Memory for PSP - how much, where to buy, what type?

PSP without doubt the greatest gadget all time. Super sexy, great games and lots of potential. Ok so you've spent your 150 and your thinking the 32mb card supplied is a tad weak - it is! and there is good reason Sony packed such a lightwieght card with the machine, which i will delve into in a bit

Memory stick pro duo

Thats the card you will need - it must be PRO DUO the normal memory stick is large and will not fit. Do not dispair if you already have memory stick compatible sony products though as you can buy a memory stick pro duo adaptor that will increase the length of the pro duo to fit in your older products

Sony or Sandisk?

It does not matter! i have heard various rumours that the sandisk version is faster but now with the high speed sony version that is no longer the case. Sony cards are generally a bit cheaper and there are plenty available on ebay. Personally i have 3 x 2gb sonys and have never had any issues with quality - any feedback on the Sandisk card will be added to the guide later

512mb, 1gb 2gb or higher?

ok the bare minimum you want is the 512mb, 256 is soooo last year. With ebay prices around 15 this is your starting point.

Music

512mb -125 songs

1gb - 250 songs

2gb - 500 songs

Movies

depends on compression - i believe you can get a movie down to 400mb or lower

Games

lets not beat about around the bush. The reason 2gb cards sold in their millions last year is due to the fact that anybody lucky enough to own an early PSP (v1.0, v1.5) and were clever enough to not install firmware updates can play games directly from the memory cards. GULP!! Yep sony scored a massive own goal when fiendish gamers across the globe cottoned onto this and realised that a 2gb card can hold up to 5 psp games (depending on size of course). Because you are all law abiding citizens, gamers be aware that (by law) you can only have copies of games you already own and copying your mates or downloading iso filesis not only illegal but very very naughty!! ANYWAY this caused a huge demand for high capacity cards and, suprise suprise Sony announce that their not selling that many umd games - wonder why???

UK / Hong Kong

If you are thinking of buying from ebay - and why on earth wouldn't you? - then you are probably wondering about all these suppliers from Hong kong and whether you should buy overseas or from Blighty.

Essentially all the memory sticks do come from Hong Kong / China so quality IS NOT AN ISSUE. Sorry about the caps but a lot of UK listers do give our Chinese brothers stick about this.

The main points to consider is:

Import tax and VAT, if you do get caught on this you are likely to be paying more in total than if you bought from aUK supplier.
Long postage delays - cards from abroad can take up to 2 weeks and thats if it does not get caught up in customs : ( Items purchased from the UK will usually be sent first class straight away.
Returns / faulty goods - Memory sticks are wonderous creatures yet they are delicate and can damage in the post. This can happen if you buy from Hong kong ot the UK. If you have to send a faulty card to hong kong to get a replacement the chances are you will be paying more in postage than what the card is worth. Buying from a reputable UK supplier -such as youwantone ; ) - you can send the item back with a first class recorded envelope (1) that will usually be refunded by the supplier
Customer service - At the end of the day it is nice to be able to pick up the phone and speak with the seller.
Accessories

the main extras you will probably need are the memory stick pro duo adaptor and a card reader. Various 24 in 1 card readers are available quite cheap and conect via a usb 2.0 point, one of the coolest extras we have see are the single card readers that attach to your keyring, again plug this directly into your usb and you have your very own portably hard drive for files, college work, movies, photos, etc These are available on ebay from around a fiver - Essential

..................apparatly there is an 8gb card in the pipeline, will keep you updated!!

GUCCI WATCH BEWARE

I was recently browsing the pages of lady gucci watches.Its a dam shame that people are selling Gucci copys beware people. Here is an example.

1 Gucci watch ladys 1500L 100% genuine gold plated showed you pictures and one of the pictures showed the bangle on the inside had hong kong and people were still bidding a lot of money. every gucci watch should have a serial number. you need to doresearch on the item before you bid otherwise you will be paying a lot of money for a copy watch which will just drop apart after a couple of times of ware... if you want to check the watch your bidding on out go to the Gucci website think before you bid as there is a lot of people out there who just want your money

VSmile Baby

Just a short message to advise parents like me who wish to buy the vsmile baby for their child that rather than buying here on ebay, which you can can receive without leaving the comforts of your own home but at a price slightly higher than the shops. yes I know that this item is just recently been released to buy in the shops, you can buy the vsmile baby product in shops e.g argos, toys r us, woolworths and elcetc for 39.99 and with guarantee with your receipt. Please don't waste your money buying from ebay when you can buy slightly cheaper in the shops, unless it does sell cheaper.

