Massive fraud on 18650s in the Littokala Aliexpress stores!

d_t_a · 2018-08-09T09:20:09.000Z

Barkuti:

wstrachan, I’m pretty sure the batteries are safe to use and of decent quality. They come from inland known (chinese or whatever) cell OEMs, I believe. Like Shenzen Yongdeli (Yodeli) and Chang Jiang FST (can someone find CJ FST’s official website? Thanks). Look at some Chang Jiang FST cells (penta lobe tops found!):

Seen some 3350mAh specced cells from them, too.

Of course pretty sure cells from these OEMs are a lot cheaper. This doesn’t gives them the right to pass them as what they’re not.

Cheers

Chang Jiang FST website appears to be this one:

http://www.firstbattery.com/product/

(note: the site is in Chinese though)

http://www.firstbattery.com/product/list-6-cn.html
(some of the 18650s listed here; clicking the battery will display some specifications and discharge graphs for each battery)

Boaz · 2018-08-09T19:40:46.000Z

OH No ..maybe that's why my cells are fake .

I bought from liitokala not littokala

Which one has the blonde Chinese girl ? I forget ...

I wonder if she's a robot ?

Barkuti · 2018-08-09T19:46:47.000Z

Boaz:

OH No ..maybe that's why my cells are fake .

I bought from liitokala not littokala

With one is the blonde chinese girl I forget ?

Elsa Pataky. :facepalm: :} :LOVE:

:-)

ssschen · 2018-08-10T06:44:37.000Z

Barkuti:

Boaz:

OH No …maybe that’s why my cells are fake .

I bought from liitokala not littokala

With one is the blonde chinese girl I forget ?

Elsa Pataky. :person_facepalming: :disguised_face: :heart_eyes:

Are you sure the blonde chinese girl in the photo on Liitokala page is Elsa Pataky? I thought the photo on the wiki link you provided looks vaguely familiar, so I did a few google search. I just realised she is the cop/detective in the Fast & Furious series.

Barkuti · 2018-08-10T07:40:27.000Z

ssschen:

… Are you sure the blonde chinese girl in the photo on Liitokala page is Elsa Pataky? I thought the photo on the wiki link you provided looks vaguely familiar, so I did a few google search. I just realised she is the cop/detective in the Fast & Furious series.

Elena Neves?

BROODMASTER:

Her name is actually Elsa! Lol

Source: #264 post in this same thread

Cheers :-)

ledoman · 2018-08-14T10:25:00.000Z

To check if there is common problem I’ve ordered tabbed Panasonic NCR18650B also from VariCore and got completly the same fake cells as from Liitokala, just the sticker was different. Famous folded/wrinkled wrapper was there, too. See the picture: VariCore on the top and original Panny on the bottom.

Note there is different font used, “:” sign is even better positioned, but it’s missing 2D barcode.

Made dicharge test along with original cell at 2A and suprisingly I’ve got higher curve and just bit less capacity at about 3250mA:

Comparing Liitokala and VariCore graphs shows they match very closely and I think they are identical. But which ones???

Jaded · 2018-08-14T10:24:28.000Z

Any word about the new Littokala products, the Lii-PD4, Lii-PL4 and Lii-S2?

ssschen · 2018-08-14T15:29:28.000Z

Barkuti:

YouTube

Recorded in a single unrehearsed shot to be used as dispute evidence. Sorry for my rough pronunciation.

Have fun!

I just watched your video. After watching your video, I double checked the 4 Samsung 30Q batteries I bought from Banggood last year, and they have 3-lobe top as well.

The 7x “slightly flawed” Green Samsung 25R batteries I bought from Trisky last year on his thread here, also have 3-lobe top. Phew

Do you have any opinions on these Black Liitokala 26650 cells from Elsa’s Liitokala Office Store - 217753 on AE??? At US$15.88 for a pack of 4 before shipping costs, they are very appealing to me. Most importantly for us poor Aussies, this store will ship these batteries to Australia, at a very good and affordable shipping cost of only US$3.16

matg · 2018-08-14T13:21:39.000Z

Is there a way to identify a cell from under the wrapper? Maybe we can find out what cells are being re-wrapped?

Nicolicous · 2018-08-17T00:27:34.000Z

long discussion thread :weary:

can someone tell me if this is fake or real? im looking to get some soon.

HK LiitoKala Lii-35A 18650 3500mAh 3.7V Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery 30A

Barkuti · 2018-08-17T02:23:36.000Z

Mmm, did not noticed latest updates here. Busy with other matters.

ssschen:

… Do you have any opinions on these Black Liitokala 26650 cells from Elsa’s Liitokala Office Store - 217753 on AE??? At US$15.88 for a pack of 4 before shipping costs, they are very appealing to me. Most importantly for us poor Aussies, this store will ship these batteries to Australia, at a very good and affordable shipping cost of only US$3.16

I do not think there's any practical way to fake these cells. They're being manufactured by chinese OEM PLB (which at ∅26.7mm wrap included makes 26650 cells a little bit fatter versus other OEMS), thus they're not that expensive to start with. And then, what other OEM is manufacturing a cheaper cell with close enough characteristics and appearance?

Anything is possible, though. Meditate and praise God :-D for our cells to be always good.

matg:

Is there a way to identify a cell from under the wrapper? Maybe we can find out what cells are being re-wrapped?

Every cell has its own unique markings in the cylinder, possible it is thus. But we would need some user/reviewer collaboration to map this out.

Nicolicous:

long discussion thread :weary:

can someone tell me if this is fake or real? im looking to get some soon.

HK LiitoKala Lii-35A 18650 3500mAh 3.7V Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery 30A

Check the feedback reports. Bad bad bad… Seems like they are real :-D fakes.

