Hotrod Posted May 21, 2009 Share Posted May 21, 2009 Hi all I recently purchased a new (sealed) Corsair Flash Voyager 64GB thumbdrive. Now I purchased it from a company called Deals Direct based in Sydney, Australia. Here is the listing:- http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/corsair-32gb-flash-voyager-usb-2-0-drive/ (this is the 32GB listing but the 64GB was listed exactly the same way). This company is selling these still, and I have emailed Corsair regarding these possible fake Corsair products. I noticed the following:- * "Note: this is a refurbished model. Serviced and tested by technicians, it comes to you backed by a full 12 month manufacturer warranty." As far as i know Corsair dont sell refurbished original Corsair Voyager Flash drives, they are not even listed on the Corsair store at all. Corsair's warranty is 10 years. * "Corsair Flash Voyager 32GB USB Flash Drive - Refurbished Model - Blue." Again, as far as I know Corsair dont sell refurbished original Corsair Voyager Flash drives, they are not even listed on the Corsair store at all. I received the item today and it comes in a sealed plastic package, no usb cable, no cd, no lanyard. The back of the package has English / French / Espanol / Dutch / Italian / and Russian. Bottom left hand corner has Document Number: 45-00141-03C. Nothing indicates where the Voyager is made on the packaging. Bottom right hand corner at the back has the Corsair logo with Copyright 2008 with the FCC / CE / logos. How can I confirm this is in fact an original Corsair Flash Voyager 64GB? If its fake can I get it exchanged under RMA via Corsair? I just tested this new one and the end of it is very soft, there is a bulge in the middle of it and the LED does not light up when access. There is also no writing anywhere on the metal USB connector. Also, it does not show "Corsair Voyager" when inserted. The white "64GB" where the LED is suppose to be just fell out. I have attached the 100MB file test via HDBENCH Corsair what do I do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 21, 2009 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 21, 2009 You need to contact the reseller and see if they will replace it for a genuine product as we do not and have never sold refurbished products to anyone. Other wise I would complain to the reseller and the web store posting that. Can you post a picture of the back of the package that came in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hysteria72 Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Hotrod I bought a 64gb from Deals Direct too. It is definitely a fake: - It's only about 7cm long - No light comes on when inserted - No manufacturer ID recorded in properties - doesnt come with either a lanyard or a chain that connects the lid to the unit - DOA and will not format in XP. Will format in Vista - No manufacturer ID in Control Panel - Device Manager - Doesn't come up as a Corsair USB stick when you plug it in - packed vertically in what appears to be a sealed pack, rather than horizontally like genuine sticks - Tested with H2testw v1.4 software that tests USB sticks - it suggests this is a 4gb stick that has been hacked to appear to be 64gb - if you copy 64gb of files to it, nearly all of them are corrupted when you try to read them. This is indicative of a fake - lid design is not like it is on originals (eg. Nothing can be attached to the lid) - no writing/numbers on the metal connector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agg Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Does the drive work ok, or is it faulty? Including speed, whether or not it corrupts data, and if it can be filled to capacity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattyman Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I bought one of these too but haven't received it as yet, however I just received the following email from DealsDirect. It looks like they've identified the issue and are doing their best to fix the problem. Hello Matthew, Our records show you recently purchased a Corsair 64GB Flash Voyager USB 2.0 Drive from DealsDirect.com.au We have been made aware yesterday morning that a shipment of these drives recently received from the USA may have contained some counterfeit product. We have completely isolated the stock since receiving this information, however, some of the drives have unfortunately been despatched. Early next week we will send you a reply paid Return Authorisation to send this back to us for a full refund. In appreciation of your co-operation, we will also be offering a token of apology to all affected customers. Kind Regards, DealsDirect.com.au Customer Service Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 Still doesn't address the fact that they claim to be selling refurb'd drives w/ manufacturer warranty when Corsair doesn't sell them like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrod Posted May 22, 2009 Author Share Posted May 22, 2009 I bought one of these too but haven't received it as yet, however I just received the following email from DealsDirect. It looks like they've identified the issue and are doing their best to fix the problem. Hello Matthew, Our records show you recently purchased a Corsair 64GB Flash Voyager USB 2.0 Drive from DealsDirect.com.au We have been made aware yesterday morning that a shipment of these drives recently received from