packaging and stick look absolutely flipping identical. The only way to tell is the procedure above.

Nice, checked the one I have and it's supported. No surprise, as its the 4gb from staples a while back.

Good idea.

I bought 2 fakes from eBay knowing they were fakes (Sony 8GB MS) and both work great. The only thing lacking is the speed of Magic Gate but it's no biggie. I got about 7.5GB of ISO's on each MS.

Some fakes are crap and others are not as bad as some make them out to be.

Got my 8 GB from Amazon. Fake. Works fine though, just reads a little slower.

Originally Posted by Devil May Cry Got my 8 GB from Amazon. Fake. Works fine though, just reads a little slower.

Fill it up and see if it reads everything...

I decided to order a probable genuine from ebay vs. a larger, less expensive, probable fake. Got a repackaged 2 GB Sony Mark 2 for $12.99 shipped. I know I could have gotten a fake 8 GB for a couple of dollars more, but I didn't want to risk it. Anyhow, it arrived today, and I just tested it - it is genuine. Thanks for the info on how to test.

I bought my Sony 16GB Mark 2 from Amazon for $90 and it is real.

Only buy from Amazon and not the Third Party sellers!

^^Good price for Amazon. I got my 16gb from Frys.com for $69.99, cheapest I have seen and of course it is genuine.

Glad some people are getting some use from this thread.

good to know. luckily i always buy the sony ones from Frys.

..am I missing something?
Where in the OP is it shown how to show a fake one?

..What about this? http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDMSPD.../ref=pd_cp_e_2

To check if a stick is genuine, pop it into your psp and check its status. If it doesn't say Magic Gate, it's a dud.

Originally Posted by lilboo ..am I missing something? Where in the OP is it shown how to show a fake one? ..What about this? http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-SDMSPD.../ref=pd_cp_e_2

sorry, I moved the image, it is back. Check the OP

Thanks

I bought two fake 8GB Sony MS from ebay and they work and have worked for close to a year with no problems except both fakes are not as fast as a Magic Gate MS. I got six ISO's installed on each MS. Moral of the story not all fakes are bad.