Rant: Beware of Ebay chinese Arduino's!

[JoeN]

What surprises me about the cheap stuff on ebay is not that it occasionally fails. It amazes me that it works at all! I can buy a module from China, including shipping, for less than the cost of buying just the chip from a UK supplier.

So true.  I just bought a few of these modules.  Not only are the modules cheaper than the bare chip from a US supplier.  The modules end up being cheaper than the bare chip from the same Chinese suppliers.  Go figure.  At least these modules are so simple any flaw will be obvious:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/371222624673
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/ACS712ELCTR-05B-T/620-1189-1-ND/1284606
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1PCS-IC-ALLEGRO-SOP-8-ACS712ELCTR-05B-T-ACS712TELC-05B-ACS712ELCTR-05B-/360822122765

[JoeN]

See the latest ESP8266 story as a good example of "high quality" QA/QC : http://www.esp8266-projects.com/2015/02/esp-07-module-problem-and-fix.html

You should have bought it from these guys.  Do you believe them, though?   

We product modules . work with many big factory directly . they are all big factory , they have QC department,  have strict control on quality , unlike the many small factory always selling modules without tested.  So we can make sure every module you buy here is with high quality. Of course. Best price too . For Big quantity, please send message to us to get a better price .

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1pcs-ESP8266-Esp-07-ESP07-Remote-Serial-Port-WIFI-Transceiver-Module-AP-STA-/171595396702

[Mechatrommer]

if you are unable to make tinkering, modification, repair and verification job for a cheap stuff, then dont buy a cheap stuff. better yet dont buy arduino, if you want to say, make lipo charger or dso or whatever, just buy the thing, no need arduino.. "consumers electronics". ehh? my china arduino mega still working i modded it to get extra pin that was disconnected, maybe its from the official design? i dont know. what i know is now i have a more powerful mega (extra 1 pin) for cheap that works for years until now...

[Corporate666]

With all respect, this is exactly the wrong attitude that is feeding the proliferation of the crap that you can buy this days: sellers don't care about because buyers "Don't make a fuss about it, throw it away and buy some new ones." ...

He was paying for a proper working product, clone or not clone of whatever stuff, it really doesn't matter.

And he got a working product - apparently it worked for a year before it died.  And we don't know what caused the failure.  Was it a shoddy regulator? Maybe.  Was it a mistake in wiring up a circuit over the past year that didn't manifest itself until today?  Also maybe.  Is it the fault of the guy on eBay who sold it?  Nope.  But that is who is being blamed.

I can assure you that buyers most certainly DO make a fuss when something they buy stops working.  People who manufacture crap aren't doing so because nobody complains when it breaks - they are doing so because people want ten 100-watt LED's for $1 shipped anywhere in the world.  Well, for that price, you get shit.  It's people being massively cheap which leads to the decline of quality in goods, not the lack of complaining.

[igendel]

5. Atmel are mostly refurbished parts, especially ATMega8/16/328/32U4. They usually comes in small volumes.

This whole thread is fascinating. I have, literally, a mixed bag of MCUs - both certified genuine and too-cheap-to-be-true - and for my level of work I'm happy with all of them so far. I do keep them separated however, and watch the suspect ones closely...

Can someone please clarify, what exactly is a "refurbished MCU"? Salvaged I can understand, but I couldn't find information about a refurbishing process that's profitable for large quantities. Thanks!

[macboy]

On the other hand i would be awesome to make your own design! You will never worry again for boards.

That is just what I did!
...
They are good, home made and tuned to my needs! I have full control over the supply chain.

While your boards are undoubtedly better than cheap Chinese ebay stuff, if you believe you have full control over the supply chain, you are fooling yourself.

[JohnnyBerg]

While your boards are undoubtedly better than cheap Chinese ebay stuff, if you believe you have full control over the supply chain, you are fooling yourself.

Didn't you know that people like to get fooled 

Honest, by choosing "respectable" suppliers I have some control over what I get. By doing a tight check when parts come in, I have a bit more control. Takes a lot of time, b.t.w.

After reading it back I think a think I should have written:  "reasonable control over the supply chain"

So yeah .. I know that I am a fool ..

[Bud]

7. Other brand MCUs are usually real. The technology has exceeded counterfeiter's capability.

EBay is flooded with fake Cypress USB chips. I also came across suspect AD DDS chips, which behaved weird and had dodgy marking. I stopped buying ICs from eBay 'cause it often caused me wasted time and money, since on several occasions i had to desolder and replace them with stuff bought directly from manufacturers or Digikey.

[baoshi]

7. Other brand MCUs are usually real. The technology has exceeded counterfeiter's capability.

EBay is flooded with fake Cypress USB chips. I also came across suspect AD DDS chips, which behaved weird and had dodgy marking. I stopped buying ICs from eBay 'cause it often caused me wasted time and money, since on several occasions i had to desolder and replace them with stuff bought directly from manufacturers or Digikey.

Hmm you are right. Avoid MCUs with a 8051 core. ARM core is ok.
AD9850 is fake.

[Mechatrommer]

Reminds me of cc1101 modules i bought that didnt Work.not really sure the culprit but i've followed datasheet closely... other than that, the rest are working, pic/avr mcu, ad9850, transistor opamp etc they all work no problem. Latest purchase is mc43043 dcdc conv.works no problem.yes major reason 2buy frm china is because geography location  and shipping cost. Occasionally i bought frm us but mostly shiping cost is more than the item cost.

[Muxr]

I have had nothing but good luck with Chinese clones. I use it mostly for prototyping. Stuff where I don't care how long it will work or the things I just might fry myself and I don't mind burning a clone for it.

I also use a few parts that I can only source from China, like specific displays and things like the esp8266 I can't find anywhere else.

Specific parts I know I need I just source from Mouser or Digi Key. Often times the price difference is negligible too. And faster shipping and higher quality is worth the potential premium.

So basically if I am hunting for a specific part, I first check Mouser, Digi Key and then I hit up ebay, aliexpress.

As for the quality of Chinese sourced components, it's hit or miss. There are some sellers who sell good stuff, and then there are salvaged parts sellers who sell junk, but hey even the janky stuff works for messing around with (provided you know that your mileage may vary).

When it comes to clone boards specifically, it depends. But usually you are getting what you pay for. It will be QCed to lower standards and it will use cheapest possible components. You have to make a decision if it's acceptable to you.

As an example I ordered 10 mini pro boards and they have been great to me. Couldn't be happier for like $3 a piece. They even have a 3.3v/5v jumper which can be handy.

[Alex Eisenhut]

This is the first time that something from ebay fails for me.

Buying electronics from Ebay is like spinning the wheel of fortune. I'm not in favour any longer of the low cost Ebay mantra as a  result of the stronger dollar.

I bought plenty of stuff back when the loonie was strong and the paychecks were good.

But I might change my little quip, I guess: "If you're just hoarding it, might as well sell it on ebay".