Bought a "genuine", "new", "original" battery for my Thinkpad X220 Tablet. Finally received it (after waiting ages due to eBays Global Shipping Programme again), but immediately saw it was counterfeit. The information labels are very obviously clumsily hand cut and pasted, and the manufacturer, part number and barcode on the label don't match the specs visible in Lenovo's battery manager. I was very surprised because: - The photo of the listing was of an actual Lenovo battery (looked exactly like my old one, unlike the new one I received). - I paid an ok but "non-suspicious" price - The seller has near perfect reputation Above my original battery, below the one I received: The photo of the listing: In the (non-Lenovo) box the battery came in the seller also put a note saying if there are any problems to not file a claim but contact him over e-mail or a regular message on eBay. Because of his good reputation I decide to send him a normal "Other" message over eBay, including a picture showing the discrepancies and the badly cut labels. His full reply: Now, a full refund is fine by me, but a few things rub me the wrong way. - The item is not "unwanted", at the very least it "does not match the product description". - The seller put a misleading picture in the listing, showing an actual Lenovo battery which looks different from what I received. - It could be an honest mistake, but it's also possible that he's really scamming people, in which case I would feel obliged to open a case and leave negative feedback to warn others. I'm really not sure what to do now. Should I just send it back like he asks? Should I raise a case on eBay? This was the original listing: http://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/152198298080
Seems to me he is deliberately selling counterfeits and he knows it but is trying to avoid loosing reputation. I would file a claim via ebay stating the item is counterfeit and leave negative feedback stating the same.
Enjoy your aftermarket battery or throw the book at them. The "professional battery testing machine" will probably only check that it works - if said machine even exists - which kind of misses the point of your complaint as I didn't see you mention it being defective.
Raise a return with the option of 'Doesn't work or defective' that way you don't get stuck for return postage. Additionally Lithium batteries are extremely difficult to transport so the return should also generate a hazard label as well as a prepaid one. Insist on them providing the means of returning the battery safely and persist in this. I've returned (or been told to keep) quite a few fake batteries from both ebay and Amazon.
I did some research and apparently it's very hard to actually prove to eBay/Paypal that batteries are fake. From what I've read you need to send it in to the original manufacturer to check the battery and get some document confirming it's a fake. I'm not sure I did the right thing, but I settled for a partial refund (-50%). Here's my reasoning why: - I need the better battery life soon on vacation and the whole ordeal with sending it back or buying another one could take too long. - The battery actually seems pretty decent. The labels might not match, but internally it's an LGC battery, and LG Chemical is one of Lenovo's "better" battery manufacturers (better than Sanyo in fact) according to internet people. - What I ended up paying for it after the refund is actually a good price for a ??-brand battery with its capacity, which I confirmed was accurate with Lenovo's battery test thingie (which fully charges, discharges, then charges the battery again to check the capacity). Don't know whether it will last long, but right now it performs well and I'm pretty happy with it. Haven't given negative rep (yet?), I still feel a bit conflicted. It's perfectly possible the seller purchased it himself as real and is honest, or he's deliberately selling (some) fake batteries and has just gotten away with it until now.
Yeah you usually need proof from the manufacturer. I bought a pair of Beats once and they snapped and I found out they were fake so I emailed pics to Monster who were really cool and replied, confirming they were fake. I got my money back on those. A pair of Nike I bought last year though Nike just outright refused to get involved. I could have taken them to a sports shop but I couldn't be bothered. Just left the seller stinking feedback and am still wearing them now.
On ebay if the seller knows they're fake they usually refund without hassle. If they don't know they're fake they usually refund without hassle as firstly they don't want bad rep and secondly they can continue to sell them. If the seller has a picture of a genuine battery and sends a fake, he knows they're fake. Sometimes the fakes contain genuine batteries that have been 'harvested' from old batteries that have been charged a few hundred times and are near to packing in.
I suspect the battery testing machine is nothing more than a person repackaging it into a new box ready for the next sale.
