CF-18 battery - suspiciously cheap?

CF-18 batteries for around $50 with shipping sounds too good to be true. Has anyone tried these?

New Laptop Battery for Panasonic CF VZSU30 CF VZSU30A CF VZSU30B CF 18 CF 18D | eBay

 

It is....that is something we stay away from on here, no china aftermarket batteries in my Toughbook's. Many of the members have had problems with them one's (china battery) and if you do it cost to much to send it back. I have better luck buying used OEM batteries...but thanks anyway.

 

Genunine Panasonic Toughbook CF 18 CF 19 Battery CF VZSU30B 7650mAh | eBay

Not suspiciously cheap Genuine. It's normal price today.

 

Not so bad, i bought a 6.6A cell for 22€ from china (inluding shipping) it's about 4-5 cigarettes packs here, it work well, i don't trust the ads but it's not too bad, it gives me qabout 3.5 hours of runtime with wwan pcmcia inside in a cf19, it's enough for me.

 

I would NEVER use that knock off crap in my expensive Toughbook! Ain't worth it when a normal OEM one isn't too much more!

My 2 pennies!

 

That's a very low but still normal price for genuine battery if you order it from Hong Kong, China or similar Asian country. Usually it should be around $60-$65 with the delivery.

I bought a CF-52 one from HK and I even opened it - the cells are Sanyo, confirmed that it's not fake.

I guess the batteries are manufactured in Hong Kong and some workers out there are selling them on eBay. How they get them is unknown - is it a stealing, is it that they don't give them salaries but batteries instead... who knows.

But the batteries are still good.

 

I would feel much better buying this one Genuine Panasonic Toughbook CF 18 CF 19 Lithium ion Battery Pack CF VZSU30B | eBay than the other. I have also found them cheaper than this one.

 

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My tought about that is that all cells are made in the china/HK/indonesia/corea areas, so a cell is a cell, it's only a perforance problem, some are made to support strong charg discharge currents, some can't do this, for a computer is not a big problem, it doesn't drain much power, and drain of about 1Ah is common to almost all battery, so depends on what do you want and what do you expect, what's about me ? A new battery lasting 3.5 hours for 22€ is welcome, if you get it at 50€ (or dollars) is a bit too much for me, and yes i will look for original parts, if you find NON original spare, for 20-25€ so is a good deal.

 

Some very good points, thanks. I've had bad times with 3rd-party Toughbook batteries before and It's true that there are new, apparently original ones for not a lot more. (I don't want used ones - those I have!)

On the other hand I've bought some awful fake phone batteries in the past. Are there knock-offs for the CF-18 out there?

 

That link you posted in the first of this thread shows the fake, knock off battery for the toughbook.

 

The link you posted is for a fake/knock-off cf-18 battery...at least the picture is not of a OEM ONE.

So he gives you a 1 year warranty but tells you up front you will only get 1 to 3 hours...I know in a year if I was only getting a hour I would not be happy , would you

:hi2: ADOR....beat me to it​

 

From the link in the first post it's obvious that the battery is not genuine.

But check this out: Genuine Battery Panasonic CF 29 CF 51 CF 52 CF 52CCABXBM CF 29JC9AXS CF 52EW1AJS | eBay

Compared to: New Original Genuine Japan Battery Panasonic CF VZSU29A for CF 29 CF 51 or CF 52 | eBay

OK, you'll say one is ~$68, the other one is ~$80. Why risking buying from Hong Kong for just $12?

It's not worth risking if you live in USA. But if you are like me (living in different country) it's a BIG difference. The shipping of the HK battery is "FREE Standard Int'l Shipping". The US sellers either "do not ship outside of US" or they want something like $40+ for postage and packing.

On top of that the Chinese / HK people are sending the goods with label "Gift/Commercial Sample". That saves us from paying customs duty.

So finally it comes up that the battery from HK is $68 (final price), the battery from USA is $120+. And yes, it's exactly the same battery - not a fake one! At least what I bought was a genuine one - as I said it was with Sanyo cells inside.

Yes, there is a difference, trust me

P.S. I do not guarantee anything for the links above. I just randomly chosen them from search in eBay. I don't know these sellers.

 

I understand we all can't afford to buy new genuine batteries. The problem with aftermarket batteries like aftermarket automobile parts is that there is no real guarantee of the quality. You bought one with Sanyo labeled cells. They may be real Sanyo cells or fake Sanyo cells. The next battery you buy from the same seller may have no name Chinese cells.
Also to those 'I buy only genuine Panasonic batteries" guys. Buyer beware. Unless you get them from a TRUSTED Panasonic dealer, you still can't be sure they are not fakes. The Chinese fakes are amazingly close to real parts. Don't believe me? Do a search for Motorola fake and read up. Fakes have been found at major retailers. The retailers and their buyers had no clue. Some are so good that unless you have a genuine item right beside it, you will not be able to tell from the outside.

 

There have been so many copies of stuff here lately you have to look close. Look at this for reference, there are tons of people out there just trying to make a buck. They don't care who gets the shoddy product. And this was from the source.

KingFast Unknowingly Sends Counterfeit SSD With Fake Memory For Review | The SSD Review

 

If there was a local shop who is official Panasonic dealer, I won't work with eBay at all. But there's not. That's why I have to compare... Paying double (mostly for postage and packing) is not happy.

I don't know why you think that the US sellers are not selling fakes while Chinese sellers do. You all know that 90% of the parts are made in China anyway! Buying form the source is always cheaper than buying from reseller of a reseller of a reseller of the source...

 

We weren't talking about the source, but the way the battery looked. We haven't encountered any of the cheap made batteries with a real looking sticker on it, yet.

 

Talk to Rob..A forum member and a employee of a Panasonic dealer...

 

I bought a lot of toughbooks from German E-bay sellers. A CF-29 mk4 with 3000-5000 hours on it, and the batteries all last 4-5 hours even while being 2nd hand. They are not fresh but still last 4-5 hours. Is that normal for an original yellow tab battery to still get 5 hours juice after being 6+ years old ?

I also bought 20 CF-M34s mk2 1.5 years ago, and all their included batteries work 180 minutes. I have many other brand laptops like Compaq Armada, Dell Cpx etc, but all their 2nd hand older batteries dont get that much minutes.

My tip / hint to you seeking good batteries is :

I bought Cf-28s mk2 800x600 for 108 a piece, with working 3 hour battery. a cf-28 battery on e-bay costs 49,99 - 79,99 euros/$. So, instead of just buying an extra battery you might buy a good working CF-28. Thats only 30 euros more, and you still have a 3 hour battery.

Of course, this depends on the seller. As always... I never bought from China, because i dont have credit-card nor paypall. But i Do know, that the chinese tend to send parcels / packets as a gift to mislead customs....

 

First
Of course, i bought lots of stuffs from china, nope arrived with duties, all free postage, free of customs duties, for the customer it's a good thing, but...

Second
Yes chinese parcel near always travel with gift/sample/donation/etc writes on it, ok so you don't pay duties, but WHY you don't pay shipping ? Why parcels from US costs lots of money and from china are free ? ? ? Yes the came with donkey postage and are with me after 30-40 days, ok but hey i can wait... If it's an important things i will buy it here, china is just for cheapy not so important stuff, at least for me.

 

I, like MasterBlaster, have had good luck buying used Toughbooks for parts from the local recycler. I picked up a CF-29N that the battery turned out to be new. BatteryPro shows 0% wear. Out of the 6 CF-29/52 batteries I have got, the worst shows 18% wear. Some of these laptops cost CAN$10. Shop aroung locally. There should be electronic recylers near you.