Is this one to cheap? Usb Protector - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2017, 12:21:52 pm
content: I did a similar product a while ago and found this one.https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/842187609/smart-protektor?ref=nav_searchMy main question is how they can sell this product for 12usd. Am i missing something? The pricing should be at least twice the amount to cover the production cost . I don't get it.

author: ferrix
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2017, 04:37:27 pm
content: You mean their BOM would be $24 in volume, or that in order to make a profit they'd need to charge more? They may be using this to launch the business and become well-known with a robust product, even if it's at a slight loss. The kickstarter price is basically an introductory offer.But if they are selling for less than BOM cost, that seems a bit nuts.

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2017, 05:29:16 pm
content: I meant they should charge around 24usd.

author: trophosphere
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2017, 09:57:17 pm
content: A 30 second Google search suggests they could have just purchased something from China and are re-branding it:Aliexpress Link.

author: Terrius
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2017, 10:16:36 pm
content: Quote from: trophosphere on January 16, 2017, 09:57:17 pmWow... that is literally identical. I am kind of sickened by the fact that they raised 4x their goal for a usb voltage/current sensor that some how magically prevents phones from exploding..?The FAQ section also confuses me on that kickstarter. The product is a usb charging cable and yet the FAQ is talking about a wearable camera?Quote

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 16, 2017, 11:59:45 pm
content: Quote from: Terrius on January 16, 2017, 10:16:36 pmCertainly looks identical.Didn't Kickstarter make a rule about that sort of thing, that you were not allowed to kickstart for products you were just going to buy and rebrand or something? I'm sure they did.As for the "camera", somebody obviously didn't proof-read their copy-paste-search-replace.

author: trophosphere
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 01:13:04 am
content: Quote from: sleemanj on January 16, 2017, 11:59:45 pmIt would be on theirlist of prohibited itemspage. Specifically:QuoteThere have been many others who have attempted to resell products and gotshutdown by Kickstarter. Kind of makes me laugh that people accuse China of "stealing" people's ideas off of Kickstarter when there are people on Kickstarter doing the same thing to China. In the end I don't really care much for it as it's the choice of the backers to spend more money on an already available product. I personally think that if you are going to back/purchase something, you should at least spend a couple minutes doing some research about it.On the finding of the weird FAQ section, yeah, that is very suspicious. If they are indeed copy-pasting stuff then at least do the bare minimum of actually checking things over. It's the equivalent of stealing a classmate's homework and not erasing his name before writing yours on it.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 02:55:06 am
content: Thanks trophosphere for the Aliexpress link - I've reported them to KS for reselling product

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 07:18:11 am
content: Holy shit. it's the same. Well then my gut feeling wasn't to bad. Now i know how they can "produce" so cheap. And so many backers. Incredible! I also reported the campaign.

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 07:19:47 am
content: Maybe it's also a camera

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 07:34:07 am
content: Yeah, it is mass produced in China so the parts and labour are cheap, and the overall component quality is probably not that great compared to your UsbSafe.Will be interested in seeing if Kickstarter do anything - I've backed it for nowBut in any case, Kickstarter "rewards" are often way under-priced due to inexperienced creators - which is why they often burn through the funds and don't deliver, or just end up in debt.

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 07:38:09 am
content: Hehe. Evil. But they deserve it.Actually i could add the function regarding "overcharging phone" to my fuse. It's only a small SW updateI'll se if i can manage my time. I'm rebuilding my lab and that needs to be done until i get the shipment with my produced units arrive.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 08:08:14 am
content: The thing is these smart charger cables really have limited use cases. Most modern high-value devices already have very good internal charging management - in fact these may even interfere with built in protection or smart charging.Sure for technical guys we might want to use them in a lab (assuming they aren't crap) to protect gear during product development and testing. For the average user, they should just stop buying the cheap noname chargers and cables on ebay or the $2 store ($1 in the USA I guess!).

author: ar__systems
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 03:40:29 pm
content: Quote from: Kean on January 17, 2017, 08:08:14 amLet me rephrase, they are useless, period.

author: RGB255_0_0
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 03:54:18 pm
content: Quote from: Kean on January 17, 2017, 02:55:06 amHopefully you get some luck with Kickstarter. I reportedhttps://www.indiegogo.com/projects/asap-connect-the-future-of-usb-cables-apple-iphone#/and it seems it's still running, even though it's a rebranded product from Wsken.

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 03:59:00 pm
content: The creator has started replying to recent comments... but not yet to mine...

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 04:15:25 pm
content: Yea they seem to ignore those comments

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 04:26:40 pm
content: They actually replied, but I'm not sure I believe them as it shows 400-500+ in stock for each colour... and there has been 4 orders starting a month ago.So I'm checking with AliExpress!Quote

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 04:35:38 pm
content: :-) lets se if it's true. Seems like a fabricated answer

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 05:48:34 pm
content: Quote from: Kean on January 17, 2017, 04:26:40 pmOh dear they really are idiots, they just admitted it's the same product, so now everybody can just go there and buy it for less that thier lowest reward tier, with full protection from Aliexpress, no delivery, full refund.

author: sleemanj
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 05:54:46 pm
content: Another seller, with a review.here

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 06:49:41 pm
content: Quote from: sleemanj on January 17, 2017, 05:54:46 pmGreat, but it is actually the same seller but an additional listing. I'm surprised I didn't spot that myself. Why they have two listing with different prices is beyond me, but it seems quite common.I've left another comment on the Kickstarter - unfortunately I can't report the project again with the additional evidence. Hopefully KS have flagged it for review and will see the comments.Also, the KS creator has said "Right now we only have the white color option available." - which doesn't make much sense when the AliExpress has 4 colour choices.

author: timothyaag
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 08:11:35 pm
content: Only branded the white ones?

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 17, 2017, 09:55:01 pm
content: Quote from: timothyaag on January 17, 2017, 08:11:35 pmOK, that would make sense. Pretty cheap if so

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 18, 2017, 07:54:57 am
content: The AliExpress seller has confirmed to me that these are in stock. Another Kickstarter backer also contacted the seller and got the same confirmation, and also confirmed he didn't know the project creator.

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2017, 08:29:51 am
content: Whoaaa now it's really up to KS to shut it down. There is no excuse

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 18, 2017, 02:28:32 pm
content: The AliExpress seller told me (in broken English) that the design is under China patent protection, and he is going to follow this up. Of course I'm sure he* will be quite happy to sell a large quantity of them to anyone with custom branding. I'm not convinced he* can/will do anything, even if it is a ripoff.Hopefully enough backers are reading the comments and reporting it, or KS staff are checking it out. The campaign reporting system doesn't allow you to send follow up info, which is really stupid. It wouldn't need to open another ticket, just add to it.* or the real manufacturer, as he is probably just a trading company

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2017, 03:29:59 pm
content: Well well it has been quite fun :-)

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 18, 2017, 09:02:05 pm
content: And there we have it friends. Respect to Kickstarter. They take stuff serious and have suspended the campaign!

author: Kean
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: January 18, 2017, 11:37:39 pm
content: Cool. One down, a few hundred thousand to go...

author: newbadboy
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: January 19, 2017, 06:51:55 am
content: Hehe. true maybe i should start a company hunting these fake campaigns.

author: ebclr
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 19, 2017, 07:00:18 am
content: A big Scam, they did produce nothing , the product is unecessary the one who bougth paid more for something than is totally uncessary

author: f4eru
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 23, 2017, 10:51:06 am
content: Indygogo Community PatrolHunting Scams