So after nearly 3 years my Inspiron battery will only last about 45 minutes. I was just on Dell's website and it seems their batteries still suck according to user reviews. So instead of spending $135+ I figured why not try an ebay battery which runs between $35 and $75. First Id like to know if anyone has had any experience with ebay batteries?

Thanks
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Can't say I have, but I think your user name is ******* awesome.

 

I've bought 2, didn't learn my lesson the first time. You get about 3 months and alluvasudden they stop holding a charge... completely. Buy an OEM Dell battery, spend the money, save old battery for emergency backup.

 

That sucks to hear, thanks though.
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Garbage, dont waste time.

 

I bought an off brand battery on ebay that worked fine for a year until I retired the laptop. Have you checked on pricewatch.com? It is always a good place to check for electronics prices. It is a comparison site.
PRICEWATCH :: Price Comparison Tool - Find the lowest prices on computer parts, electronics and more before you buy

 

Oddly, I had a really good experience buying a battery from an eBay vendor for my Sony Vaio. I paid $58 including shipping, it's been over a year, and the battery still runs for nearly 4 hours' worth of playing Divx-encoded fullscreen video, which is enough to get me from ATL to LAX.

The vendor I bought from was GoCZAR,

 

ive been thru too many inspiron batteries. First one was OEM and lasted me a year (RIGHT after the warranty was up)... Second one was ebay fake and didnt last long at all, 3rd one was ebay but an actual dell battery. Its been a year on that one and i am down to about 1/2 of the original life (about an hour or so).


My advice, dont buy from dell.... but get a dell battery (or go ape **** office space style and get rid of your POS dell)

 

If you do go this route, be 100% sure the batterys are exactly the same before you stick that badboy in. Needed a new adapter for mine and the douche sent me the wrong one, then told me I was wrong. Canabalized the parts I needed and fixed the old one.

 

I had a really great experience from ottoman_trade. I guess they work out of NJ. The battery is definately not OEM, but so far has outperformed the OEM.

eBay My World - ottoman_trade

 

I've bought two batteries from eBay for my ThinkPad X40. First one was from these guys in Jan 08, and it was still going strong until 2 weeks ago when I left the laptop outside.... overnight.... in the rain. :(

Bought one to replace it from eBay My World - pro-powerking but haven't had it long enough to comment on the longevity.

Gotta love my ThinkPad though, it's taken a beating from me over the last 3 or 4 years and I can't kill it.

C

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I need a battery for an old Dell laptop pronto. The OEM battery life is waning.

 

+1 thanks guys. I think for 1/3 the price from Dell an ebay one is worth a shot.
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dell is not the only supplie of batterys lots of other people have old OE units sitting around i saw **** for half the price that dell wanted when i had to find my sis a new power supply.

 

You're not suggesting he buy a used OEM battery are you?

C

 

I've had good luck with the Ebay battery for my Dell D620 (built-in serial port FTW) that I bought from Ebay seller "usa-yock-power". Eight months and still going strong.

 

Follow-up:
I bought a battery for my Inspiron 8000 from ottoman_trade. It looks like an OEM battery, plugged right in, and has a lot of capacity. I am still doing the double charge-discharge cycle per their instructions but so far so good. Their shipping was fast too.

 

Good to know, thanks. I still haven't ordered mine.
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I have been needing to get one for my HP for awhile, even when new it never lasted more than 2 hours or so.

 

Some good advice on batteries from Lifehacker:
Lifehacker - Top 10 Battery Hacks, Tips, And Tricks - Batteries

One of their links to "Battery University":
How to prolong lithium-based batteries

Cliffnotes Summary:
" Simple Guidelines

* Avoid frequent full discharges because this puts additional strain on the battery. Several partial discharges with frequent recharges are better for lithium-ion than one deep one. Recharging a partially charged lithium-ion does not cause harm because there is no memory. (In this respect, lithium-ion differs from nickel-based batteries.) Short battery life in a laptop is mainly cause by heat rather than charge / discharge patterns.

* Batteries with fuel gauge (laptops) should be calibrated by applying a deliberate full discharge once every 30 charges. Running the pack down in the equipment does this. If ignored, the fuel gauge will become increasingly less accurate and in some cases cut off the device prematurely.

* Keep the lithium-ion battery cool. Avoid a hot car. For prolonged storage, keep the battery at a 40% charge level.

* Consider removing the battery from a laptop when running on fixed power. (Some laptop manufacturers are concerned about dust and moisture accumulating inside the battery casing.)

* Avoid purchasing spare lithium-ion batteries for later use. Observe manufacturing dates. Do not buy old stock, even if sold at clearance prices.

* If you have a spare lithium-ion battery, use one to the fullest and keep the other cool by placing it in the refrigerator. Do not freeze the battery. For best results, store the battery at 40% state-of-charge. "