Thinkpads Forum

There are loads of laptop adapter equivalents on ebay. Are these just as good as the Thinkpad originals?

Anyone buy a T60 AC adapter equivalent from a particular ebay seller that they would recommend?

oem adapters are cheap enough these days. Besides, power adapter is your first line of defense to dirty power so if I were you I wouldn't take the risk just for few dollar difference.

Agreed. I want an adapter I feel safe enough to leave plugged in while sleeping.

February 2007 I bought an AC adapter for my T60 off ebay, Buy-it-now:

Seller information: it-sz (ml-fashion@163.com)
Name: CHENG GU

It was branded Lenovo, was shipped out the same day, saved me $10 off getting one from Lenovo ($24.99 shipped from China). Seller evidently specialized in AC adapters. The adapter is somewhat larger than the two I got from Lenovo when I ordered my T60, but testing I find that it actually uses less watts when left plugged into the wall than those. If I need to go on the road I take the smaller ones. For around the house, it seems fine, better than the others, actually, due to the energy savings. It was shipped airmail and I received it in California 11 days after my order.

Muse wrote:February 2007 I bought an AC adapter for my T60 off ebay, Buy-it-now:

Seller information: it-sz (ml-fashion@163.com)
Name: CHENG GU

It was branded Lenovo, was shipped out the same day, saved me $10 off getting one from Lenovo ($24.99 shipped from China). Seller evidently specialized in AC adapters. The adapter is somewhat larger than the two I got from Lenovo when I ordered my T60, but testing I find that it actually uses less watts when left plugged into the wall than those. If I need to go on the road I take the smaller ones. For around the house, it seems fine, better than the others, actually, due to the energy savings. It was shipped airmail and I received it in California 11 days after my order.

It could be counterfit. If it uses less power it may not actually deliver the rated power.

Muse wrote:February 2007 I bought an AC adapter for my T60 off ebay, Buy-it-now:

Seller information: it-sz (ml-fashion@163.com)
Name: CHENG GU

It was branded Lenovo, was shipped out the same day, saved me $10 off getting one from Lenovo ($24.99 shipped from China). Seller evidently specialized in AC adapters. The adapter is somewhat larger than the two I got from Lenovo when I ordered my T60, but testing I find that it actually uses less watts when left plugged into the wall than those. If I need to go on the road I take the smaller ones. For around the house, it seems fine, better than the others, actually, due to the energy savings. It was shipped airmail and I received it in California 11 days after my order.

Chinese fake. You've been scammed, my friend.

Maybe, maybe not. I think he was referring to the idle power of the adapter (ie. adapter connected to wall, but not laptop).

comptiger5000 wrote:Maybe, maybe not. I think he was referring to the idle power of the adapter (ie. adapter connected to wall, but not laptop).

Correct.

andrey wrote:
Chinese fake. You've been scammed, my friend.

It looks very authentic.

See both adapters here:

http://fox302.com/index.pl?s=vf&user=Mu ... rsboth.jpg

Both say Made in China. One says Made for Lenovo the other Made for IBM. I was in error when I said the one I bought on ebay was branded Lenovo, however I don't think it's an issue. Both are rated 65w 20v.

Muse wrote:

andrey wrote:
Chinese fake. You've been scammed, my friend.

It looks very authentic.

Wow, that's a lot bigger than the OEM charger. Did it include the little fabric strap for the cord, and is the end that plugs into the laptop yellow like the OEM charger?

serpico wrote:

Muse wrote:It looks very authentic.

Wow, that's a lot bigger than the OEM charger. Did it include the little fabric strap for the cord, and is the end that plugs into the laptop yellow like the OEM charger?

It doesn't have the velcro strap, but the end is the same (yellow).

Guys, be VERY CAREFUL when dealing with shops in China directly. Some of those shops and people really make a career out of faking stuff. This is based on experience as I used to work in Hong Kong for few years. The label can be geninue, some external casing can be geninue, but they can put craps into the adapter just to save few pennies. When buying 1 that's make by Lenovo, I feel more comfortable if Lenovo is standing behind their product, and I know it passes Lenovo's QA process.

I'm not saying this particular adapter is bad or anything, but are you willing to take that risk? for how much?

I tested my 3 AC adapters. Two I got directly from Lenovo when I bought my T60 almost 2 years ago. Plugged into the wall, not plugged into the T60 they draw:

2.40 watts
1.68 watts

The adapter I bought off ebay is almost twice as big but it draws only:

0.34 watts

No offense intended, but the picture alone was enough for me to believe that it wasn't genuine. The sticker looks like it was lifted and reapplied, from seeing the dogear on the upper right corner.

Radioguy wrote:No offense intended, but the picture alone was enough for me to believe that it wasn't genuine. The sticker looks like it was lifted and reapplied, from seeing the dogear on the upper right corner.

I saw that dogear but disagree about it being evidence of a scam. I think it's genuine IBM issue adapter. I think it's likely former issue, never sold before and offered by 3rd party and that it's perfectly adequate for my T60. In fact, it's better for me because I keep it plugged in and it's low current draw saves me bucks.