Originally Posted by jfitter

icemodel2009 is an eBay seller of radio control parts. I bought 8 servos from them. The servos were TowerPro MG996R, and when they arrived that was what was on the label, as I had expected.


The servos failed to meet specification. All servos had 150uS of deadband, where the advertised specification is 5uS, thereby making them completely unusable for any purpose except decoration . On opening them it was found that they were fitted with plastic bushes instead of the dual ball bearings as expected.


After informing the vendor of my findings, the vendor stated that the servos were not TowerPro, but were TowedPro. Examining the photographs on the item listing page showed this to be the case, however the servos which were delivered were labelled TowerPro.


Analysing the circuit revealed that two component values were not even close to the values recommended by the manufacturer of the amplifier chip. Replacing these components with the correct value restored the deadband specification to under 5uS. Fitment of two ball bearings completed the fix.


The vendor has been recalcitrant and refuses to honor the return policy unless I return the items and trust he will refund the freight costs. After numerous communications with the vendor I am of the opinion that a refund of the freight is unlikely.


There is no question that the sale of this item constitutes a fraud. The items are designed to appear to be a product of known higher quality and their true identity is carefully camouflaged in the item listing. Furthermore, the items do not even meet the specification stated in the listing.


This vendor is clearly dishonest and it would be an error of judgement to conduct business with him. You have been warned.