the USA may have contained some counterfeit product. We have completely isolated the stock since receiving this information, however, some of the drives have unfortunately been despatched. Early next week we will send you a reply paid Return Authorisation to send this back to us for a full refund. In appreciation of your co-operation, we will also be offering a token of apology to all affected customers. Kind Regards, DealsDirect.com.au Customer Service I got the same email today, I think I stirred up a hornets nest buy hey they are fake and not genuine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catacaustic Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I to purchased one of these, as it seemed like a great deal. To be hoenst, I would not blame Corsair, or Deals Direct, as I'm sure that they've both been the victim of a scam trying to rip everyone off. Mine was the same as other reports here are... Works to a point, but try to write to much (anything over ~4GB0 and everything is corrupted. I could not format on XP, but coudl format on Mac, and this was the first warning sign. Hoenstly, Corsair has aid here that they are not rela, and i did find this thread by a Google search, so that's proof that it's a big deal, and people can find it if they look. Even if they don't look... Deals direct has done the best that they possibly can by sending out the prepaid return satchels to everyone that's bought one. Most places would say 'send it back for a refund", but they realise that something has gone horribly wrong, so they are trying to minimise the damage to themselves, and to Corsair. Just seems like they were the unlucky victim of some nasty buggers trying to make a fast buck. It is a shame that us consumers had to find out this way, but these thins do happen, and lets be honest.. If you get a full refund, and only have to suffer a bit of disspointment that you didn't get what the (fake) suppliers seaid that it was, you're still not losing out, so it can't be all bad. i know that this won't stop me dealing with either company. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hysteria72 Posted May 22, 2009 Share Posted May 22, 2009 I haven't received the email that you guys have from dealsdirect, YET - but they already sent me the return details and my stick is in the mail on the way back to them. Agree they seem to be handling it well - though not sure why they need the fakes back - I'll be satisfied enough when the money is returned, including postage cost. I suspect they move quantities of products with small margins - and don't pay a lot of attention to the product they are actually selling... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 22, 2009 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 22, 2009 Well it turns out that we did sell some of these refurbished drives to one of the distributes but they were not for resale they were going to bundle them with other products. But not sell them as a resale item is my understanding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonkvh Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 I also bought from DealsDirect the 64GB drive. Had a whiff something wasn't right soon as the package came out of the bubble wrap. What gave it away was the flimsy rubber casing, you could actually feel the circuit board within no problem. I'd given up on buying large capacity drives like this after getting burned on ebay 3 times, even the sellers didn't know they were fakes. I do think Deals Direct have handled this well though. Wondering if you could just get them to replace it with the 32GB one instead they have in stock ?... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrod Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 What I would like to know is if the Corsair Voyager's on Deals Direct website were all meant to be genuine from Corsair in the USA, or were these fake from day one and sold as genuine for profit? Interestingly enough Deals Direct are still advertising the 8GB, 16GB, 32GB (which is now the same price as the 64GB model) Corsair Voyager flash drives for sale here: http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/search/corsair/ If all were genuine then how did the fakes get in the shipment from Corsair? Considering most online stores sell the same Corsair Voyager Flash 64GB for around $250 then how could Deals Direct sell them so cheap? I wonder who is responsible for all this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonkvh Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Hotrod, good points all of them, didn't occur to think of the original supply side of things although, it does seem that these weren't bought direct from Corsair. But, does this mean Corsair would punish the supplier to Deals Direct also ? The other thing I meant to add before was that, as soon as I opened the drive in Windows, there was no TrueCrypt software on the drive as I'm sure was on my previous Corsair Voyager drives I've got... and ofcourse no CD but that's already been mentioned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrod Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Hotrod, good points all of them, didn't occur to think of the original supply side of things although, it does seem that these weren't bought direct from Corsair. But, does this mean Corsair would punish the supplier to Deals Direct also ? The other thing