Special packages and niche components. What are the chances they are fake?

[Ramone]

Hi,
This is something i have been wondering about for some time, but i am just a noob enthusiast and lack the experience and knowledge of the average member of this forum. I know there isn't a definitive answer to my question, just want to know your opinions and experience.

We all know that if you buy a brand name LDO in a common package from Ali or ebay at a fraction of the regular price, the chances you get a counterfeit are very high. But what about when the component in question is very specific, with no existing pin compatible alternative, or in a package that is pretty much unique. Do you guys think that there is people out there making these things from scratch to earn a few cents out of ebay?

To make clear what i am talking about, here a couple of examples i have used in my projects:

- Cirrus Logic WM8804 or WM8805: SPDIF transceivers recently discontinued. I always bought them for peanuts from Ali. They work as intended, they identify themselves as the legit IC via i2c. I am not aware of any pin compatible alternative.

- TI step down converters in microSIP package, example TPS82130. This is a peculiar package, but still you find them in ali or LCSC cheaper than TI sells them....

I know that fake are not always fake, they might be repurposed or out of specs. But being such specific components, what are the chances that there is a continuous supply of them?

Again, not looking for definitive answers, but opinions or experience. Insider knowledge would be gold!
thanks!

[amyk]

I think it's more likely to be NOS (you'd be horrified at how some companies in the West will just dispose of mass quantities of surplus they don't need), rejects, or used than remarked fakes in that case.

[Ramone]

NOS of active products?

The only data point i have is a tour factory of specialty LEDs Strange Parts posted in which they show a fancy machine doing quality control and rejecting 100s of them. He asked what they do with the rejects, they tell him they sell them at a price lower than production cost. Well, obviously they end up somewhere...

[magic]

Uncommon specialty ICs are unlikely to be cloned - nobody would invest in reverse engineering and replicating them only to sell a few each year.

But they can easily be recycled from e-waste rather than new. And if you are unlucky, if the package isn't unique, you may get a different and cheaper part in the same package with fake markings.

[thm_w]

NOS of active products?

Sure, maybe I'm making a product and the factory has a full reel of parts. I stop half way through the reel, the parts are now useless, either get sold on the grey market or disposed of. All of the ewaste we throw out has 99.9% of the IC's on it working, many being active parts still, those can be recovered and resold.

For the WM8805 it says used in TVs, DVD drives. I guess someone decided to make a little board, and sell on aliexpress: https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807789538845.html

You could try to contact them but I don't see any markings on the board other than "WM8805 V4".