Mediaman banks on education to root out fake Transcend memories

Mediaman Infotech, national distributor for Transcend memory modules, has seen an increase in fake products of the brand. The company has received complaints of fake modules being sold in New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and
Bangalore.

The seriousness of the issue came to the fore when a Mediaman customer - Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad - while placing an order for 2,000 Transcend memory modules, informed about lower priced Transcend memory modules being offered by another company. Mediaman examined samples of the low-priced modules and found that they were fake.

"This was a business worth Rs 80 lakh, which is not a small amount. That's why we decided to take some steps to curb sales of these fakes," informs Dushyant Mehta, MD, Mediaman. The company almost lost another order for 250 modules in Bangalore, after the buyer was approached by another fake seller. Mediaman currently sells 15,000 to 20,000 units of Transcend modules monthly and states that an equal number of fakes are sold in the market.

According to Dushyant, over 65% of memory buyers comprise SIs, who are likely to get several end-user complaints if they inadvertently use fake memories. Some common problems are system hanging or freezing. This is because fake products are made of sub-standard IC chips with less than 50% performing capacity as compared to the original Transcend memory. "The fakes cannot support the functioning of several applications at one time, leading the PC to freeze," says
Dushyant.

Mediaman is now educating its partners on how to identify fakes from the original Transcend memory modules. Here are some of the key identification features:

• The original memory modules have the name "Transcend" encrypted on the edge of the memory module, along with a hologram of the brand name.
• Original modules have a sticker with the technical specifications of the memory mentioned on it.
• Original modules come with a tetra pack which had to be cut open. It is never sold loose or in boxes that are taped shut.
• Original modules come in an anti-static plastic pack.
• Original Transcend packs mention that modules come with a lifetime warranty.
• All fake modules have the dealer's initials written on the modules, usually in blue ink. This help dealers to identify their own
  products, in case a warranty case arises.

Explaining how these fakes originate, Dushyant informs that companies like Transcend and Hynix pick up superior quality memory chip from chip manufacturers in Taiwan. However, the inferior grade chips are rejected by well-known brands and are later sold in the open market at 40% lower prices. Many of these chips are integrated on PCB modules and then packaged as genuine products of well-known brands and sold in the market.

VINITA BHATIA

MUMBAI