Counterfeit Maxell batteries - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: jrmymllr
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 10, 2021, 11:25:22 pm
content: I bought a pack of LR44 batteries from eBay and as I was giving the seller positive feedback, I started wondering if they are genuine. Maybe it's because they were fairly inexpensive, or maybe because eBay is so full of misrepresented products. I couldn't find much online about this other than that counterfeit Maxell batteries are out there.I looked at mine and noticed "confirming" is misspelled on the rear #1, the the end of #4 is badly written. I'd think Maxell wouldn't make this mistake? There were also references online to the negative side being polished for better conductivity. This one appears rough. What do you think about these? I have a huge problem with being lied to on a purchased product even if it's not much money. The last example of this is a big eBay seller with perfect 100% rating selling "new" hard drives that SMART data claims years of use.EDIT: I just noticed something else very suspicious. The front of the package says "Please read WAPNING on the back before use". I'm highly doubtful Maxell would make this mistake.

author: oPossum
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 01:40:46 am
content: This may be the packaging of the genuine product. Don't recall where or when I bought these.

author: oPossum
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 01:53:13 am
content: Hmm....https://maxell-usa.com/micro-batteries/

author: jrmymllr
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 02:36:40 am
content: Quote from: oPossum on November 11, 2021, 01:53:13 amHmm indeed. That packaging is quite fancy compared with mine (and yours), and mine even claim to have a 2026 expiration date.I see your packaging at least didn't misspell two words.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 03:07:58 am
content: Quote from: oPossum on November 11, 2021, 01:40:46 amEven the grammar on that one seems a bit dodgy and I'd think it's fake even if it wasn't (I don't know.) Especially "Use finger sacksofnon metallic tweezers" and "Do not throw the battery into fire,notrecharge".

author: HwAoRrDk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 02:34:15 pm
content: I just automatically assume all cheap name-brand coin cell batteries on eBay are counterfeit. Especially the ones in 'bulk' packaging like this.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 03:02:59 pm
content: For those native English speakers who do not think spelling, grammar, and punctuation are important: note that the important clues about this packaging are errors in spelling and grammar.These can be expected from small companies who rely on automatic translation into English, but are not expected from major corporations who can afford proper translation.

author: DrG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 03:54:03 pm
content: I looked around and saw the new holographic package being soldhttps://www.amazon.com/Maxell-LR44-Batteries-holographic-packaging/dp/B00JG3ICZM/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=maxell+holographic&qid=1636645414&sr=8-3(from the Maxell store - presuming that is run by the company).I don't know why the issue is interesting to me, but it is, at least mildly. I remember recently buying some N95 masks from a well know manufacturer and their "new" packaging included a code that you could look up online for authenticity.How effective is this "new" packaging going to be with so much old stock out there? I don't know, but going forward, I like the attempt at least - depending on how much that is costing me as a consumer.To me, the grammatical dumfukery in the example is well past suspicion.Finally, I looked at the 1 star ratings and chuckled at the complaints about the batteries themselves, not the packaging. This is a little bit of thread drift, but I am starting to form an intuitive grasp of how many 1 star reviews (as a percentage) I can tolerate before impacting a buying decision.

author: MrMobodies
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 11:26:13 pm
content: "ForCalculator..." I tend get a bit suspicious.I remembered in 2010 on Amazon when I looked around for genuine laptop batteries and chargers and I'd see many listings that start with "For." "F." and I'd look at them and with the low price and appearance made me think something wasn't quite right with it and their feedback profile didn't look good too for other items on quite a few of them.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 11, 2021, 11:55:38 pm
content: Why are they warning against throwing the EU in the waste bin?

author: jrmymllr
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2021, 12:50:13 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on November 11, 2021, 11:55:38 pmAnd that waste bin is quite small. I don't think it would fit.

author: TheBay
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: November 12, 2021, 09:33:54 pm
content: It happened in the UK and hasn't worked out too well.

author: BrokenYugo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2021, 10:23:17 pm
content: Chinesium.Best way I've found to get genuine button/coin cells at reasonable prices is to buy from mouser/digikey, at least for lithium, not sure on alkaline.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2021, 11:04:19 pm
content: Quote from: TimFox on November 11, 2021, 03:02:59 pmThat has always surprised me, I mean how much could proper translation of the text on a package cost? I'm a native English speaker and it would take me about 10 minutes to clean up the entire thing into proper English. I'd be willing to do it for the cost of a couple of beers, or a modest amount of free product. The translation only has to be done once.

author: TimFox
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 12, 2021, 11:12:44 pm
content: I agree. “Cleaning up” a translation (so long as you know the basic technical words) is far easier than an actual translation. When my employer worked with a large Japanese company, I was often asked to review and fix technical articles, etc., possibly because my punctuation was better than other English-speaking employees at work.

author: jrmymllr
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2021, 02:44:10 pm
content: I messaged the seller and pointed these things out, and asked if they are indeed real Maxell batteries. They responded "we are going to talk to our supplier about this" and refunded my money. LOL

author: strawberry
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2021, 03:09:26 pm
content: wonder why never see ''made in china'' on counterfeit products

author: DrG
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2021, 03:37:52 pm
content: We have all probably 'struggled' with 'language translation' in data sheets, and the examples in the video are, perhaps, "over the top"; but consider the task difficulty.You need the language and cultural information at both ends. You can't just have the English (or other language) corrected without attention given to the original text. With our appreciation for cultural diversity, I am surprised that multi-lingual, multi-cultural, translation is not a more common pay-per-translation service.Given the idioms (and just plain slang) of English and its cultural variations (boot and pukka, come to mind as examples from this forum that I had to look up) I wonder how "over the top", written above could be translated.Oh, and then of course you need age-related context

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 14, 2021, 06:12:42 pm
content: I don't think you need much cultural information to properly translate the language on the package of the battery. Either way it shouldn't be hard to find an individual in the target market willing to go over the translation and clean it up. Even a complete idiot could make a big improvement on the "Chinglish" in a on a lot of packages and manuals. Although some of the text that is out there does make for some good laughs.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2021, 03:50:34 am
content: Quote from: james_s on November 14, 2021, 06:12:42 pmActually it is not that easy. Small or mid-sized Chinese companies will not hire someone to translate their poor English. I had a friend who started a business offering a service to translate documentation, packaging, and fix websites for Chinese vendors way back in the mid 2000's. He found they are simply not interested, maybe because someone will lose face. He closed up shop after three months.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2021, 05:48:13 am
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on November 15, 2021, 03:50:34 amWell it's easy if the Chinese companies actually saw any value in it. I wouldn't expect them to have somebody on the payroll in most cases, it's the sort of thing you'd do on a contract basic. I shouldn't even be expensive, I mean in the case of these batteries I'd do it in exchange for a few free packs of batteries. It's a trivial task that would take only a few minutes.

author: strawberry
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: November 15, 2021, 11:00:28 am
content: Quote from: VK3DRB on November 15, 2021, 03:50:34 amnot because someone will lose face but they just wont spend a penny on something. thanks to Mao genius reforms ,it's new chinese culture I guesshttps://replay.lsm.lv/lv/ieraksts/ltv/30274/1000-judzes-kina-4-serijathey still wash clothes in rivers :O