That's interesting. I checked back at my Amazon order for the Duracells, and it seems they came from a company called Battery Warehouse. There were many bad reviews, but one reviewer said theirs were from a different supplier, and that Amazon lumps together all reviews for Duracell Industrial AAA, regardless of supplier. So if you judge by the quality of reviews, that system's completely broken.
Your other points are great too. Several clocks and smoke alarms here. IKEA is a good idea, though I don't have one within about 100 miles. Amazon Basics ought to be OK, but I think I had a leaky batch of those once. Probably ordering a box from a reputable electronics supplier is best. Or maybe just supporting my local shop, who are lovely people.