How to tell if you got fake batteries?

[Timo505]

I ordered four 18650 Sony vtc4 batteries from elev8 online. There just green wrapped batteries with a sticker on them that say "18650 2100mAh 3.7v" and I've heard there has been a lot of fake sonys vtc4's going around is there a way to make sure they are authentic?

 

[waknvap]

There are a lot of fake sonys going around...to be safe i wouldnt touch sonys.

You cant tell they are fake by looking at them...the real ones look exactly the same. The only real way to check would require knowlege and equipment.

The best thing to do is stay away from sony batteries and buy other named cells from someone you can trust.

 

[Thrasher]

The only way is to buy from a reputable seller anymore. ebay amazon rinkydink vape sites etc are buyer beware

 

[Timo505]

I bought them from Elev8 Vape they seem to be a legit place they had reviews of people saying they bought them and tested them and they were real sonys so I hope they are arel... I bought 4 of them! I didn't hear about the fakes going around u tell after I bought them

 

[RamShot Rowdy]

Useful reading:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-9-battery-basics-mods-imr-protected-icr.html

 

[tj99959]

I bought them from Elev8 Vape

I could probably have a site up on the internet by morning, and could order a boat load of Sony batteries from Alibaba.

Your chances of them being authentic VTC batteries would be ZERO

 

[Thrasher]

Well the best I can tell ya is even real sony, lg samsung and a few others have the most plain wrappers you can find it is hard to tell that way. So at this point its a judgement call you will have to make for yourself.

Personally at this point I only use panasonics anymore but i dont need a zillion amps so I wouldnt know a real sony if I held one

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Their picture appears to be of legit vtc4's, but that doesn't mean much unless you're very familiar with the teeny tiniest minute details of how to identify authentic vs fake.

To prevent buying fakes / re wrapped lesser quality cells only buy batteries from reputable vendors / dealers such as;
RTD Vapor
Illumination Supply
Lighthound
Orbtronics

 

[twgbonehead]

Hi, Timo! Welcome to ECF!

As Topwater said, it seems, sadly, that the only way to be sure you're buying originals is to buy them from reputable vendors.
The best way to guarantee you're buying fakes is if the price is significantly cheaper than from someone like RTD. The vendors he listed have genuine batteries, at a fair price.

If you're vaping on CE4 heads it may not make a difference. If the battery matters, it does.

 

[jstrong]

I am not familiar with Elev8 Vape. Best bet is to always buy from a reputable dealer. I have 2 extra Sony VTC4 that I will not be using if you are interested. Mine came from a legit dealer. I got mine from Lightning Vapes. If you don't mind telling, How much did you pay for them? If you haven't used them maybe you could send them back. Do you have any pictures of what you received?

 

[Jred10465]

Ecigavenue reputable or not?

 

[Topwater Elvis]

I already listed the only 4 places I would buy batteries from online.

Those 4 are long term well known reliable trustworthy reputable dealers / vendors, batteries are the very last place to try to save money.

 

[Thrasher]

i agree. People think wow 12 bucks. But dont realize just 2 or 3 in rotation will last a couple years

Heck I got batteries from late 2012 still sitting here working

 

[SmokingAStogie]

I just took a look at all of Topwater's recommended sellers and found that Illumination Supply has the best deal on VTC4s atm. I'm about to order 4 of them for 35.95 shipping included.

 

[JohnnyPfromCT]

Ive been stuck with fake vtc4 batteries as well. The bottoms are different. If you google fake vtc4, you will see the difference.