Airplanes are inherently dangerous: Way up in the air where a fall will kill, there isn’t enough oxygen to support consciousness and extremities will quickly freeze, in a vehicle that has to be as light as possible, filled with fuel, traveling at a sufficient fraction of the speed of sound.
That air travel and air freight are safe and routine in practice is only the case because of more than a century of putting safety first (yes, there are notable lapses). It’s a huge accomplishment, not something to trivialize and scoff at.
Same for here in Canada. most every overseas seller no no longer will ship LiIon cells of any type to here, and even lately in some cases when they scan packages at the customs its either confiscated or sent back… I have been unable to buy Lithium Ion cells from anywhere online. ( I ordered from one US seller & they shipped them, but got sent back by our customs… All the local vape-shops are price gouging now because of that, (High-drain cells like 25R, 30Q, HE2, HE4s, etc. cost nearly 20 bucks EACH here in Canada at the stores…
I thought you may be able to bear with the shipping quotes I see for Brazil in that store if you look in their sales section and buy a nice lot (like 12 pieces).
Quite recently I ordered an VTC5A six-pack for less than 21€/25$. And, as usual, please don't believe in those optimistic ratings.
Nobody ships batteries to Vietnam either (not without me coughing up $50/order). I’ve got from this store quite a few batteries of all sizes for cheap with Free shipping (especially cheaper with AE coupon during 11.11 and around May)
Persechini,
Thanks, but most of them are not shipping to us at the moment, or are just too expensive. As you said before, it comes and goes.
Barkuti,
Thank you, that might work. But, as you said, shipping will only make sense if ordering a lot, at least 8 or 12.
LG,
Thanks, but they aren’t shipping to me.
So far, the best solution I found is the “Sunway Store” on Aliexpress: free shipping (with tracking) via Turkey Post, and they have 18650 Sony’s and Samsung’s and 26650 Liitokala’s. I hope this might be useful for someone else.
In my experience, it’s more like a case-to-case basis. I’ve talked to some people who are in the freight business. Some shippers have more relaxed restrictions and according to them, lithium batteries can be shipped provided they are separated or packed individually, meaning the batteries must not be in their usual 2-pack, 4-pack, 8-pack plastic containers. Of course, shipping in commercial quantities is normally prohibited, depending on the laws of both the country of origin and country of destination.
Could always find cheap OEM tool packs or laptop packs and pull the cells. They dont usually have the best of the best in them, but I found typically OEM packs have decent cells. If you look around, you can typically find a pack with 6-8 cells for $20.
Also does not hurt to try to find tool packs or laptop packs that have been discarded. They will typically only have one or two bad cells, and can find them for free
That works fine for lights of modest output, but for high-output lights (especially those using FET drivers), you really need high-drain cells. You won’t find those kind of cells in battery packs.
I do realize that, thats why I mentioned that they dont have the best of the best in them… But, if I were to have such a hard time finding cells, I would settle for decent cells that is affordable, than unobtanium
I’ve bought twice from http://mtnelectronics.com. You have to register to see batteries from outside the US. Shipping to here is expensive but it’s a reliable supplier. Batteries usually last several years so the investment is worth it, particularly when one wants the top models for high output flashlights.
Thanks Barkuti for the link. I liked the many models they offer, some are hard to find. Hope they’re not fake.
Dbsar, did you try some US retailers that ship to Canada by land? Takes longer but doesn’t have the shipping restrictions of air mail.
thevaporist.org is a Canadian vape shop. A little more reasonable prices, though I’ve never ordered from there.
I’m going to try the Sunway Store on Ali. Prices seem okay, and free shipping. From the reviews, it sounds like they sell genuine cells. I’m not in a hurry, so a couple of months wait is fine.
Yeap, shipping to Brazil is also back, albeit a bit more expensive than last time (around $8, now around $10) and not for all batteries (Sanyo GA based lii-35A can’t, for example)