One wonders how a memory card is refurbished if it's been used. If they could guarantee the cards are simply unused returns or open boxes then I might be tempted, but otherwise I'm not sure I'd want to risk potentially dodgy memory cells or a bad controller. It's nice they offer the full warranty, but that's no good if you end up with corrupted files.
They are just used returns that have been tested to some degree or another.
The price should be quite a bit lower than new. Format and run H2wtest three times.
I had to return a not performing card (great customer service)...my bad card is probably among these refurbished ones. I wonder if they just re-flash the cards to get them working? They were really interested in serial # (impossible for me to read even with a magnifying glass).
Makes me a little nervous to be honest. The one thing that could really ruin your day especially if your getting paid to shoot makes it a risk. Some may not care but I have seen weird stuff with cards and readers in the past. I’m out of this one. Love to save the cash as I do need another 160 card but I’ll pass. Thanks for the heads up though
mogul wrote:
I had to return a not performing card (great customer service)...my bad card is probably among these refurbished ones. I wonder if they just re-flash the cards to get them working? They were really interested in serial # (impossible for me to read even with a magnifying glass).
How was your card not performing? Just lacking speed? This is what makes me nervous because I’m not sure reflashing controller firmware (or whatever they might have done) is going to be a permanent fix, especially if there’s a physical problem with some memory cells. Granted, my knowledge of such things is limited and this is all speculation to some extent but without additional detail and clarity from the company, speculation is all we’ve got. For peace of mind I’d rather spend $20 more for a new card
I've got a couple of ProGrade CFexpress Type B cards for my R5's. I've learned to take their "up to xxx MB/s" performance claims as seriously "up to" values. While my Sony Tough and Delkin Power cards measure a bit below their "up to" speeds, both ProGrade cards measure quite a bit lower using ProGrade card readers (I have 2) on 2 different Macs. Based on what I've seen, I wouldn't buy a refurb ProGrade CFe card (also, they seem to have discontinued them in favor of SD-UHS cards).
For example, the 1 TB card I have (bought from B&H) is spec'd at Writes: Maximum: 1500 MB/s, Minimum: 400 MB/s and Reads Maximum: 1700 MB/s. But when I test it with TechTool Pro on a 2018 MacBook Pro using one of their readers, the best I can get is 590 MB/s W, 720 MB/s R. Their 128 GB card I have tests at a paltry 170 MB/s Write, 686 MB/s Read; it's spec'd similar to the 1 TB card. Maybe TechTool Pro isn't the best tool for this, but the 528 GB Delkin Power CFe card I have measured 924 MB/s Read and ~860 MB/s Write using both TTP and Black Magic's tests—in the same card reader. And the Delkin card's spec'd similar to the ProGrade one.
Note that the cards are still more than fast enough for my needs or I'd have returned them, but the high spec numbers just don't reflect what I see.
Disclaimer: these are just my numbers and may not reflect overall ProGrade CFe-B or SD card capabilities. As with other private tests, YMMV.
Imagemaster wrote:
Very misleading:
then followed by
Hardly the same thing, is it Since when does testing equal refurbished?
It was pretty much always like that as I remember, but laws and terminology may vary by region. Many moons ago (about 2 saros cycles) I worked in a service industry for a while. I would triage incoming returned products into 1) major defects/damages requiring factory repair or generally not worth repairing, 2) repairables, and 3) perfectly good products that were returned for any reason (not meeting expectations, claims of defect from clueless users, purchase regrets, etc.). I'd typically see about equal numbers of 2 and 3.
Whether I repaired a device and then tested it or just tested it, the product was not salable as a new item and would be repackaged as a refurb. Of course everyone wants their refurb to be a like new product with no usage vs. one that has some usage, but in both cases the warranty or extension of warranty is usually the same.
The last thing I want refurbished is a memory card. Cameras and lenses, yes - done both; memory cards or batteries - no thanks. You have no idea why they were returned, and no good way to tell in the short return window if they really perform.
If it goes bad once it will faill twice in a shorter time laps . Those were probably iffy at the I.Q. test but released annyway . The company must had i high rate of faillures and din't want to loose money. Botom line Don't Buy those at all cost .
I’m quite surprised to see all the “negative” comments regarding the refurbished memory cards. Funny thing is that some of those comments are left by people that either bought or sold used memory cards here on FM forum 😂 with one of them writing this line: "Like new I bought from another member here. Works a charm and I did test the R/W and right in line what is written on the card". - 😂 😂 😂 but he is here complaining about the refurb cards🤦
There are/were always used cards for sale here, either that come with a camera or are sold separate. Many long time FM members are only/still buying used cards.
What’s more risky? Buying a refurb card (that was tested by the manufacturer and comes with a warranty) or buying a used card from the forum?
In my opinion, there is always a risk of a card going bad. No matter if it is a used card or a brand new one. Actually, I had few “original” cards, bought new from a very reputable source, failing on me where cards bought from eBay, at the 70% discount, were working like a champ - (CFast cards for 1DXII camera).
To better protect myself from memory card failure, I always shoot to both cards...
Since when does testing equal refurbished?
