Gearbest: Samsung Wrapper -- what's inside? Opinions and descriptions vary (seems likely all OK)

Here is a real problem though; how can we really know? I mean, if we don’t have a way to test the cells, when will we find out? When something bad happens?

Has anyone checked the specifications advertised?

If they’re putting on Samsung-label wrappers, and advertising the specification quoted from Samsung’s product — that’s a leeeetle bit more suspicious even.

I haven’t checked them.

You can check the 25r’s by looking at the markings in the metal cylinder: Test/Review of Samsung INR18650-25R 2500mAh (Green)
It might also work for the other Samsung’s too, if they have not changed the way of marking them.

I’m almost not willing to even trust that. Sooner or later someone over there will start printing on the bare cells and re-wrapping them, so that they look totally authentic. Might have already been done. With all the fakes coming out, they are really getting better at making them look authentic. I think it’s a shame and a crime, but it is what it is and there’s no real trust any more with these sellers.

As long as the most fakers make 8200mAh batteries - so we can clearly see the fake - it’s not a massively big deal.

You need a seller who has your trust - and to be honest, GB is not one of them. I read too much bad stuff here - but BangGood has my trust and they never failed til this day.

Well, that would be going pretty far just to make a fake battery little harder to recognize as a fake. I think most of the fakes are out there because it is so easy to just buy a roll of fake wrapping and use heat gun to install it.

The heatgun/wrapper trick works well for fleabay… if a seller gets outed for selling crap, they just disappear and reappear under another name. If someone like GB gets outed here, it diminishes their reputation among people like us. So, folks like GB would like it very much if they could sell a fake without getting caught.

I have asked the question ‘why are they not Samsung cells’? Let see what the reply is.

I have 4 and they seem real. My lights pull more from these then any other cell, thats the only way I can check them.

fake cells for your fake Convoy flashlights, how convenient

Wow! You guys are really starting to look unfair. Just reading through this it is obvious that some of the issue is the language barrier. Why does everybody think that Gearbest IS trying to sell fake batteries? I will be willing to bet that the majority of these people you speak to have absolutely no idea what one of these batteries is or even looks like, let alone our flashlights and chargers. Even Karen has been on the fast track to learning about what we do with the BLF D80-SE...just as Neal from Banggood was. Hell...99% of the time they do not even touch the products they sell because they are in warehouses.

Even Richard has to check his batteries but he is hands on, is one of us - most of the employees of these resellers are not like us or very often even capable.

To me the price looks to good to be true so I quickly passed. I still go by the "Buy from the closest trusted seller that you can reach over the counter and grab if need be".

I am not sticking up for Gearbest as much as I am for everybody that sells something online. Know what you are buying and if you do not know or cannot be sure than accept the responsibility for the risk. To save literally a couple bucks in the States....not even the cost of Big Mac...my time and sanity is worth more.

I was about to pull the trigger on these cells… however, I don’t believe that any previous batches are a guarantee in any way for future ones :-/

Guess I will have to source them elsewhere and or wait for another deal.

Right now I’m not too happy, because I also ordered four of them recently and they are already on the way.
But didn’t we have a gearbest “official” representative here as a forum member?

Yep, I bet they would like it if they could sell fakes without getting caught. But they know they would get caught if they tried to fake cells like that. All it takes is one person with proper battery analyzer. And cells from different manufacturers also have physical differences that could give them away. So it would be really, really hard to make a fake that nobody would notice.

If they would seriously try to fake something, it would most likely be the rebranded cells, not the bare ones. The rebranded ones usually cost more than the bare cell inside, so they could just add branded wrappings to the same cells that the brand manufacturers use - and they might even get away with that, since the performance and physical appearance would be identical.

Anyways, if the 25r’s and 30q’s they sell are fake, then it will be the last time I’ll buy anything from them.

What is real these days :stuck_out_tongue:

I have an order in process as well — so I left email asking for confirmation these are Samsung cells I’m getting.

The quality control problem may be entirely in the writers/web page end.

I notice they have among those questioned pictures that are clearly button top batteries, and Q&A below saying they are defniitely flat top.
They have that “5000 mAH” cell for sale and right in the text description, in a bright color, it says Actually 1500

A guarantee something is “as described” is pretty weak when the title descriptions don’t agree with the text or the pictures or the answers to questions.

EDIT: title edited to reflect how uncertain all this is

They sold fake convoys…. Why wouldn’t they sell fake batteries? They could be drop shipped from somewhere else easily.

Well, whoever gets the batteries, test them, and report back. Make them refund you if they are fake.

I received an order this week containing 4x protected icr 26f, 2x LG he2, 2x Panasonic 2900pf, and all of them seemed genuine from looks and opus capacity test.
They were packaged badly though, that’s the only bad thing about the order

Tks OscarM. Did you test the HE2 in high output lights vs known high output batteries?

Woohoo I got a free fake torch! I would have rather had a real one and paid for it.

Personally I received 4 of these cells and feel they are the real deal, but you can surely understand all the questions here:

‘Hi Dustin,these is 18650 Lithium-ion batteried not Samsung Brand’