Frequently Asked Questions

We just returned from another visit around the world to ensure we keep ourselves and our valued customers one step ahead in the race for the freshest and newest technological advances available. We will be launching several new products including USB hubs, additional custom USB flash drive models, a host of cool new packaging ideas and a revamped custom lanyards business with around 15 different styles, materials and colors to choose from.

I have to say the most interesting part of this trip had to be discussions with our partners on newly created USB flash drive “shell” companies available today. They really opened our eyes to what we have been suspecting for some time. Most are sprouting up in mainland China due to very cheap and available 2nd and 3rd tier flash memory. How do you spot one of these imposter companies which may look like actual USA based operations? They are easy to spot. Here are a few easy ways to know your hard earned money is at risk with these fledgling websites. continue

After a long conversation with another new partner for CFgear, I decided it was important to share my thoughts on a couple of topics that are important for everyone to understand regarding quality and USB flash drives.

Why Speed on My USB Device Is Important

For nearly 10 years the USB flash drive industry has been trying to explain quality to customers through a “tier” system of drive quality. For this conversation, drive quality consists of the “guts” of the drive including the PCB circuitry, USB controller and USB flash memory chip. We will not discuss the outer shells made of plastic and metal, although we continue to see wide variance in the quality of plastics and inks that are used in custom branded USB drives. This “tier” system used to relate top quality to Grade A or Tier 1, and lower quality to Grade B or Tier 2. It was simple to understand and, for the most part, held true to form across the industry. continue

At CFgear, one of the more difficult conversations we challenge ourselves to explain well to our customers is regarding what the varying “grades” of flash drives are, and what that means to all of us as customers. In flash drive land, we frequently hear things like A Grade, B Grade, Tier One, & Tier Two flash drives, with more explanations than we care to bear. The challenge is when different flash drive companies use the same terms but apply different definitions to those terms, making it difficult to accurately compare apples to apples. continue

Flash memory capacities keep climbing, but the current largest mass marketed USB flash drive is the Kingston DataTraveler 300 which boasts a whopping 256GB. To translate that into everyday data storage terms, that means this Goliath flash drive is equivalent to any of the following:

1) 365 CDs (at approximately 700 MB each)

2) 54 DVDs (at approximately 4.7 GB each)

3) 10 Blu-ray (at approximately 25 GB each)
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I’ve always wondered how long a flash drive would last, and so, I’ve decided to do some research on the subject and share it with everyone. First, let’s clarify the question as there really are two parts to it, and I’d like to examine both:

1. How many times can you write to a flash drive before it stops working?
2. How long will a flash drive retain its data?

Wikipedia tries to answer both questions with a simple statement: “Some allow 1 million write or erase cycles and have a 10 year data retention cycle.” continue

We get asked a lot of questions here at CFgear, so many, in fact, that we’re thinking of starting a standalone informational USB flash drive site that addresses any and every kind of flash drive question people throw our way! In this blog post, we’ll cover some very basic USB flash drive facts – or, more specifically, try to answer the question “what is a flash drive?” continue

It’s a common customer question we get – “So, I know y’all sell custom flash drives at incredibly cheap bulk pricing. I don’t need to fill up my garage with 35 million flash drives all neatly stacked in crates on shelves. I’m only looking for a few hundred to hand out with the Girl Scout cookies in my neighborhood. Is there a bare minimum quantity where I can still order from you and get that other-worldly bare bones pricing?” continue

Customers frequently ask, “What makes you different from other flash drive suppliers?” We’re glad you asked, and we’ll gladly spill the beans on our secret.

1. Factory Direct

You are buying factory direct. CFgear is 100% American owned and operated. Your drives are shipped to you from South Dakota.

2. Flash Drive Professionals

We are your “Friend in the Flash Drive Business.” It is ALL we do! We know flash drive technologies and accessories.

3. Experience Counts

We have made thousands of different drive models, shapes and designs, including many different preload and interface options. continue

After taking three calls in three days from prospective customers who all asked the same question, I thought it would be prudent to explain just why our prices are so good. We will focus on three main areas of “Why CFgear”:

1. Our Emphasis on Quality

When you purchase from CFgear, you are purchasing DIRECT from the manufacturer, and we sell DIRECT to you! No middlemen tacking on markups at every turn. continue

We hear this question asked frequently here at CFgear, so we decided to “share the facts” with the world. The answer is directly related to what type of data you plan to store on your flash drive as well as how large the drive is. continue