Eneloop real or fake?
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Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Sadly, I'd have to say yes, they do look like fakes.I have this new set of eneloops, arrived today from DE Hong Kong. Vents (three) around the positive post are different size and shape than usual. Is this just another batch of fakes?
I have some eneloops of 2009 manufacture and they look like the genuine cell on the left.
If they were genuine cells from the Hong Kong market, wouldn't you expect them to have Chinese labelling and packaging?
Bones
Enlightened
I have this new set of eneloops, arrived today from DE Hong Kong. Vents (three) around the positive post are different size and shape than usual. Is this just another batch of fakes?
There is a date code embossed to cell too, but its very weak, and hard to see all the numbers. Date code also has a bit different position depending of the cell.
Here is a genuine eneloop on the left, and this new one on the right.
...
Unfortunately my C9000 is still working with another set of cells, so I can't put those new eneloops to break-in cycle yet.
I just noticed that dealextreme.com even used these counterfeits for the images on their product page:
This strikes me as a pretty effective way to quell any suspicions that their pushing counterfeits; the customer can compare the cells they received with these images and clearly determine they're an exact match.
Their apparent failure to determine these four cell packages were also counterfeit after getting caught out with their two cell packages makes it difficult to believe this isn't deliberate fraud.
You also have to wonder how many of these they've managed to push on their customers, especially when it appears that these have been their only four piece offering since they started carrying the 'Eneloop'.
Anyway, good eye marko!
Hi Everyone.
Recently I've bought a pack of 4 eneloop batteries from a "Ritz Camera" store at the US. I bought them at the counter and I just finished breaking them in using a Maha C-9000.
I had a feeling that they were fakes because of the very high Mah they reached during Break In mode (over 2500 Mah but I guess it was because they receive a 1.6C charge) so I started looking on the forum and I ran into this thread.
The batteries look exactly the same as the fake ones that are pictured, the same packaging as well. The weird part is that at the end of break in, the results I received were:
1 - 1953
2 - 1937
3 - 1920
4 - 1947
All the batteries have the numbers "08-093Z" embossed next to the seam but it doesn't look exactly the same as the text on the real batteries (that can be seen in the thread that Mr. Happy supplied on How to read Eneloop date code.).
Do you think there is a chance that they are authentic? I don't see how a reputable store like Ritz Camera will dare to sell a fake product in their store unless they were fooled as well.
What else can I do in order to check if they are real or not? I can post pictures of the batteries/package (please tell me if I should).
Thank you very much in advance
Recently I've bought a pack of 4 eneloop batteries from a "Ritz Camera" store at the US. I bought them at the counter and I just finished breaking them in using a Maha C-9000.
I had a feeling that they were fakes because of the very high Mah they reached during Break In mode (over 2500 Mah but I guess it was because they receive a 1.6C charge) so I started looking on the forum and I ran into this thread.
The batteries look exactly the same as the fake ones that are pictured, the same packaging as well. The weird part is that at the end of break in, the results I received were:
1 - 1953
2 - 1937
3 - 1920
4 - 1947
All the batteries have the numbers "08-093Z" embossed next to the seam but it doesn't look exactly the same as the text on the real batteries (that can be seen in the thread that Mr. Happy supplied on How to read Eneloop date code.).
Do you think there is a chance that they are authentic? I don't see how a reputable store like Ritz Camera will dare to sell a fake product in their store unless they were fooled as well.
What else can I do in order to check if they are real or not? I can post pictures of the batteries/package (please tell me if I should).
Thank you very much in advance
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digitor
Newly Enlightened
The "over 2500 mAh" figure is not the capacity - it's the energy that was put into the cell during the charge. The final figure is the capacity, and it sounds about right for an Eneloop tested with a current model C9000.
Have a close look at the positive terminal - if it has four vents, and looks a bit squarish, it's probably a genuine Eneloop. Also, check on which side of the seam the date code is printed.
