Most people can not distinguish between real and fake batteries, because they never saw the real ones. For those who work with real batteries, counterfeits are obvious.
And you do not worry about reviews like “one of the four batteries exploded the first time you charge”? Not much like a real battery, is it?
And everyone next thinks “I’m lucky and they’ll send me real batteries …”
Do you know who my most loyal customers are? Those who independently tried several times to win in this lose-lose lottery
Isn’t a capacity test enough to determine if it’s fake? Okay, I know it’s not a perfect test, but there’s probably not much profit to be made from re-wrapping a 3500mAh cell and claim it’s a Panasonic 3500mAh. Because the “fake” cell is probably a Panasonic anyway (or some other good brand).
I’d also do a voltage-hold test, to make sure that when charged to 4.2v it maintains that charge for at least a few days.
I can see you might get old cells that still have the proper capacity. But fakes?
Anyway, I find it hard to believe that there are zero genuine sellers on Ali. But, I’m certainly willing to believe there are a huge number of fakes. Right now, the only alternative is large shipping fees from the US.
I did not say that all fake batteries are bad. I said that almost all the batteries on AliExpress are fake.
And when you realize that all these are fakes, you can already consciously choose the best of them. For example, Liitokala - very good batteries, they even have datasheets
Checked how?
Because capacity and internal resistance of 30Q and GA I bought at liitokala store are pretty much the same as from those I bought at nkon.
I am seriously curious, because “i know how original battery looks like, because I sell them” isn’t something one would quote as reference.
Can you tell us a bit more?
The only real way to know if they are fake is to test them. HKJ has plenty of batteries already tested. If his curves follow the same curves as your test then the probability of it being a genuine cell are pretty high. I could take a known factory laptop pull cell and put my own branded wrap on it and tell you it is genuine cell. Know one would know for sure until it was tested.
They are flags yes, like a copy of a genuine cell wrap, or a different type cap. These are genuine, I’m about 99.9% sure and I have never bought them from there.
Oh well. Suppose I started my 18650 battery production (now it’s easy and inexpensive). And I managed to make a good battery with a capacity of about 3000 mAh.
Now I need to sell them. I will wrap one battery with the “XingXungXeng” label and the other with a “Panasonic” label. And now answer the question: which battery will I soon sell?
I have ordered over $1000 worth of batteries since 2015. All my Fasttech "OEM" cells (Pana, Samsung, LG, etc) are all genuine. I stopped getting from them in 2016 because they are unable to ship to my country.
Okay, I see what you’re saying. So, are you saying all the Ali stores are getting duped by a supplier or wholesaler where they all get them from? Wouldn’t that also apply to other Chinese retailers, like gearbest and banggood, etc.?
And, how would US retailers not also get duped? I don’t think Panasonic sells directly to places like Mtnelectronics, do they?
And there’s always liitokala sticker over Samsung/Panasonic/LG… name.
It looks almost like they would bought some huge quantities of cells from those companies for extremely low price, but aren’t allowed to sell them under original name because this same price or something… Or, who would know … This part is really strange.
Yeah, it is odd, but I think it’s just putting their store name on the stuff they sell. They don’t seem to re-wrap the cells, they just call them by their store name. I agree it’s odd branding, but perhaps brands like Panasonic don’t mean as much in China as they do in the west?
Nobody is cheating on Chinese salespeople! In China, they do not deceive their own. Everyone knows perfectly well what they are selling. But to deceive a foreign buyer is a national sport
And about gearbest and other retailers, I did not say anything like that.
Indeed, there are more NCR18650B fakes floating in the market right now, and I have been monitoring the situation a couple of weeks ago.
This is the most easiest to spot fake label.
Batch code (near cathode) is randomly printed, and they should never be aligned so perfectly for such a small batch, unless they are deliberately chosen.
You’re saying that those liitokala’s are 100% fake and yet they show real capacity and proper internal resistance. So, if Chinese aren’t capable to produce own 3500mAh batteries, how LiitoKala Lii - 35A 3.7V “NCR18650GA” 3500mAh 10A are fake?
Actually, I vaguely recall that was what I saw the first time I tried the order. Did something to “jiggle” it (no idea what), and I got a “normal” postal thing. Looking at the pic, looks like “USPS eVS”.
Try selecting the 40buk option, not placing the order yet, then going back to reselect postage options. Maybe that’s what I did to shake it loose.
But I did get a USPS option, a long 9-number which tracks.
