Has anyone had any luck buying batteries on ebay from overseas sellers? There is a Weize 100AH for less than $200. Seems too good to be true, no seller history and only two items for sale. I do know there is a good bit of markup on stuff like this but I am not sure I want to take a risk.
Low cost LiPO4 batteries from overseas on Ebay.
- Thread starter lightbulb
- Start date
Tomthumb62
Solar Wizard
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2022
- Messages
- 1,871
The seller lists a feedback rating of 0 and member since 2019. This would be a no brainier in my book to avoid such a seller.
I’ve never been burned on eBay as a buyer, but I only buy from someone with a positive history 98% or higher feedback rating for a high volume seller and 99-100% rating for a low volume seller.
You might score, and eBay probably will protect you if the seller is a scammer, but is that hassle and risk worth it to you?
Also, Will Prowse’s recent updated tear down of the Weize 100Ah was not good. It shows that they have really gone down hill in build quality.
Thanks @Tomthumb62. I agree not worth it. Just wanted to make sure I was not being overly cautious.
BTW, I ended up with three of the older Weize (8 x 50ah cells) and one of the newer ( 4 x 100ah cells). I have traded emails for about a month. Weize has offered to give me a refund on the one. Unfortunately, I don't know what I would buy, if I took the refund. The ( 8 x 50ah) batteries charge faster than the new one. I guess less internal resistance. The new one is about 60%-70% full when the old ones are 100% full. Kind of a pain.
BTW, I ended up with three of the older Weize (8 x 50ah cells) and one of the newer ( 4 x 100ah cells). I have traded emails for about a month. Weize has offered to give me a refund on the one. Unfortunately, I don't know what I would buy, if I took the refund. The ( 8 x 50ah) batteries charge faster than the new one. I guess less internal resistance. The new one is about 60%-70% full when the old ones are 100% full. Kind of a pain.
Interesting... I decided to buy this and take the risk because I needed another Weize battery to go with the one I have to upgrade to 24v and these are hard to find now. The one I originally bought on amazon has been rebranded to "Bilt Hard" brand and appears to be an entirely different battery. This all happened at the same time those super cheap ones went on ebay and I thought maybe it was just a way to blow out their remaining inventory and they used a new account to do it so that they don't have to offer support etc later. I used paypal, and ebay which both offer buyer protection and so I took the risk... If I didn't need this brand specifically to do what I am trying to do, I probably wouldn't have taken the risk. They are shipping me "something" as I have a tracking number etc, but it will not arrive for another 10 days according to the tracking information. I'll let you know what happens when I get whatever it is they sent me 
P.S. as of now, you can get a 12v 100ah redodo off amazon for $255 with the coupon. I would have gone with that if I wasn't trying to get a mate for my other weize.
P.S. as of now, you can get a 12v 100ah redodo off amazon for $255 with the coupon. I would have gone with that if I wasn't trying to get a mate for my other weize.
Ampster
Renewable Energy Hobbyist
Thanks, and before you charge it, make sure to pick the correct voltage depending on whether is is LiFePO4 or Lipo which are two different chemistries with two different charging profiles.
Both of them are Lifepo4. I only bought my original one 2 months ago, and then a week later Will posted an update that these are not as good as they once were which sucks. I bought the original one after seeing his original video, but oh well... and yea, I have a capable charger and will balance them etc before hooking them up. I will probably test this battery against the other one I have before putting them into service. Neither are in service yet as I just got moved but preparing to start setting things up in the next couple of weeks. Not sure if it will let me post a link, but this was the listing I got mine from on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/185889904508 I figure I got about a 50/50 chance that this is a scam. They will either send me a 50ah battery (which would be the right price) or possibly a defective one, or who knows... they could send me a brick for all I know, but I went into it prepared to fight it out if it's a scam.
I promised I'd come back and share what happened with this... Yea, it was a scam. The guy gives a tracking number but never actually ships the item. Other reviewers have now been reporting the same thing on his account. I just filed for a refund with ebay.
timselectric
If I can do it, you can do it.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2022
- Messages
- 18,612
Not surprised.
Thanks, for reporting back.
Thanks, for reporting back.
Similar threads
