confused about the batteries on ebay!

[dorin]

hi there,

want to get an extra battery for my x40, so searched ebay...lots of cheap ones. for ex the 4 cell one costs around 40usd BUT its not OEM. they say its a duplicate which meets or exceed (bla bla) the OEM specifications...

they come with 1 year warranty.

but the question is: how safe are these batteries? especially now with sony's mobile "bombs"...

shall i pay the triple price for an oem one or is it safe this cheap ones...

thanks,

dorin

ps: it is given the storage capability, ex 4200 mAh, how can i see how much my batteries hold?!

[sugo]

Non-OEM batteries ... can't say all of them are bad but you don't know which one is good or bad until issue arises.

Personally I wouldn't take chances. Not worth risking a $1000 laptop. Not worth the time to fix any problem the battery might cost.

[asiafish]

I second that. I have LOTS of batteries for my X41, and after years of using non-OEM batteries on other laptops and watching them die suddenly, leak or just deteriorate quicker than OEM, I've come to the conclusion that its best to just pay the money and get the real thing.

The good part is with this terrific forum you can often find the real thing either new or VERY SLIGHTLY used for much less than retail. I got my 4-cell and 2nd 8-cell X41 batteries for about half price through Brainpicker, both with 0 cycles at purchase. Ordered an Ultrabay Slim battery from Mr Roboto for less than half price, and of course the 8-cell that came with my "used" X41 had only 1 cycle on it, again from Brainpicker.

With the prices real OEM batteries are available for on the forum, there really is no reason to roll the dice on eBay specials.

That said, sometimes you can find the geniune article on eBay for lowish prices as well.

[Thinkpaddict]

I second that. I have LOTS of batteries for my X41, and after years of using non-OEM batteries on other laptops and watching them die suddenly, leak or just deteriorate quicker than OEM, I've come to the conclusion that its best to just pay the money and get the real thing.

You've seen laptop batteries leak? I can't say I'm completely surprised, because I suppose any battery could leak chemicals. It's just that I've never heard anyone mention this. What did that look like? Any nasty smells? Any damage done to the battery compartment or the rest of the laptop?

[asiafish]

Just a small amount of sticky substance at the seam on a T20 battery bought on eBay (non-OEM). Smelled pretty bad, but only from up close, and there wasn't enough to get into the battery compartment (I caught it early).

[brainpicker]

Have you seen the pictures posted by some of the THOUSANDS of people who over the past 6 months have had their brand name SONY batteries catch fire? Dell's and Sony's were affected this time, but if that can happen to a high-quality company like Sony I'm not taking a chance on something I've never heard of. Besides, if I buy an OEM battery and something damages my laptop I (may) have recourse with the manufacturer. Otherwise I do not, or, the company is so small or located in some 4th world country where I can do nothing about it.

- Yak

[dorin]

so exactly what i was thinking! i was just wondering if i'm wrong.

thanks alot guys for your replies!

brainpicker, do you have some x40 4 cell/8 cell bat?! asiafish recomended you so...

once again, thanks alot!

[brainpicker]

brainpicker, do you have some x40 4 cell/8 cell bat?! asiafish recomended you so...

Well it wasn't exactly the "Bat Light" or anything but I finally found it!

No regular X4x batteries left. Only X41T batteries. Besides, if I HAD any left ol' asiafish would have probably bought THEM too!

- Yak

[cb474]

Have you seen the pictures posted by some of the THOUSANDS of people who over the past 6 months have had their brand name SONY batteries catch fire? Dell's and Sony's were affected this time, but if that can happen to a high-quality company like Sony I'm not taking a chance on something I've never heard of.

That argument doesn't exactly make sense. Because Sony made thousands of shoddy batteries, that proves that Sony's batteries are better than non-OEM ones? Perhaps it proves that Sony isn't such a "high quality" company after all (rather they just put a lot of marketing into creating that brand image).

I'm not saying that OEM batteries aren't perhaps better in general than non-OEM ones. But all I've seen here is anecdotal evidence. A few stories from people with non-OEM batteries who have had problems. On the other hand, again, we all know that with Sony batteries it was a lot more than just a couple anecdotes about shoddy batteries.

We also know, as others have indicated, that there is a huge mark up on OEM parts. So the actual expense and labor that goes into the manufacture of a Sony battery may not be any more than with a non-OEM battery. For that matter, it could be the very same fulfillment houses that Sony contracts out to for their batteries, who also make the non-OEM ones.

It would be nice if somone like Consumer Reports actually found a more scientific way to compare quality on OEM vs non-OEM batteries, since it does kind of suck to get ripped off on the OEM parts.

[underclocker]

Any battery is potentially problematic, having an OEM stand behind it is a nice bit of security. They will alert the media if there is a known issue and will replace affected batteries. They will also likely cover damage to a machine due to their product.

Pretty much worth the cost to me and my TPs. (Same goes for the AC adapter.)

[cb474]

Any battery is potentially problematic, having an OEM stand behind it is a nice bit of security. They will alert the media if there is a known issue and will replace affected batteries. They will also likely cover damage to a machine due to their product.

I wouldn't put so much faith in OEM manufacturers. Didn't a lot of the computer companies delay for months before recalling the Sony batteries after it was known to be a problem?

And I wouldn't count on free repairs of damage to a computer. If there's some obvious catastrophic failure, like the computer catching of fire, then probably (although even then, depending on the manufacturer, I wouldn't be surprised to see them resisting repairing a computer out of warranty). But if it's something more minor, like a small leak in the battery, that causes a minor amount of damage, I bet a lot of computer manufactuers would try to weasel out of doing anything (again especially in the parts in question are out of warranty).

I just don't see the OEM manufacturers as such "good guys."

[underclocker]

I just don't see the OEM manufacturers as such "good guys."

How many non-OEM battery manufacturers have replaced batteries?! Sony just replaced millions of them. (I didn't say they were good guys...they are just more easily held accountable.)

[_Jake_]

I wouldn't put so much faith in OEM manufacturers. Didn't a lot of the computer companies delay for months before recalling the Sony batteries after it was known to be a problem?

And I wouldn't count on free repairs of damage to a computer. If there's some obvious catastrophic failure, like the computer catching of fire, then probably (although even then, depending on the manufacturer, I wouldn't be surprised to see them resisting repairing a computer out of warranty). But if it's something more minor, like a small leak in the battery, that causes a minor amount of damage, I bet a lot of computer manufactuers would try to weasel out of doing anything (again especially in the parts in question are out of warranty).

I just don't see the OEM manufacturers as such "good guys."

Batteries are only as good as the cells. OEMs have strict control of the source of those cells... Sony is one as you mentioned. As for the recalls, I only recall OEMs actually doing any recalls... where are the aftermarket suppliers on recalls??

You need to remember that all the recalls were voluntary according to the CPSC. They did the respectable action.