stonearabiapix Posted March 15, 2010 Share #1 Posted March 15, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) I just received my "genuine new" leica battery", in a, looks like, genuine new leica box. Although there was no paperwork on the inside, and the battery was not authentic.It did not even look like the one they had posted on e-bay. But I did pay an authentic price. I now have to deal with the post process of return and refund, oh goody! So please be aware that these battery's are junk from china. Tim www,theclassicimage.com Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 15, 2010 Posted March 15, 2010 Hi stonearabiapix, Take a look here Buyer beware Hong Kong batteries. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dmacintyre Posted March 15, 2010 Share #2 Posted March 15, 2010 I'm always wary of those eBay ads originating from HK / China. Is there a list of Leica products which they are known to be faking? I presume bodies and lenses are safe for now but what about other accessories (batteries have obviously already made the list)? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wstotler Posted March 15, 2010 Share #3 Posted March 15, 2010 Tim, Sorry to hear you got taken. The wisdom of aftermarket non-Leica batteries has been debated before on the forum (several times I believe), the key point being why one would trade off saving a few $$$ to slap a potentially problematic battery into their $$$ camera. Did you enter into the transaction with some trepidation? Thanks, Will Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonearabiapix Posted March 16, 2010 Author Share #4 Posted March 16, 2010 Trepidation, yes, HK sales are a leap of faith. But the point is that the battery was visually a genuine leica battery. This sale was a genuine Bait and Switch. So beware! Tim Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted March 16, 2010 Share #5 Posted March 16, 2010 Hey Tim, sorry to hear you got taken. This has been discussed on the forum before. Even when the batteries work, they fail quickly and don't have the capacity of the originals. I have purchased 2 and they lasted about 3 months and wouldn't hold a good charge. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
menos I M6 Posted March 16, 2010 Share #6 Posted March 16, 2010 Tim - sorry to hear about your bad luck. When I started with digital photography 2 years back, I was warned about the fact, that there is a big market for fake batteries, mainly coming from asia. I have seen a share of them over the time, offered in China during my stay here. Some of them do indeed look scary close to the original batteries, even for an educated observer indistinguishable. For this very reason, I do buy my original batteries exclusively from safe sources, although sometimes over priced. Either I buy genuine from a reputable dealer (even, if more expensive) or I buy clearly labeled 3rd party for a reasonable price (if it is too cheap, to be true, it is likely crap or even dangerous with LiIon batteries!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclark Posted March 16, 2010 Share #7 Posted March 16, 2010 Advertisement (gone after registration) This link is to an interesting site that looks at Lithium-Ion battery "clones". (If they were really clones, I guess they'd work exactly like factory batteries.) Even though the batteries discussed and dissected are for Olympus cameras, I think you can get an idea of what you are buying -- or not buying -- with clones in general. I know that in some parts of the world we pay through the nose for the factory batteries, but I still think only fools count on the reliability and safety of unknown batteries built in unknown places and sold by unknown people. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BigSplash Posted March 16, 2010 Share #8 Posted March 16, 2010 I initiated a thread on this subject a few months ago havng bought a battery on eBay at a fraction of the OEM price. Knowledgeable people stated that the main difference is that the fake battery does not have an internal electronic board that tells the camera the stae of charge so the camera indicator reads incorrectly. In my case I found that the battery so far has behaved properly and is still OK. I also found that it was impossible a month ago to buy original Leica batteries...It seems that things are now better. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ljclark Posted March 18, 2010 Share #9 Posted March 18, 2010 Knowledgeable people stated that the main difference is that the fake battery does not have an internal electronic board that tells the camera the state of charge so the camera indicator reads incorrectly. There are NO knowledgeable people that can tell you about any "clone" battery from eBay -- and that's the problem. I can decide to make the LarryCell -- a cloned battery that duplicates all the characteristics of the Leica battery. I get a factory in China to make 10,000 units and manage to get them placed with legitimate retailers. The LarryCell is just as good as -- or even better than -- the Leica cell, but I can retail it at 65% of the Leica battery. Then some guy comes along and decides to sell a copy of the LarryCell. He even gets it made in the same factory, but it's a piece of crap. (No overcharge or thermal protection. A smaller cell kept in place with foam padding and a slug of lead to get the weight up to specification. Smaller gauge wire with ratty insulation.) Then a legitimate retailer decides to blow out 50 of the good LarryCells on eBay. At the same time some sleazeball decides to sell a bunch of the lousy, fake LarryCells on eBay. How are YOU going to tell the difference without dissecting each battery you buy? The answer is: You can't. (Follow the link in my previous post to understand this better.) That's the problem. Would you buy an ounce of gold on eBay that was sealed inside a cube of black Lucite? You know the weight of the gold and the density of the Lucite, and the weight of your specimen matches the cubic dimension of your purchase. And the guy on eBay told you there was an ounce of gold inside the Lucite cube. If you buy that from me, you can be sure there will be an ounce of gold inside the cube. If you buy it from Bernie Madoff...Who knows? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted March 18, 2010 Share #10 Posted March 18, 2010 I initiated a thread on this subject a few months ago havng bought a battery on eBay at a fraction of the OEM price. Knowledgeable people stated that the main difference is that the fake battery does not have an internal electronic board that tells the camera the stae of charge so the camera indicator reads incorrectly. In my case I found that the battery so far has behaved properly and is still OK. I also found that it was impossible a month ago to buy original Leica batteries...It seems that things are now better. First of all, I'm glad your battery is still "OK." But, people should understand that is just one battery under one set of conditions, yours. A scientific approach would be hard pressed to take that as anything close to a large enough sample of what is out there or what can be expected under other's conditions. For example, my 2 batteries worked fine until I travelled outside the US in Italy and I charged them there. They seemed to get fried on the charger. I just don't think it is worth it to me to buy any more non-OEM batteries. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
brill64 Posted March 19, 2010 Share #11 Posted March 19, 2010 i had a similar problem with original leica batteries not charging fully when I was traveling in Italy. Back home...in Hong Kong...they worked and still work absolutely fine. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redridge Posted March 21, 2010 Share #12 Posted March 21, 2010 I just received my "genuine new" leica battery", in a, looks like, genuine new leica box. Although there was no paperwork on the inside, and the battery was not authentic.It did not even look like the one they had posted on e-bay. But I did pay an authentic price. I now have to deal with the post process of return and refund, oh goody!So please be aware that these battery's are junk from china. Tim www,theclassicimage.com why dont you post where you bought it from so others can stay away from them..... or you can PM it to me if you dont want to publicly announce it. Im in need of a 2nd battery and just cant find it anywhere.... TIA Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stonearabiapix Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share #13 Posted March 21, 2010 See How You can be fooled! Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/115475-buyer-beware-hong-kong-batteries/?do=findComment&comment=1267747'>More sharing options...
fotoism Posted March 21, 2010 Share #14 Posted March 21, 2010 Sorry to hear of your ordeal. I hope you get your money back, either through the seller or the eBay buyer protection. It is one thing to sell no name replacement for cheap - then you can decide if you want to bite; but it's totally different story to display the image of the real thing, charge for the real thing, then give you crap products. Buyers beware! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redridge Posted March 21, 2010 Share #15 Posted March 21, 2010 This add looks more promising.... according to the ebay protection plan, you should be to get your money back including original shipping. Unfortunately, your description say... "genuine new" rather than "genuine leica" like below. This one has a better chance of getting you money back. But who really knows. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted March 21, 2010 Share #16 Posted March 21, 2010 I'm surprised you have had problems with Fotoaglow - I bought a lens and a flash from them and had no problems. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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