Massive fraud on 18650s in the Littokala Aliexpress stores!

THANK YOU ” ImA4Wheelr ” for that test :beer:

Next time a battery sale occurs and the price looks too good to be true, it’s very possible get Bamboozled.

Spend a few dollars more from reputable suppliers and you cannot go wrong.

Next time I try to warn others about possibly getting Bamboozled and another member here attempts to quieten me, I will not be silent.

My last two dozen 18650’s I’ve bought from well-known US retailers. I’ve ordered plenty of cells from Chinese retailers, and for the most part I’ve received what appears to be genuine cells. But, there’s definitely a lot more risk from Chinese dealers, and they can produce pretty convincing fakes. When it comes to lithium-ion cells, I’ve decided that safety is more important than saving a few bucks. These cells will last for years or hundreds of cycles, so it’s only pennies per charge.

If I was buying disposable batteries, I might be more willing to take some risk to save a bit of money.

That said, I do think there are good Chinese retailers that sell genuine cells. But there’s also a risk that their suppliers may change and they could start getting fakes. It could happen to US retailers too, but I think (just my uninformed opinion) that the risk is less.

Also, the packaging I get when ordering from the US is far superior to the packaging I’ve got from Chinese dealers. Less chance of the cells getting knocked around and damaged in transit.

I’d order from Canadian retailers, but the selection sucks and the prices are double.

@WalkIntotheLight, since our sellers suuuuuck, I would recommend buying this:

And prying the cells out.

Guess what I got? 10x 2800mAh 20A cells. They were actually legit cells, and tested between 2798mAh, and 2852mAh.

Absolutely awesome. The regular 18650 sellers are gouging us haaard.

That’s what my eBay guy does he gets new brand name packs, from dewalt,kobalt,snapper,hoverboard batteries and strips them out and sells them.
Usually cheaper around 4 dollars a cell because a lot of people don’t like to buy cells with tab marks ke dremal marks grinding them off. The namebrands get the best batteries. The middle men who supply 99.9 percent of the market the grade flucatutes. Minding Your mAhs – Ep001 – Battery Mooch - YouTube
Mooch has some on it there around the 5 minute mark. He has other videos explain how all true a grades go directly to oems. If anyones interested. You see it in his test every few months he will rerun new samples from illumn,imr, and others sellers. Like hg2 was originally a 20 amp cell to him. The last test months back it now reached its cdc at 19 amps now. Without his government equipment or hjks can’t really tell a difference.

Tool packs are the best way if you truly want best of batch. And when you can get them. A good sale or clearance on them you can rack up on cells. When they change out the displays they have to recycle the batteries with it. Doesn’t hurt to look. I found 2 new Milwaukee packs with 10 brand new 20r each a few ago.

BlueSwordM, I ordered a Battery Resistance Voltmeter Internal Impedance Meter LCD Rechargeable SM8124A off of ebay a few days ago. it really an impedance meter or just a resistance meter? Thanks.

It is an internal resistance meter as I said in another post.

Video about it:


and they even include gloves so you don’t gouge yourself while prying them out. :money_mouth_face:

Ok wut. I just noticed! Damn.

I should order a second, and sell them for a 20% profit.

Thanks for the advice, but I will pass. I enjoy taking part in some of these "too good to be true deals". Not trying to stop you from giving obvious advice to folks. It might save some newbies from making a mistake. But for the vast majority of us, we know exactly what we are doing and enjoy the wins and losses. This case is definitely not a loss no matter which way AE rules.

I have a dispute in progress and previously mentioned the comment from seller about false pictures for evidence (like others here) so I doubled down and found I could add 1 more photo making for a total of four.

I then sent a message, presumably to the seller. Lin Zhang answered and I had just asked who the manufacturer of the batts are. One name was the response: Liitokala.

I haven't read every post in the forum but I'm a little confused what Liitokala is... an original manufacturer name (relatively new), a reseller, in this case for batteries, a rewrapper?

Thanks for a clarification.

CONTACT US-Liitokala 官网 site

As far as my wisdom goes LiitoKala doesn't manufacture batteries/cells, they just rewrap. Thus, the “DongGuan battery factory” isn't a real battery factory but just a rewrapping center of some sort plus God knows what else, because their contact there “ZhangNi” is by no means this girl found depicted in their liitokala Official Store (link to this store can be found in their site at the bottom left LiitoKala® banner):

It seems this people needs a nice deal of speaking truth ethics. Their lies and slip-ups are blatantly noticed from this side of the Great Firewall. Their particular beliefs in these matters need a good fix.

Cheers ^:)

Dayaaammm

Look at that blonde chick :disguised_face:

Her name is actually Elsa! Lol

Señor Barkuti, Gracias! Falta piles originales!

Full refund from PayPal.

And you got the keep the cells. So not bad all in all. It sucks to not get 30qs but from the rough test I’ve seen they are worth 2.50 a cell. Would be good for powerbanks. Or lights around 5 or 6 amps. Definitely usable.

Good. Aliexpress steps in to my dispute today. Can’t wait…

I wouldn't say Elsa is blonde, that or she dyed her eyebrows and eyelashes of course.

Cheers :-)

Should I dispute the purchase through AliExpress or through paypal?

No one answer. They're reading these posts too! Shhhh. PM each other. ;)