I was chatting with Qidong at Sofirn last night and he said he’s trying hard to get a shipper who will ship batteries to the US. I asked IF he could put a pair of 14500s inside the pair of C8F’s (he also shipped with the SP10A to me today), but he said customs would see it in the “X-ray” and send the batteries back.
So I guess I am learning about batteries and US policy seems to be going to the hot place with regard to Chinese imports as the solar market just got slapped with a 30% tariff by TrumpCo last month too (just a fact, not to argue about the guy please) :zipper_mouth_face:
So I feel lucky to have bought my 30Qs last month and have them shipped free from Gearbest. I have not tested them yet (and they have a wrap over a wrap with printing underneath so I am not sure on these), but they did come to the mailbox without issue!
I doubt the challenges with mail-ordering small quantities of Li-Ion batteries from China to the US has a lot in common with the tariffs on solar. I doubt it even has much in common with importing industrial quantities of Li-Ion batteries from China.
Anyway, great if Sofirn can find a shipper for batteries into the US. I’m pretty happy just ordering from one of the reputable retailers selling them in the US.
If you worked with global supply chain problems as I have, you’d know why the same coffee pot sold by Walmart for $5 in 1995 now cost $25 (five times as much)—- but the actual COGS is not five-fold, but more like two times what is was in 1995 (on average commodities). So where does that extra (mega) profit go?
Answer - Wallstreet.
How does it happen?
Answer - tariffs/import restrictions.
Import policies that disallow or hinder Chinese sellers from selling in the USA (but allow their bulk PARTS in through OEM deals through politically approved channels) have everything to do with WHY you’ll pay MORE for your batteries bought in the US (try buying BIG batteries from China TODAY, and you’ll see what I mean). That policy is VERY related to the same (more Draconian) solar tariff policy (putting 15k solar workers and small biz owners out of work this year). It has the same intended effect and is administered by the SAME US Gov.
Free trade my friend… that’s what we all want. Competition keeps prices down and quality up. But monopolies/ologopolies keep prices high, dominate markets and sell you cheaply made $25 coffee pots (land fill). Today, you can (still kinda) buy batteries from China and the US, but when that China door gets shut (all the way), those batteries in the US WILL cost you WAY more than today (and eventually be sold by Wallstreet/Walmart). And rest assured… they will be JUNK for sure.
I did notice the (almost) $5 in shipping though- so I’d probably buy the Sanyos from Mountain for the extra $1 or so. Did you pay that to ship them?
I’ve not been around long at BLF, but as I feed my new little addiction here- I’ve noticed these battery deals suddenly NOT shipping for free. i.e. FastTech just wrote an apology as their “Free Worldwide Shipping” didn’t work as advertised a few days ago. Sofirn can no longer use their usual shipper for batteries too… something is up maybe.
When I got four 30Qs for $17 from GB (shipped free, last month) I was happy enough. Now GB has them for $20.82 PLUS $3.73 in shipping
I hear a lot of complains regarding shipping batteries to some destinations… So far i did not have any trouble or excessive shipping fees ordering batteries from China to France. But i tend to stock up on good deals just in case things change for me too.
Forgive me Pat, I neglected to view your profile— and I am glad you’re able to get your batteries for a decent price in France.
After several hours of shopping around, with the extra shipping fees (to the US) from trusted Chinese sources (I am seeing)… I may well be buying my 14500s from a domestic source.
But there is time to wait a bit and see if a flash sale comes up too
