View Single Post
Old 05-08-2017, 01:58 PM   #10
DoubleF
Franchise Player
 
DoubleF's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2014
Exp:
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by sureLoss View Post
Just a warning about Amazon, I have considered buying those type of batteries before via Amazon but some of the reviews scared me off.

Issues like:

No retail packaging. Could not tell if they were brand new or used as they were not in a sealed package.
Batteries close to their expiration date.
Batteries dying after some light usage.

You might luck out and get a good seller, but the problem with Amazon and these type of batteries is they are actually sold by a 3rd party and just distributed by Amazon.

The ones ken0042 linked appear to actually be sold by Amazon though, so they should be a safe buy.
Usually, I view it as being able to get bonus batteries for the price I'd normally pay for them at a Walmart, Bestbuy etc. Amazon will listen to complaints within about a 30 day window (especially if you're a Prime member). By then you'd have an idea whether you got a set of lemons or a good value and can either choose to return or complain to Amazon/retailer to see if you can receive a discount on the batteries. Amazon will listen to concerns even if it was through a 3rd party. They consider 3rd party very much a part of their entire experience. It boggles my mind how many individuals just suck it up as a lost cause. I complain to Amazon every single time if it's for a value $5 or greater. 10-30% discount, keep the item and get full refund etc. are common results within the 30 day window.

I think I've received batteries that say something like, "Use by X date" and the date is about a year and half away at worst. I've never received expired or near expired batteries. That being said, batteries past the expiry date aren't automatically duds. I've used expired batteries before and I didn't notice much issues other than having to replace a little earlier than a normal battery. I have never received batteries without retail packaging. That's super weird especially since those coin batteries are sold in strips and you just use the corrugated sections to tear away the necessary amounts of batteries you need.

Looking into my purchase history, eCarmel and Premier Sales (Canada) were the retailers on Amazon that I acquired from and I haven't had any issues with any of those batteries. I also specifically chose the Sony options which IMO have much less issues than some other brands including Energizer, Panasonic etc. Each time, the batteries were mailed in an envelope with cardboard. I believe eCarmel went as far as to include hand written notes thanking me for the patronage to contact them if there were issues with the batteries. But you can also look at the ratings on Amazon in the same way you do your due diligence on Ebay.

I am not trying to convert anyone to going out of their comfort zone though. I'm 3/3 for good batches of batteries on Amazon and I realized I need to order another set right now to keep as back up. I've gotten way worse sets from other retail sites, but not so bad that I wouldn't call it worse value than paying extra for less batteries from other brick and mortar retailers.

Last edited by DoubleF; 05-08-2017 at 02:00 PM.
DoubleF is offline   Reply With Quote