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18650 Battery Store

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Kornbread

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This is my third purchase from 18650 Battery Store.

The first purchase was in 01-2023 for 32pcs of their grade 'b' 304ah Eve cells. Had one dud right out of the box that 18650 quickly replaced.

The second order was in 03-2023 for another 32pcs of their grade 'b' 304ah Eve Cells. One cell had a dent down the short side. I could never get a response from 18650 on that cell. It now has to be replaced as it refuses to charge above 3.3xv.

It was tough ordering from 18650 again when the former transaction was not the greatest, but my bank wants me to jump through hoops to order from China (Jenny Wu, Ezeal) so 18650 became the easier choice.

The third order was two weeks ago for four pieces of grade 'a' Eve lf304-a cells to replace the bad grade 'b' cells. It looks like I received lf280k cells, not the lf304-a cells ordered.

1709739947508.png
 
Its sad to see 18650 fall from grace, first not sending test reports and now sending the wrong cells, I'm hoping it was an honest mistake and they fix it.
 
They have yet to reply. I would contact them via phone, but it is better to have things in an email. That way there is never the possibility of a he-said, she-said, scenario.
 
Still no reply from 18650 by email or text message. If they are not going to bother replying to an email or text, why even put those contacts on their website?

@nc73 the bank tied to my PP account automatically nixes transactions to China. Not sure how they make that determination since there is no issue with Ebay and aliexpress transactions.
 
Did you file a lot of disputes on Chinese sellers? I had this happen about a decade ago where my ex was charge back / return crazy and then our bank (hancock) would decline to process purchases from Kohls, Bed bath & beyond, and a few other places, also we got a letter saying they would not allow any more disputes.
 
It's great that 18650 Battery Store replaced the faulty cells from your first order, but it's a bummer that you didn't get a response regarding the dented cell from your second order. And now, receiving the wrong cells in your third order is just adding insult to injury.

It's understandable that you'd be hesitant to order from them again after these experiences.
 
I was considering an order with them...if they are out of the loop, what is the next best US supplier? I know Basen was going to match them, or try to, but I didn't pursue it as I wasn't buying at the time. I know some of the Chi companies have US inventory to ship from.
 
I'll chalk this experience up as a meh ... neutral.

Was contacted by email on 03-08-24 about the incorrect shipment and received the correct lf304ah Eve cells 03-15-24. Comparing the lf280k and lf304 side by side ... the 280k are much flatter. The new lf304ah grade 'a' look like the other 304ah Eve grade 'b' cells as far as being able to see the jelly rolls, while the lf280k are ruler flat. Could get the lf280k out of the box and get a side by side 304/280 pic, but they are already boxed up and ready to be shipped back.

@Stepandwolf I was going to order from Jenny Wu, PayPal was going to China, but she has US stock as does Docan, and possibly Ezeal.
 
I have submitted questions to 18650, Jenny, and Docan about purchasing more batteries. Jenny, 18650, and Docan were all very quick to answer questions. Jenny's grade A had the best price, but shipping has increased so much that the difference is now minuscule compared to buying from 18650. My previous supplier sent me 4 unusable batteries and refused to help but would provide a small discount on the next order.
 
I also forgot to add Amy Wan also had great communication and was very upfront on which cells to buy if you wanted them perfectly flat. They also had great pricing, but again, the shipping is very high.
 
kromc5 said:
I also forgot to add Amy Wan also had great communication and was very upfront on which cells to buy if you wanted them perfectly flat. They also had great pricing, but again, the shipping is very high.
Click to expand...
It is surprising how close the prices have gotten between domestic vs. China. When I bought 16 cells a couple years ago, I bought 8 direct from China and 8 from a group buy, and both were much cheaper than any domestic seller. Now when I talk to China, they have a hard time trying to compete in addition to the shipping delay.
 
Stepandwolf said:
It is surprising how close the prices have gotten between domestic vs. China. When I bought 16 cells a couple years ago, I bought 8 direct from China and 8 from a group buy, and both were much cheaper than any domestic seller. Now when I talk to China, they have a hard time trying to compete in addition to the shipping delay.
Click to expand...
It's surprising how close they are; 3 years ago, the difference far outweighed the risk. The shipping is hurting the sellers now; every quote started at $2200 and up for the slowest shipping.
 
Last edited:
Back to 18650 store, I bought 20 of the Envision Grade B 305 cells last fall, and they looked OK in January when they arrived. A few had small dents less than 3mm wide and not more than 0.3mm deep, and several had swelling over 1mm per side. I'm still waiting on other equipment so I have not been able to go through a full cycle with each cell, but basic internal resistance measurements with a 20 amp load showed 0.4 milliohms or less. Looks like they capacity tested and marked each cell, sorting in boxes of 4 matched cells. Since I was not able to evaluate them further (yet) I did not try to communicate anything about "defects" back to the shop within their 30 day window. I guess time will tell if that was a mistake.
 
I've had 2 separate orders for 280Ah cells from 18650 store with absolutely no problems.
So a few days ago I decided to order 16 more cells for $1,640 and $227 for the shipping. But I got a pop up from 'shop' saying that an access code had been sent to my e-mail address which I had to enter to make the purchase. Odd, but OK. Then I went to pay with PayPal and again I get a popup from 'shop' saying they sent an access code to my cellphone. which I had to enter before using PayPal. The alarm bells began to ring so I just walked away.
Thinking it may be due to using my laptop for the order I tried with my desktop which uses Linux, but this time I added 2X 18650 cells for a project I'm working on. Bill was now $1,655.98 but the shipping had jumped to $289.94 !!!
And again 'shop' wanted me to use an access code before I could use PayPal.
E-mailed them with questions and received what now seems to be the normal response of none.
I'll be looking elsewhere which is a shame as the previous purchases went without a hitch and customer service always answered e-mails in a timely manner.
 
We have made 2 orders from 18650battery with excellent results.
We only ordered the grade-A cells, 16 the 1st order & 20 the second.
Put together 2 16s-48v battery banks & 1 4s-12v battery.
All cells works great, no issues after we dumped the Daly BMS & went with Overkill.
 
Just an update.
Still no response to my e-mail but they did send me a repeat invoice asking if I wanted to complete the purchase!
 
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