Massive fraud on 18650s in the Littokala Aliexpress stores!

From previous orders I’ve made from the liitokala official store, the 30Qs looked original, capacity tested in spec, and current measured under spec on my Emisar D4, but could be my DMM. The lii-35A were not sanyo GAs, likely sammy 35Es, looked original, capacity and current measured in spec

Nine of the Samsung 30Q 18650 Battery 3000mAh INR18650-30Q Rechargeable Flat Top batteries I purchased from Orbtronics in recent months weight between 46.03 gm and 46.16 gm. The average weight of all nine batteries is 46.09 gm. The scale I used is a recently calibrated AWS-100 that claims 0.01g accuracy.

BTW, the positive nodes on all nine batteries have three wings as shown in this image borrowed from MtElectronics:

Based on what I have learned on this forum, I will examine the six 30Q batteries en-route from the Liitokala Factory Store very carefully! Thanks.

I’ve bought Liitokala Sony VTC6’s earlier this year, and they check out as genuine from every physical and capacity test I know. But I think they were around $5 or $6 each, so maybe they recently changed to a cheaper supplier that is providing them fakes. I doubt the Official (with a O, not a 0) Store is intentionally selling fakes, they may just not realize it.

Or perhaps they are selling at cost. Who really knows?

If shipping was reasonable to other countries then the US, I would’ve bought some first, then testing them at high discharge rates and capacity.

I had only good experience with AliPay. Many troubles settled, some complex, I always won.
So…if we can find any proof of wrongdoing, we have a good chance of ending up with cells that are bad, but free.

Sooooooo, where are we now? Anymore links with authentic cells @ attractive prices in Aliexpress?

Shipping cost for 6pcs 30Q costs $22.11 to my country… kills the deal. :frowning:

…and those 30q’s are 4-spoke positive ends, while the original only has 3.

Even if the shipping is free, it’s still scary.

Since about a year ago, my supplier

https://sunway.aliexpress.com/store/3173029

I bought him some batches 30Q and 35E

Yes, I bought Sony VTC6’s from that store earlier this year, and they’re genuine. Very slow shipping time, but I still recommend them. My latest bunch of cells I got from Illum in the US. A bit more expensive, but shipping was only about a week (though it cost $15).

However, that assumes the Littokala brand hasn’t started getting fakes, as it seems they may be from the other stores that are selling 30Q’s very cheap.

If it turns out the Sunway Store is still selling genuine cells, I might get some more. But at this point, I’ll wait to see if the fakes are a wide-spread problem. The 4-prong picture of 30Q’s on the Littokala Official Store definitely doesn’t give me a good feeling, and they’re supposed to be a reputable store.

Mmmkay fellows, I have a feeling some of you may still “blindly” believe in whatever you're told as long as reasons, and reasons are rooted in your beliefs, which can be empowering… or not.

Well, as I am the law light, let me show you the only AliExpress shop I consider “official” and why: this is AliExpress store number 217753, and it is because in LiitoKala's official chinese website if you click/tap on the LiitoKala® banner at the bottom left of the page you're redirected there. I understand that store may be one of the most regarded ones, but this is no guarantee of a fair product. I can link you reports of fake Lii-35A cells bought there (maybe LG F1L cells, reports of 4-lobe tops and capacity only somewhat above 3Ah).

Oh! Did you noticed the most prominent ad in the store?

I'll “contact” you baby!

Cheers ^:)

Lol. Looks like the batteries aren’t the only fake thing in that store!

Stock model photo!

I have bought there before, mostly the LiitoKala 26650s with good experiences. for 18650s, I have bought the Sony VTC6s and they were genuine. Recently I bought 8 Samsung 30Qs, 8 Pan NCR18650B flat-tops and 6 Sony VTC5s. I will report on them when they arrive but I am optimistic based on past dealings. The prices are excellent with free shipping to the US. Delivery time is always slow but that’s to be expected.

I have purchased bad 18650 cells before that were claimed “Authentic” on a different website. When I opened them, there was nothing on the wrap to identify them. They looked exactly like Authentic batteries and weighed 2mg light. They only held 1850mah, so I requested a refund and returned them. So I lost time in this process. I am certain the batteries were in fact “Authentic”, but in a production environment you get scrap parts. These batteries were most likely defective and were being sold, not up to par. It’s your dollar, your choice, I was only bringing that to your attention.

For the ones here who are so positive these are good batteries trying to sell them, maybe they could offer to buy them from you if they turn out to be defective ……………

Samsung specs the 30Q as “48.0g max.” If a cell’s weight is below that, that doesn’t mean it is fake. If a seller says their cells weigh 48g, that may just mean they are quoting the datasheet.

It's either stevie ray vaughan ... or chicken little or a combination of both ..The sky is crying . Or maybe it's thisguy's cryin' ..the sky is falling.

These guy's is crying,
Can you see the tears roll down the street.
This guy is crying,
Can you see the tears roll down the street.
I've been looking for my battery
And I've been wondering where can they be
I saw a battery early one morning
they was in the mailbox waiting on me
I saw my batteries early one morning
with Mr mailman walking on down the street
You know it hurt me, hurt me so bad
It made my poor meter over-heat
I got a real, real funny feeling
That my baby lily kala she don't love me no more
I got a real, real funny feeling
That my baby Liito.. she don't love me no more
You know these guy's been crying
When you see the amps... only go to four

Fake fake fake .....fake fake fake

I ordered before from all mentioned Liitokala stores on aliexpress (i look which one is cheaper at that time) and always got genuine and quality batteries.
It’s only “trusted” place that will ship batteries to Croatia for reasonable price.

I am talking about at least 100 cells ordered, different models, for me and friends.

Now I have 12pcs 30Q ordered, and I hope this is also good product as before.

Yes, I don’t think there are valid complaints about fakes from the good stores in the past. I have received genuine cells as well. The issue seems to be that the stores are now showing a picture of a 30Q cell with 4 prongs on the positive terminal, which indicates they are fake.

I guess there are 3 possible explanations:

1. They are fake.

2. The picture is wrong, but the actual cells have 3 prongs and are genuine.

3. Samsung has a production facility that is now making 30Q’s with 4 prongs.

On cells in first post link I see only 3 prongs :slight_smile:

We will see :slight_smile:

If someone ordered from other store with 4 prongs picture, let us know what you got.

looks fantastic… My problem is the samsung 30 Q doesnt work in my newer zebralights.
I mean, if I tighten the cap HARD, the tail cap makes contact , but it’s a lot different than the one sanyo cell I have.

You can see the samsung is a mm taller or so… I need to start rolling into cells that work in all lights…regardless of length.
It’s a pain have light specific cells