I bought a couple Samsung INR18650-35E cells from store 3103064 months ago. Got the real thing.

They are now claiming these are “LiitoKala cells”, beware so. Paying via PayPal may be a good idea in case of not receiving what is described.

Cheers ^:)

fedcas · 2018-08-17T19:37:35.000Z

Nicolicous:

long discussion thread :weary:

can someone tell me if this is fake or real? im looking to get some soon.

HK LiitoKala Lii-35A 18650 3500mAh 3.7V Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery 30A

definitely not NCR18650GA… just received mine…

tried opening one of them, no text or codes at all:

Now I’m measuring the capacity, but I have already opened a dispute (product received different from the pictures):

P.S.
I’ve seen in the user pictures on the aliexpress listing that some people received cells with 4 lobes, which are also something else.

fedcas · 2018-08-17T19:43:03.000Z

Barkuti:

Mmm, did not noticed latest updates here. Busy with other matters.

ssschen:

… Do you have any opinions on these Black Liitokala 26650 cells from Elsa’s Liitokala Office Store - 217753 on AE??? At US$15.88 for a pack of 4 before shipping costs, they are very appealing to me. Most importantly for us poor Aussies, this store will ship these batteries to Australia, at a very good and affordable shipping cost of only US$3.16

I do not think there’s any practical way to fake these cells. They’re being manufactured by chinese OEM PLB (which at ∅26.7mm wrap included makes 26650 cells a little bit fatter versus other OEMS), thus they’re not that expensive to start with. And then, what other OEM is manufacturing a cheaper cell with close enough characteristics and appearance?

Anything is possible, though. Meditate and praise God for our cells to be always good.

matg:

Is there a way to identify a cell from under the wrapper? Maybe we can find out what cells are being re-wrapped?

Every cell has its own unique markings in the cylinder, possible it is thus. But we would need some user/reviewer collaboration to map this out.

Nicolicous:

long discussion thread :weary:

can someone tell me if this is fake or real? im looking to get some soon.

HK LiitoKala Lii-35A 18650 3500mAh 3.7V Li-Ion Rechargeable Battery 30A

Check the feedback reports. Bad bad bad… Seems like they are real fakes.

I bought a couple Samsung INR18650-35E cells from store 3103064 months ago. Got the real thing.

They are now claiming these are “LiitoKala cells”, beware so. Paying via PayPal may be a good idea in case of not receiving what is described.

Cheers :partying_face:

mmh… I’ll wait to see how this dispute end and maybe I’ll do the guinea pig to see if from the other seller they are still sending genuine 35E, actually I wanted a couple of them. From this picture they don’t seem to be fake (3 lobes), but yes, the “for samsung” thing is very suspicious.

Barkuti · 2018-08-17T19:51:51.000Z

fedcas:

…

P.S.
I've seen in the user pictures on the aliexpress listing that some people received cells with 4 lobes, which are also something else.

Penta lobe tops. As we were discussing above, probably Chang Jiang FST cells. They have a 3350mAh rated cell, which may perform comparable or quite close to an NCR18650GA (HKJ review).

fedcas · 2018-08-17T23:37:40.000Z

Barkuti:

Penta lobe tops. As we were discussing above, probably Chang Jiang FST cells. They have a 3350mAh rated cell, which may perform comparable or quite close to an NCR18650GA (HKJ review).

thanks, but I had already seen the pictures at the top of the page… but honestly I don’t think these cell could match the GA… not even LG matches Sanyo’s GA and Samsung’s 35E… I doubt those much smaller companies will. And in any case they will be much cheaper, I bought this 4 lii cellsl because I had read they were GA…

BlueSwordM · 2018-08-18T00:03:05.000Z

@barkuti and fedcas, the 3350mAh cell is a 20650.

FST doesn’t produce any 18650s above 3000mAh from what I know.

fedcas · 2018-08-18T09:45:52.000Z

BlueSwordM:

@barkuti and fedcas, the 3350mAh cell is a 20650.

FST doesn’t produce any 18650s above 3000mAh from what I know.

good point! I just noticed that, even if they call it 18650, the specs say D = 20.5 mm… :s

Barkuti · 2018-08-18T11:02:46.000Z

All of this is a curious situation. No doubt many of us have gotten genuine cells from AliExpress at really affordable prices. However, the swindle level is overall high, and when this happens some of you get bullied by the system and uncooperative sellers. Then there's the feedback system, which kindly takes you to the “submit feedback” page right once you confirm receipt. Submitting feedback right after you receive a package removes product assessment from the rating equation, which is wrong. On top of this, toss in the fellows who receive and measure their cells at higher than specced capacity and then say “Oooh! Nice!”. This is ignorance, of course.

Just thinking, maybe a non-judgmental related thread in the Commercial Seller's Spot could shed light. I'd love to see some cooperative seller willing to openly guarantee their product and service, even if it is at a somewhat higher cost.

Cheers ^:)

ssschen · 2018-08-18T13:14:14.000Z

Barkuti:

I bought a couple Samsung INR18650-35E cells from store 3103064 months ago. Got the real thing.

Cheers ^:)

Thanks for sharing where you got your Samsung 35E from. Although the prices are not cheap, but it is good to know that they are genuine. These must be your feedback??

Barkuti · 2018-08-18T13:43:46.000Z

ssschen:

…

Thanks for sharing where you got your Samsung 35E from. Although the prices are not cheap, but it is good to know that they are genuine. These must be your feedback??

Yes, that one is. They were genuine without a doubt: without bulges and correct shade of pink wraps, factory cell markings visible through it too, correct cell tops…

The Battery Bro date code lookup tool says the date code isn't right, but of course such tool is a reverse engineered thing not endorsed by Samsung or any other brand.

Maybe not the cheapest price for a good reason. ;-)