Fake AA/AAA Batteries – can you even buy genuine ones online now…

I love how people think that the batteries going in those bins are being recycled. I know EXACTLY where they are, probably billions of them in one place (thousands of tonnes of them) as I have something to do with them for my job.

I love how people post things alluding to “insider knowledge” but don’t post any actual information.

“I could tell you… but I really want you to ask me first”

You just bit neal – I was ignoring him

So what does happen to them?

They go into a big pile (eh, francophones?!) in a shed. Manufacturers have targets to ensure that a certain percentage of their batteries are recycled/”recycled”. Currently those targets are relatively low, and easily achieved. The targets are ramping up in years to come – EU targets as far as I’m aware, so presumably we’ll replicate them in the Great Duplication of Effort Bill.

Battery manufacturers (and those to whom they contract their recycling/reprocessing obligations) will struggle to source as many batteries as they need to meet their increasing targets, which is when the big piles (eh?! 😀 ) in sheds will start to come in handy.

You just bit neal – I was ignoring him

I didn’t say I wanted to know 😉

(I actually don’t care to be honest 😆 )

Battery manufacturers (and those to whom they contract their recycling/reprocessing obligations) will struggle….. etc

So.

They are in storage, awaiting recycling (move along, no drama here)

Edited.

I don’t think Duracell give a £&/):

Thank you for taking the time to contact Duracell Consumer Relations Department.

The only way to truly determine if a battery is counterfeit is to have a battery expert evaluate it thoroughly; however, there are some things you can look for when questioning if a battery is a true Duracell product:

– We use recycled paper in our packaging. If you look at the back of the package, the cardstock should look dull, or similar to a newspaper. If it’s bright white, it’s suspect.
– Duracell batteries are packed flush to the bottom of the cardstock. You should be able to stand our battery packs upright without them falling.
– Other possible signs of counterfeit batteries include spelling errors on the package or poor picture quality.
– The batteries may not be the same colour.
– Our alkaline batteries are branded as Ultra Power, Plus Power and Duracell Simply on the Western European markets. If you purchased a copper & black coloured battery that does not show these sub-brand names, it might have been imported by someone from other regions (and therefore we cannot guarantee it was stored and handled properly), but it may also be a counterfeit.
– Typically, we sell our products to either supermarkets or large wholesalers. (Wholesalers sell the products they bought from us to smaller, individually-owned stores.) Although the Amazon company has recently started selling Duracell products, you should take extra caution when ordering batteries on-line from independent dealers on Amazon, Ebay or similar websites.

Please bear in mind that we cannot garantee the safety of a product if this is counterfeit. If you are ever in doubt, we would advise you to stop using the product.

Kind Regards,

Eleonora
Duracell Consumer Relations

You’re right though, these will be the last set of disposable batteries I buy – rechargeable from now on.

I don’t think Duracell give a £&/):

I don’t think there’s much they can do. They know their batteries are counterfeited, some of the fakes will be next to indistinguishable (some of the chinese stuff could conceivably even outperform their own – Ikea’s batteries will be coming out of a Chinese factory somewhere)

Buy from a high street store is pretty much the only advice they can give. If they take yours and test them and find they’re fake what are they really going to do about it?

I love how people think that the batteries going in those bins are being recycled. I know EXACTLY where they are, probably billions of them in one place (thousands of tonnes of them) as I have something to do with them for my job.

I’d rather they were safely stored in a big shed somewhere than individually rusting away in landfill and leaching into the water supply.

Duracell just sent me this picture of the bottom of one of their genuine batteries:

Compared against mine:

The amazon ones now look like the fakes, I give up 😆

Were they “Amazon – sold by Amazon”, or “Amazon – fulfilled by Amazon”?
I’d be surprised if Amazon themselves sold fakes.

They don’t use rechargeable, cost isn’t really an issue but reliability of a battery is utmost and they know where they stand with standard alkalines.

Main reason is the voltage of rechargeables isn’t as high, and the PD drop off is steep – alkalines produce the max voltage for longer and thats critical for wireless mic packs.

Manufacturer LiOn packs are fine, but expensive enough to make Duracells per gig seem economic (I’ve no idea if they are actually – but we use them for again peace of mind).

Kodak Xtralife are near the top of that graph, aren’t they in Poundland? 4 + 2 free? They are what I use at home and seem pretty good.

@AlexSimon – “Amazon – fulfilled by Amazon”

Sold by these guys: Battery Warehouse

Sold by these guys: Battery Warehouse

Did you check.the user reviews? The ones I read for the same or similar seller were pretty much dodgy.

Yeah @DrJ

I thought with 95% positive feedback and fulfilled by Amazon I’d be pretty safe!

fulfilled by Amazon

Unfortunately that doesn’t give you any guarantees at all. It just means they’ve paid for Amazon warehousing and delivery. You could send them anything to sell.