Eforcity batteries: Scam?

[EricP]

Hey all!

Tell me if this sounds like good business to you:

I purchased 2 batteries from eforcity on April 28, 2003. One was an NB-2L for my S30 and one was a BP-511 for my Powershot G3.

I've taken less than a thousand pictures with the eforcity battery and it was fine... averaging around 200+ photo's per charge (this was in line with my original BP-511).

Well, now I only get around 50 photo's MAX per charge and I emailed eforcity asking them if I could return/exchange the battery since it seems to be defective (lithium ion battery messing up in 6 months with minimum usage????).

I received a reply from them yesterday... basically saying that they can exchange the product within 30-days.

Now maybe it's me, but I would EXPECT that battery to last longer than it has, especially with such little use. I was very happy with it, but it's not working now, so what's wrong with them exchanging a defective battery?

My point - DON'T purchase batteries from eforcity unless you are willing to risk receiving a defective battery with no compensation. It amazes me how a company with gladly accept your money, but will not help you when they ship you a crappy product in return.

That's my rant...

Regards,

EricP

[rtamburo]

Although, I have no experience with generic G3 batteries, but usually "You get what you pay for." You probably paid about 1/5-1/10 the price of a Canon battery, and it lasted 1/5-1/10 the time....

[EricP]

No, I believe the product is defective. Like I said, I've also picked up an NB-2L from them... which now actually lasts longer than the BP-511!

They should be willing to meet me half way... I'll pay for shipping coming and going for a new replacement, but they should offer to replace it at least. If I overused the battery, I can understand them not wanting to... but I've hardly used it (

[CyberDyneSystems]

Eric,
I agree completely with your sentiment

DON'T purchase batteries from eforcity unless you are willing to risk receiving a defective battery with no compensation

I have two of there batteries and I was prepared fro them to be complete junk at $10.00 each. To my surprise they are both working flawlessly!

However when I spent $10.00 each on Ebay for these generic wonders I knew I was taking a gamble. We would be a bit foolish to think that a $10.00 battery could be as god as a $60.0 one.

For those intersted in a "better bet"

pay $30.00 for a reputable knock off like the MAH Powerex batteries availble at www.thomsondistibuting.com

these truly are superior to the Canon stock battery and cost half the price. :D

[stoneylonesome]

CDS I couldn't agree with you more, I bought from thomas distributing
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/
and have had no problem with G3 battery, they last so long I can't remember the last time I changed it :D
also picked up the Lenmar mach1 charger, real sweet!

[mttmrphy]

I purchased two batteries from eforcity and they both work fine. I knew I was taking a risk though...

[EricP]

It's not about risks in this case. I wasn't buying drugs or product from some shady vendor. I purchased products from a recommended source which was apparently very reputable.

If I wanted to take a risk making a purchase I would have bought the batteries from a street vendor or someone who doesn't give out invoices.

The fact is, the battery I purchases is defective. End of story. The dealer should have responsibility over their products and not put the buyer at risk.

Oh well, I won't beat this issue to death anymore. I just hope that others are aware of what Eforcity is all about.

[msvadi]

Low price does not always imply poor quality product. I think that $10 may be a bit too low, but certainly closer to the fair price than $60.

I've seen a lot of good reviews of eforcity. In fact I'm considering myself to buy a battery from them.

Probably, it's one of the things that allow eforcity to keep the cost down: they don't cover infrequent cases of defective products.

So, it's a simple trade-off: pay $60 with guaranteed replacement in the case of failure, or pay $10 and take the risk.

I think that I would better risk $10 than pay $60. I don't see a problem as long as it's not going to damage my camera.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I agree that they should stand behind there product,.. but what kind of service can they offer with such low profit lines?

I read somewhere that these batteries (the Eforce and other no name batts,. NOT other name brands) use lithium cells that are essentially rejects or leftovers in the manufacturing process. (like getting the "heal" of a loaf of bread) If this is true, I can imagine that some will be fine,. others will not.

Thats said,. E-force should still send you another cheap battery to replace the malfunctioing one.

[South Mountain]

I am dispointed with Eforcity too. I bought 2 batteries for my S-45 for $ 10 each. The batteries does not hold much even fully charged. I can take about 30 pictures and the battery went dead. It happened to both of the batteries. I did not ask Eforcity for return. But I like to share my experience with all of you. I think Eforcity product has no quality standard. If you are lucky, you may get a good one, otherwise you are just the looser.

[EricP]

Low profit margins or not, they should offer an exchange for a defective battery. As I mentioned above, I didn't buy the battery from a street vendor.

I once bought compatible ink for my Canon printer that was a fraction of the cost of an original cartridge... 5 out of six of the inks worked, so ONE was was crapo. I e-mailed the company and they VERY GLADLY offered me an exchange on the product.

I'm glad eforcity doesn't sell $40 compatible batteries... that would have REALLY pi$$ed me off! LOL

[WallyBeavis]

I've posted on several forums before concerning EForcecity on Ebay. I have three of their BP-511 equivalents which I charge
in my Lenmar Mach1 and they've been going strong since I purchased them( probably over a year by now). I haven't even used
my stock Canon BP-511 in my G3 since I bought these batteries. I also purchased some other components from these folks
and the only issue I have with them is shipping. As with all Ebayers, they have a hefty shipping charge for USPS ($6 for the 1st
item, $1 for addtl), but in the end they STILL come in below anything else I looked at when I was shopping for batteries.

As with everything you do in life, this is a risk, so is getting up in the morning and jogging on the sidewalk here in Texas :-)
But for 10 bucks +S&H, even if they only last a year, it's still a better deal than a $60 generic elsewhere.

BTW, I don't believe any of the genreics ship with the nifty battery plate covers that the canon ships with, you have to call the Canon
parts center in NY to get "replacement" covers if you want them. I personally don't need them, it's just something else to slow me
down while I'm swapping batteries :-)

[pradeep1]

maybe you should contact the better business bureau where eForcity is registered and make a complaint. if nothing else, for poor customer service. but if their policy is 30 days, then you are out of luck.