I Bought Some JFETs on eBay - or Did I?

I have had some success buying low priced semiconductor components from China on eBay, including JFETs, until now...

Looking at forum posts going back years, several people have similar stories of their purchases seeming to be of fake components that don't have the correct specifications, have strange physical anomalies or markings from genuine parts, and in some cases the components appear to be a totally different type that's been re-labeled (eg: a JFET that tests as an NPN or PNP transistor).

The issue doesn't seem to be tied to any specific sellers - in fact one of the eBay sellers I had good luck buying transistors from, I saw forum posts from years ago saying that same seller had fake parts. I think it's just the nature of how these parts end up getting sold cheaply through these supply chain channels and you just have to be willing to gamble.

I did contact the eBay seller to report my findings and I received a full refund. Always purchase parts from a reliable source if they are for an important purpose.

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