I meant to add before was that, as soon as I opened the drive in Windows, there was no TrueCrypt software on the drive as I'm sure was on my previous Corsair Voyager drives I've got... and ofcourse no CD but that's already been mentioned. The Ram Guy said this "Well it turns out that we did sell some of these refurbished drives to one of the distributors but they were not for resale they were going to bundle them with other products. But not sell them as a resale item is my understanding." Therefore, this would indicate Corsair sold them as refurbished, but were not allowed to be resold afterwards as they were going to be bundled. So how did Deals Direct get them? Still if refurbished where did the fakes come from and why didnt anyone else notice this? I believe Deals Direct may be punished if they knew this issue beforehand but kept quiet hoping that no one would pick out these were not genuine. Plus geniune Flash Voyager's have a 10 year warranty, not 12 months. Also all Corsair Flash Voyager drives show as "Flash Voyager" when plugged into a USB port in Windows, and by default the drive is labelled "Corsair". I know this because I have an original 32GB version already. There are so many questions around this, and I hope that once Corsair find out how all this happened and why no one else discovered the fakes. There are so many questions about this whole matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hysteria72 Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 Ramguy Can I suggest Corsair post some detailed specs on your Corsair.com site so people can easily find them. Its all very well going to a support forum to ask if something is fake, but for example if people knew that originals always display in Windows with a certain device description it would be really helpful. I'm also a bit hesitant to trust what someone on a forum says is right or wrong, because even if they are saying it in good faith people tend to be wrong. I've looked on Corsair.com and can find precious little pictures of an actual Flash Voyager 64gb. Also I can't find anything that tells me what comes with it (eg. cord, lanyard, cd, etc) and nothing about its dimensions or anything else. If my business was being ripped off like yours is, I'd have detailed information helping people avoid fakes.... Not sure if you agree with anything I've said above but my 2 cents worth.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrod Posted May 23, 2009 Author Share Posted May 23, 2009 Ramguy Can I suggest Corsair post some detailed specs on your Corsair.com site so people can easily find them. Its all very well going to a support forum to ask if something is fake, but for example if people knew that originals always display in Windows with a certain device description it would be really helpful. I'm also a bit hesitant to trust what someone on a forum says is right or wrong, because even if they are saying it in good faith people tend to be wrong. I've looked on Corsair.com and can find precious little pictures of an actual Flash Voyager 64gb. Also I can't find anything that tells me what comes with it (eg. cord, lanyard, cd, etc) and nothing about its dimensions or anything else. If my business was being ripped off like yours is, I'd have detailed information helping people avoid fakes.... Not sure if you agree with anything I've said above but my 2 cents worth.... I agree, Corsair can assist with these issue by posting their current packaging information to compare the real from the fakes. Currently, there is no way to compare at all. All we need are photos of the current packaging and the contents, including all printed material. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted May 23, 2009 Share Posted May 23, 2009 What I would like to know is if the Corsair Voyager's on Deals Direct website were all meant to be genuine from Corsair in the USA, or were these fake from day one and sold as genuine for profit?What we don't know is if the distributor or the reseller was to package the refurb'd items with the other items. We also don't know if Distributor X has any contact with Deals Direct. The other thing I meant to add before was that, as soon as I opened the drive in Windows, there was no TrueCrypt software on the drive as I'm sure was on my previous Corsair Voyager drives I've got... and ofcourse no CD but that's already been mentioned.The drives haven't come with TrueCrypt in years. No software currently comes with the drives. where did the fakes come from and why didnt anyone else notice this? I believe Deals Direct may be punished if they knew this issue beforehand but kept quiet hoping that no one would pick out these were not genuine. Plus geniune Flash Voyager's have a 10 year warranty, not 12 months.Who knows, some dude in Deal Direct's warehouse could be swapping the items, and when confronted, he could be saying that they were mixed in with the shipment. I seriously doubt we'll ever know the whole story. I'm also a bit hesitant to trust what someone on a forum says is right or wrong, because even if they are saying it in good faith people tend to be wrong.FYI the Official Corsair Support Team for the forums is listed here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrod Posted May 25, 2009 Author Share Posted May 25, 2009 Latest email from DD Hello XXXX Further to the email we sent on Friday 22nd May, we are providing