OMG. This is an amazing article. I got it from the online manual at
http://www.teekobeach.com
If you are thinking of getting a player or shopping around for a MP3 MP4 player, read this article. It will save you money and hassel.
The article is copyrighted but I asked if I could post it at some forums.
Here's the article:
How To Spot A Hacked Player
In the description for the player, you may see something like: "This is a compressed 8GB flash drive, the 8GB capacity is for storing data files only; the actual playable and recordable capacity is 1GB".
Read the small print. Its not 8GB. There is no such thing as a player being 8GB with only 1GB recordable capacity.
Or you may see this: "The memory of this player is unformated. By formatting it you will loose considerable memory capacity and is not recommended or damage."
Reformatting will not damage your player.
If you read something like that or similar to it, the player's memory is hacked.
Sellers include disclaimers in their listings to help protect themselves when a buyer puts in a claim with PayPal. The seller tells PayPal about the disclaimer in the hope that PayPal will decide in favor of the seller and not the buyer. Some rulings have been in favor of the seller, some for the buyer. But hacked sellers know without the disclaimer PayPal will always side with the buyer.
Key Words
When searching for a MP3 MP4 Player remember these key words:
Compressed Memory
Unformatted
Player has only a certain amount of recordable capacity, much less then the advertised capacity.
Warnings About Reformatting the Player
If you see any of those key words in the description the player's memory is hacked.
Get The Guarantee Before You Buy
Contact the seller and ask them what kind of guarantee they have if you get a hacked player from them. If the seller doesn't reply, the odds that they are selling a hack is high.
If the seller responds, look for the key words in the reply: Compressed Memory, Unformatted, Warnings About Reformatting the Player.
How Sellers Try To Not Honor The Guarantee
In an effect to hide a player is hacked, some sellers listing hacks on eBay will say something like this in the description, "Player is not hacked money back if its hacked".
So the buyer thinks everything is ok. But when the player arrives there is a piece of paper included with the player telling the buyer either:
1) "The memory is not formatted and reformatting will cause damage or cause the player to stop working". That is not true. Reformatting does not hurt your player.
2) "The memory is compressed and by reformatting the player you will loose comsiderable capacity". After reformatting the player, the only way you loose memory is if the player was hacked before the reformat.
3) "Seller is not responsible for memory capacity".
Getting the guarantee in writing from them by email or eBay messaging is important. If you have to file a claim with PayPal, you can submit the email or eBay message.
The Black List
There is a list of known sellers listing hacked players. You can check to see if the seller is on the list at:
mympxplayer.org/bad-sellers-blacklist-vf15.html
You can also post a message asking if anyone has purchased a player from a certain seller at the forum. mympxplayer.org
Copyright 2007.
http://www.teekobeach.com/spotahack.html
I left the link to this forum in the post because I wanted to copy the article in its entirety because of the copyright.
Wow. Amazing Article.