3rd Party Batteries Any Better Now?

[jaapv]

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Buy at a decent price, so that they can afford to use decent production practices. We do not support them. We go there for our own monetary gain, as soon as it gets cheaper someplace else, we move on.

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[lct]

20 EUR is a decent enough price for me. That's what i've paid more or less for my 20 or 30 nikanofujisonyepsonleica replacement batteries in a dozen years. The money saved helped me to support the German market for the global egonomy's sake and everybody is happy.

[jaapv]

We are all free to strike our own balance

[erl]

John, I hear what you are saying, but to my mind there are a few aspects that point the other way.

Yes, the provenance of Leica's batteries is unknown to us. However, the company has a tradition of ethical business practices dating back to the mid-nineteenth century and operates in a part of the world where concepts like sustainability and corporate ethics have increasingly become more ingrained over, say, the last decade. So I would have some careful confidence in Leica's policies in this respect.

On the other hand, a 5$ or 10$ product in Hong Kong is 100% sure to have the worst possible provenance.

Jaap, I do hear you but I still think Leica should stick to making their money from cameras they make, not batteries they simply load in/out of their store. I am not convinced the 'Leica' batteries are costing anywhere near their selling price to produce. OTOH, I pay $40 for aftermarket batteries, not $5 or $10, which I agree would have to be 'dodgy'. I seriously believe the one's I sometimes buy are fair value. Of course my financial circumstances need to influence everything I do. That is why I don't have an M240 or MM.