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    Counterfeit ThinkPad Batteries from a third-party vendor...

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by ken.chang, Nov 30, 2007.

  1. ken.chang

    ken.chang Notebook Guru

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    In case you haven't heard already, IBM is suing Shentech, a third party vendor who sold a counterfeit ThinkPad battery under IBM logo.

    Here is the story.
     
    ken.chang, Nov 30, 2007
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  2. Hawkeye05

    Hawkeye05 Notebook Consultant

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    Serves them right thieving B*****ds!
     
    Hawkeye05, Nov 30, 2007
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  3. 7evendeuce

    7evendeuce Notebook Consultant

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    Funny, Shentech sold me a fake Memory Stick, but they did let me return it for a 100% refund :)
     
    7evendeuce, Nov 30, 2007
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  4. gino_lee

    gino_lee Notebook Evangelist

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    what do u mean fake memory stick?
    it had nothing inside, or it was the wrong size?
     
    gino_lee, Nov 30, 2007
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  5. KnightUnit

    KnightUnit Notebook Evangelist

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    Probably was dummy memory, just a model of the real thing but with no internals. lol
     
    KnightUnit, Nov 30, 2007
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  6. Kaskimondo

    Kaskimondo Notebook Guru

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    No, it's real memory, but it's fake as in not what it is supposed to be. They put low speed cheap memory and label it as the good stuff. Many Chinese "companies" are in the counterfeit business unfortunately.

    This is why I'd be very careful who you buy a laptop battery from. Recently I've been looking to buy a 7 cell and I checked out some different places on the web, as well as some ebay auctions. What I didn't trust about some of the sites and auctions are claims that they have "genuine" IBM batteries, but have them at too low a price. Or if they seem to be coming from China. I get a little skeptical since that is where tons of counterfeit stuff comes from as well.

    Lesson is, be careful where you get genuine parts from, try to only buy from authorized dealers if you can help it.
     
    Kaskimondo, Nov 30, 2007
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  7. optomos

    optomos Notebook Evangelist

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    Same thing they did with the cell phone batteries.
     
    optomos, Nov 30, 2007
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  8. eyecon82

    eyecon82 Notebook Deity

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    wow..i hope they got put out of business
     
    eyecon82, Nov 30, 2007
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  9. webvanguy

    webvanguy Notebook Enthusiast

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    I bought a Thinkpad 9-cell battery on eBay. The seller had a 100% feedback rating (not that eBay ratings are valid for anything) and the item photo looked genuine. I received a genuine IBM part for about $80. It was brand new and factory sealed. It was also made in China (what isn't nowadays). I checked the battery recall information page at Lenovo and used their online battery-checking tool. Sure enough, my brand new battery was subject to one of the recalls. Fortunately, my battery had never been reported for replacement and I was able to get a free replacement from Lenovo within a week. Lenovo doesn't ask for recalled batteries to be returned; they only ask that you recycle the recalled battery. Thus, a savvy crook could get their recalled batteries replaced by Lenovo and then sell them to YOU.

    I feel fortunate enough to have dodged that bullet this time around. I think I'll stay away from eBay batteries in the future.
     
    webvanguy, Nov 30, 2007
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  10. 7evendeuce

    7evendeuce Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, right on. Sadly, it wasn't very cheap, either..
    After that, I'm never buying from them again.
     
    7evendeuce, Dec 1, 2007
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  11. JabbaJabba

    JabbaJabba ThinkPad Facilitator

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    I agree that people should be careful and apply some common sense when buying from unauthorized dealers. However, there are quite a few legitimate sellers on eBay as well.

    I personally had a very positive experience buying a genuine ThinkPad 4-cell enhanced capacity battery for my X61. I bought this via eBay and the seller was from China as well. Here's the thread I made on the topic:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=155280
     
    JabbaJabba, Dec 1, 2007
    #11