A warning about FAKE Batteries and illegal Batteries

You may not actually be aware, but right now ebay is flooded with fake batteries

Or rather the batteries are genuine, but they are NOT what they appear to be.

Take for example Camcorder and Digicam batteries, right now there are a lot of comanies in the far East who are making so called "compatable" batteries, and claim they are OEM spec Li-Ion or Ni-MH rechargeable batteries.

In reality, they are nothing of the sort, they are in fact old technology Ni-cd Cells badged to look like the latest start of the art batteries.

This IS DANGEROUS, if you use the wrong type of battery in your camera or charger, these fakes can overheat to the point where they either melt, or explode.

The clue as always is in the price, If its a lot cheaper than the makers suggested battery IE if Sony want 79.99 for a camcorder battery, and someone on ebay is offering a compatable for 10.99, ask yourself why?

The reason they are getting away with this is because the average buyer doesnt know the difference, and will probably only ever find out when the battery overheats or explodes, which if you have the item by your eye at the time can be very very dangerous

How can you a s a buyer avoid these fakes?

Start by asking the seller a question, IE "what brand is this battery?", if they say OEM or Generic or compatable, press them further and ask exactly who makes the battery, if they dont answer move on, find another seller, if they do answer, and give you a recognised brand name, check via google on the average price for that make and model of battery, if its significantly cheaper than your research suggests, again move on.

Another nasty trick used by some of these companies is to "dump" illegal mercury batteries onto ebay sellers, batteries containing Mercury have been illegal within the EEC for over 3 years now.

The reason they are illegal is because Mercury is a deadly cummalative ( this means the body cannot digest it, and with each dose your mercury levels increase) poison.

Again the clue is in the price.

This doesnt mean all batteries are fakes or illegal, and any decent honest seller will happily answer questions about who makes them, and wont be evasive.

If you foundthis useful, please click yes below