Counterfeit compact flash cards on eBay

The second piece in a row that falls into the category of a "consumer warning". I hope this is not the start of a trend.

A friend contacted me to ask if I had any suggestions about which compact flash card to get (or which not to get) and where to get them. I had a little look around and contacted another friend who sells Delkin cards (among other things). We were talking about the prices of cards on eBay, and he mentioned that many of the cards (particularly the fast Sandisk and Lexar cards) sold from Hong Kong or China are not genuine. In his words "It is easier to fake a Sandisk card than a Gucci suit". All you do is get a cheep card, sometimes of lower capacity, and put new labels on it. There is even a warning on eBay about this here. We all find bargains tempting, but the saying that "if it seems too good to be true it probably is" applies here. My best suggestion for purchases of this type is to only buy on eBay if you can use PayPal and if the seller has the PayPal protection symbol. That way you can at least get your money back (check the terms and conditions of eligibility) if the item is not as described, and you may still have a working card (although slower and maybe not with the stated capacity). Tread carefully.