Have been shopping around again for more xmas presents and have noticed that toysrus online are offering the vsmile baby at the reduced price of 34.92.

As of 13 November realised Argos are now selling the vsmile baby for 29.99.

Fake MAC Cosmetics

Time and time again I see fake MAC cosmetics appearing on eBay, and I'm fed up with these rip-off merchants.The real thing ALWAYS have shade names, and NOT just numbers and vague descriptions eg icy blue. Most of these products look genuine enough, until you check the MAC website and find they don't exist.

The starting bids for these rubbish items is outrageous, too - 4.99 for something that's not even genuine!! Worse still, people get taken in by these things, convinced they're getting the real McCoy at a 'bargain' price, and place bids.

Make a point of checking feedback, if in doubt; I've come across sellers with handfuls of negatives and neutrals all saying the same thing - 'Fake MAC item, seller ignores emails, BEWARE' etc. Multiple bad feedbacklike thisgets the point across, don't you think?

No doubt with Christmas coming up more and more of these ghouls will be peddling their garbage merchandise, so be wary and be an informed eBayer. Don't let the bad guys win and take your money!!

Counterfeit Canon Batteries

A number of sellers on eBay appear to be making a living from selling counterfeit Canon batteries. I got stitched this way once, with a fake NB-5L. Here's a quick summary of how to tell the genuine from the fake:

"Cheap" appearance to the plastic packaging
Plastic packaging not sealed to the backing cardboard
Hologram may be present, but doesn't shine green when tilted, the fake only stays gold- search for "canon hologram green" on Google or similar for more info
Blurred writing on battery. Text on the genuine article should be crisp and clear

Fake battery has a hologram, but cheap plastic, not sealed to the cardboard.

Genine battery is in much better quality packaging, sealed to the cardboard.

Genuine battery hologram goes green when tilted. The fake only stays gold.

Fake battery has blured writing on battery

Genuine battery has crisp clear text.

Don't get caught out!!

I've written in more detail on this on the web at http:// www .soton.net/fake

Butterfly Wing Picture - BE WARNED!

Please be aware that almost all of these "vintage" pictures are modern fakes. Forget the aged frames, the old-looking (often partly-torn) labels on the back of such pictures - they're also fake. Another clue to their "origin" is that very often these (rare if genuine) items are listed with no reserve price! A couple of years ago, such pictures were incredibly hard to find and justifiably commanded high prices. Now suddenly dozens of these "vintage" pictures have appeared on Ebay. Someone, somewhere is churning these out at an alarming rate.... China? UPDATE: My apologies to China, it appears that many of these are manufactured in Brazil, because on a recent (July 2006) trip to this country, a colleague of mine (and his wife) observed dozens of these pictures for sale, either framed or incorporated into inlaid tea trays, on market stalls almost everywhere. UPDATE NOVEMBER 2007: Most of these pictures are made from the wings of Morpho adonis adonis ... readily available from entomological dealers including the world's number one ... Ianni Butterfly Enterprises (type in Morpho adonis adonis in this dealer's website search panel). However that said, considering the time, skill and effort that goes into making one of these pictures, the purchasers who have been 'suckered' into buying one of these "vintage"pictures cannot complain, because they are well worth the money ... but investment-wise are totally worthless. And now the latest con is to incorporate (Morpho) butterfly wings into "vintage" items of (allegedly silver) jewellery... brooches and trinket/jewellery boxes. Well all that I can say is if this so-called "silver" jewellery doesn't have a hallmark ....... THEN, FOR GOD'S SAKE, DO NOT BUY IT!

non payment through chargeback on paypal .

non-payment I sold a new pair of SU carburrettors complete with linkages , manifold and K