all customers that purchased the Corsair 64GB Flash Voyager USB 2.0 Drive with a full refund which has already been processed to your account. As previously advised, we received a batch of these items which contained counterfeit product. We purchased this product in good faith from a reputable supplier in the USA and tested a sample against our quality assurance standards. Unfortunately, the product that was shipped to us was not the product we had tested. This is the first time we have experienced this issue and it is very concerning as we pride ourselves on delivering the very best products of the very highest standards to our customers at bargain prices. I can assure you this is an isolated incident that we take very seriously. We are urging all customers who have purchased this product to return it to us as it is counterfeit and we have a responsibility to remove it from the market. For your convenience, we have attached a pre-paid voucher to send the item back to us at our cost. Simply attach this label to the envelope containing your Corsair 64GB Flash Voyager USB 2.0 Drive and send back to us. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused and, therefore, in addition to the full refund, we have also provided you with a $25 credit on your account to use towards your future purchases on DealsDirect.com.au If you have any queries, please contact us via the Help Centre on our website: http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/helpcentre/ Regards, Simon West CEO – DealsDirect.com.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wired Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 That's not an email, that was from a post on a forum: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1206872&r=19340776#r19340776 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotrod Posted May 25, 2009 Author Share Posted May 25, 2009 That's not an email, that was from a post on a forum: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1206872&r=19340776#r19340776 Corrected and notice the content of the orginal which I just posted varies. This is sounding more suspicious every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marki Meerkat Posted May 25, 2009 Share Posted May 25, 2009 Further to this thread, I have also purchased and received the "counterfeit" Corsair Voyager 64GB flash drive from DealsDirect. I have tested the unit thoroughly using H2TestW which reported the loss of data from around 1.39GB up. Regarding the "refurbished" items not for resale in Australia, I find that hard to believe, cause a quick search with StaticIce will return countless online retailers selling "brand new look - refurbished" units from Corsair. Many of these e-tailers are reputable with whom I have had dealings previously. Could they be all violating Corsair policies and agreements. Not trying to point the finger here, but the question needs to be asked: if the were no refurbished units meant for re-sale, how comes there are so many on the market?!?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 26, 2009 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 26, 2009 I do not know what to tell you other than we do not sell refurbished products for resale that I know of and if a reseller or distributor is miss representing that then you should take it up with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonkvh Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Deals Direct have removed all Corsair product from their online store. I tried to use my credit from the 64GB for the 32GB instead. Looks like I'll just cash in the credit & get it sent via cheque. Takes ten days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsair Employee RAM GUY Posted May 27, 2009 Corsair Employee Share Posted May 27, 2009 There is a whole list of Authorized resellers on our web site in the Where to Buy Link, I would suggest that you only purchase from one of the listed resellers. By the way Deals Direct is not listed and never has been as far as I know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hysteria72 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 There is a whole list of Authorized resellers on our web site in the Where to Buy Link, I would suggest that you only purchase from one of the listed resellers. By the way Deals Direct is not listed and never has been as far as I know! This is an interesting list RAM GUY. I live in NSW - and I know some of the retailers listed - but what's more interesting is who isn't listed. There are some very big distributors (not retailers but wholesalers) not listed there - and those guys have literally hundreds of small retail shops as their clients. Assuming a distributor is an authorised distributor, does this make any retailer who purchases from that seller an authorised retailer and therefore warranty is valid? Take for example: http://www.mtechcomputers.com.au/product_info.php?cPath=0_96&products_id=5222&osCsid=10be0ed6cdcf366c8d391f1ca6e916b3 Mtech are not on your list - but they say that the USB stick they sell has a 10 year manufacturers warranty. According to your site you won't honour any warranty on this product because it's not bought from an authorised reseller. Does it make a difference if they source their product from an authorised wholesaler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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