after more research, i decided against going with the tenergy 18650s.
so while looking at the himax, i decided i would make an offer.
problem is, on 6 the best counter offer i can get out of them is $24 +$10 shipping.
this seems high to me. anyone else have this experience? ive read that people got them for 3.50 a piece individually
Not with shipping ...
6 for $34 = $5.66 Each shipped ..
I have a Hi-max on the way [ one hopes ] , Hi max prices did seem to jump some recently ..
The seller wishes to earn more now that cells are somehow more recognized. Usd to buy packs of 5-6 at around 4usd each with shiiping. Would buy again if up to 5usd each.
Thats what I paid too...$34 incl shipping, he wouldn't budge anymore. I suspect he's reading the forums here, that's why. 
yea he claims hes not making any profit at 25. which was the first counter offer.
so i tried another at 22.50 and he came back at 24....
most people would just agree, its 2.5 bux, but not him.
Would yall rate these batteries a little better than the Solarforce 2400mah 18650s? These are rated 2600mah do they live up fully to that?
If it helps, they held a bit more charge than XTAR 2400mAh which was tested somewhere a while ago (Might be Old review perhaps) and holds about 2400mAh. If my subjective opinion counts, these are far better than anything including shipping up to 6usd a piece. After that price point solarforce or XTAR seems the general consensus. I might be the only one on forum with XTAR cells experience however...
I have Xtars but there almost a year old now ... I did not test for actual capacity at the time ..
I can run one through on the week end [ but bear in mind there age + they have been in use ]
run the xtars. i just bought the himax's. 6 of them. hopefully i dont get screwed like the trustfire flames. those 18650s have REALLY bad luck
The red/black trustfires are decent.
lol if you say so
ive had VERY bad luck. i have 2 usable cells out of 6 purchased (total of 10 received due to dead ones too)
the other ones have very HIGH internal resistance
It sounds like there are those that have recently had mixed results with these cells, which is to bad. These have always outperformed any and all low priced cells for me. In comparison, the highmax have a distinct voltage sage that occurs just after startup, but they will also burn longer, albeit at a slightly lower contiguous output to the LED. It would be interesting to see a 3A discharge comparison between the two. I still look forward to the day that carbon nano tube technology becomes integrated into cheap LiCo cells... hopefully within the next decade.
I hear ya on IR of some of these cells. I feel regardless of capacity ratings and whatnot , Until we do tests on the Hi-max, xxFire, Solarforce ( new blue line) . They are what they are. I myself do not ATM have a load amount to really test this with two hands ( i have two hands).
Have been happy with Hi-Max and Solarforce batts at this point VS xxxFire brands.
What Flash said...
I bought the hi-max three times 5-6pcs and all but 2 (stock) are doing well.
Over the draw spcetrum The Hi-Max need to really get into the game. I like them, but lets see the lines :) Possibly even tag them as a well known cell :)
well most of my trustfires cant draw above 1.6 amps on a 2.8 amp shiningbeam regulator!
i had some that only could pull under .4 amps!
two did acceptable. one draws 2.69 and the other 2.56. considering its designed for 6V, not 4.2, ill take those two anyday.
the other 3 that are crap, are good enough for an aurora light that draws 1.4 amps (they pulll 1.3) from the same battery. (btw its a q5.... dont ask me why it draws so much!)
xP, are you talkin' about those fake TF black 18650 you've bought @ ebay?
nope. bought them all from dealextreme over a year long time span. got crap everytime.
i dont like them like most people do. and im hoping i dont get screwed again on these hi-max. i want GOOD RELIABLE budget friendly 18650s...
so hard to find!
My fingers are crosssed for you bro. Let us know how the new batch works out for you.