PIC chips from China, shipped in Styofoam

[languer]

The other interesting thing about these parts was the logo on them, it was not a Microchip logo.

So you got very cheap parts (cheaper than Microchip even sells in bulk), they do not even have the right logo, and you still wondering why other places are selling them for more money? Welcome to the new world economy - where counterfeit parts are the norm. But honestly, you're buying from a less than reputable source at prices you know are somewhat unreal; you already knew what you were getting - you are now just confirming it.

[Heckler]

"You get what you pay for"

I'd be more concerned that the chips met Microchip standards and quality assurance checks, let alone whether they were shipped in static protective packaging.

They may fail later on due to the fact that they are seconds or knock offs.

Have you tried one to see if it will even operate?

[Demon]

Probably just pins in black epoxy. lol

[rsocor01]

Probably just pins in black epoxy. lol

Nice ! I wouldn't be worried about the styrofoam at all . This reminds me of an article I read a while back in sparkfun.com. They bought a bunch of Atmega microcontrollers that ended up being fake. Here is their story

http://www.sparkfun.com/news/350