The same way your "friend" probably acquired these batteries, these legitimate Sony batteries we are seeing are likely repurposed batteries removed form battery packs, which is what Sony intended the batteries to be used for. Your connection, who you stated was not in the vape industry, probably didn't buy these batteries in the form we see them for sale for our needs. Is Sony still making these batteries for industrial purposes, most likely. Can you trust all VTC 4/5's are going to be at spec, well Sony won't guarantee it, so you make the call there.Why do you only read and respond to part of a post and ignore the rest that contradicts your position?
Care to explain how Orbtronic managed to get Sony 2015 Sony VTC5 batteries and even produced a battery test comparing them with the 2014 VTC5s? You do know who Orbtronic is, don't you? Here's a hint... Orbtronic SX30, one of only 3 30A continuous drain battery sellers listed in this thread.
Why not just admit you're wrong and you're entire argument is based on a Reddit post from August 2014 that is both outdated and incorrect?
The link you claim is a copy and paste is more than likely Sony's standard response to the inquiry, so both are legitimate, as Sony does not make 18650 batteries for sale to the public.