Lipo fraud from China?

[kaszal]

Yes, I thought that too so I emailed back asking about those two points.

Seems even good manufacturers slip up from time to time.

[SlowOne]

It is also possible that this is a genuine IB product trying to gain sales off the back of their BRCA/EFRA approval. What makes me suspicious is the weight. the main cost of the cell will be the battery that goes in it, so doing something different with the case and label is not a cost issue. It would be much cheaper to make a cell with a lower performance, and to differentiate that by changing the label, so they know which is which. Send the good stuff to your distributor, make more profit by selling other stuff direct.

Have you considered asking Paul Worsley? I am not sure he would answer (he would spend all his time on e-mail questions at the rate this kind of scam is increasing!) but it might be worth a try. HTH

[Garry]

There are some cheap NiMH stickpacks available through eBay from China and Hong Kong, which claim they are 3000mah on the label. However, open up the pack and the cells are printed with 1700mah NiCD on them.

I'd always be wary of imported LiPo packs having some similar issue - as overloading a cell (like running it in a car you thought was fine, but puts it right on the limits) makes it pretty likely to fail.

[kaszal]

Had several replies back and both the supplier AND the manufacturer are being evasive about the poor labels and lower weight issues.

Time to get a refund?

[wheelspin]

Go for the refund. They sound well to dodgy too risk charging or putting in car. A label does not reduce the wieght by as much as you have noticed.
Also try to contact other buyers from his feedback who left feedback for the same item see if they have issues.

[kaszal]

Got the refund but had to pay £8 to send it back to HK!

Surprisingly, still no satisfactory reply from the manufacturer IP.

The distributor won't acknowledge why I would reject these batteries (right) so battery_international gets a thumbs down.

Lesson learned. I'll use use a good UK model shop in future.

[luniemiester]

I ordered some Intellect 45C 5200 saddles from them before i read this thread, mine arrived a couple of weeks ago and they are the genuine ones, can't understand why they would sell both proper ones and fakes?

[kaszal]

Yep, for a company like IP it doesn't make sense to produce amateur batteries. I don't believe they investigated it properly.

[kaszal]

Now I appreciate why it's better to buy from a reputable UK model shop...

This is the eBay feedback I left "20g underweight, poorly produced label, refunded but cost £8 to post back to HK"

...and here is the message battery_international just sent me "what to do with the negative feedback, i dont make the intellect ok"

What a joke.

[Mouton]

You start off by writing that you have previously bought from RC Station, Stella and Velrip etc and that this is the first time you have encountered a problem. Because of that, you will only by from UK sellers in the future.

Question, how to this make RC STation, Stella and Velrip less reliable?

[kaszal]

Parts are no problem but I think it's better to buy expensive, high risk items like electronics and batteries from a local distributor.

[jamie 6.5t]

hi hope it still works it makes me so cross that some people think that they can and do get away with things like this especially when its a major component in an RC car

[kaszal]

No, I sent it back. I didn't want to charge it, let alone race it at a club.

Anyone looking at the rubbish label might assume it was fake.

[SlowOne]

Well done for being so persistent and getting (most of) your money back. These sellers rely on most people not doing that, just shrugging their shoulders and writing it off to experience.

I am not surprised at the manufacturer's reaction. The Chinese copy things routinely, it's a major problem for everyone. It is possible that those cells contain an IP-made cell, so they are not keen to stop the sales, or to admit that they have supplied to someone making a 'false' case and label.

Buying things made in China through accredited EU distributors is very different to buying from China. We can't really avoid the first one, but we should steer clear of the second one every time!

Thanks for coming back and telling the story, very interesting.

[kaszal]

2011 BRCA list and item description on eBay below...

(IP and battery_international are very naughty)