I bought four packs of Eneloops in HK a few weeks ago, (dirt cheap from Apliu St. - HK$63 per pack) and the packaging looks identical to the DX pics, but the cells have the characteristic positive terminal shape, and return capacities of around 2000 mAh on a break-in. They seem to be as genuine as the other 40 cells I have, but have no outer clear shrink wrap over the white one. Date code is 08-11 UI.
Cheers
Have a close look at the positive terminal - if it has four vents, and looks a bit squarish, it's probably a genuine Eneloop. Also, check on which side of the seam the date code is printed.
I bought four packs of Eneloops in HK a few weeks ago, (dirt cheap from Apliu St. - HK$63 per pack) and the packaging looks identical to the DX pics, but the cells have the characteristic positive terminal shape, and return capacities of around 2000 mAh on a break-in. They seem to be as genuine as the other 40 cells I have, but have no outer clear shrink wrap over the white one. Date code is 08-11 UI.
Cheers
Thank you digitor for the response. the positive terminal is sort of squarish and it has four vents so that is good. The date code is printed just above the seam, right below the warnings on the battery.
I have sent an email to Ritz Camera costumer service. Here is what I wrote:
"Dear Ritz Camera Staff
I have recently bought a pack of 4 AA Sanyo eneloop batteries from your store in Cambridge Massachusetts. The batteries raised my suspicion because they did not look the same as some other eneloop batteries that I've seen. After looking around the internet I have found that those batteries I have bought from your store are fakes and not genuine Sanyo eneloop batteries. The package that I bought from your store does not appear on the eneloop site as one of their official products. I am not in the US anymore so I cannot come back to your store to return those batteries but this incident really upsets me. I have paid cash for these batteries (11.99, 12.59 after taxes) and I would either like to receive genuine Sanyo eneloop batteries as a replacement or some sort of store credit by gift card or by other form..."
And this is the response I received:
"I am sorry for the confusion. I can assure you that the product that you purchased is not a fake. I imported these directly from the manufacturer. It is possible that it is not the Official US packaging for the batteries. I can assure you that they are not fake. We apologize for any misunderstanding."
I guess that whoever answered me knows what he is talking about so maybe authentic enloops are also sold in the "fake" packaging?
Are there any other methods that you can suggest to check the performance of these batteries?
I have sent an email to Ritz Camera costumer service. Here is what I wrote:
"Dear Ritz Camera Staff
I have recently bought a pack of 4 AA Sanyo eneloop batteries from your store in Cambridge Massachusetts. The batteries raised my suspicion because they did not look the same as some other eneloop batteries that I've seen. After looking around the internet I have found that those batteries I have bought from your store are fakes and not genuine Sanyo eneloop batteries. The package that I bought from your store does not appear on the eneloop site as one of their official products. I am not in the US anymore so I cannot come back to your store to return those batteries but this incident really upsets me. I have paid cash for these batteries (11.99, 12.59 after taxes) and I would either like to receive genuine Sanyo eneloop batteries as a replacement or some sort of store credit by gift card or by other form..."
And this is the response I received:
"I am sorry for the confusion. I can assure you that the product that you purchased is not a fake. I imported these directly from the manufacturer. It is possible that it is not the Official US packaging for the batteries. I can assure you that they are not fake. We apologize for any misunderstanding."
I guess that whoever answered me knows what he is talking about so maybe authentic enloops are also sold in the "fake" packaging?
Are there any other methods that you can suggest to check the performance of these batteries?
Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hello bucsab12,
There is no reason to believe your eneloops are anything other than genuine.
To avoid further misunderstandings or confusion with anyone else, here is what genuine eneloops in USA packaging look like:
I hope that puts your mind at rest.
There is no reason to believe your eneloops are anything other than genuine.
To avoid further misunderstandings or confusion with anyone else, here is what genuine eneloops in USA packaging look like:
I hope that puts your mind at rest.
I think your batteries probably are genuine. I may be wrong, of course, but nothing that you wrote looked suspicious to me.
Unfortunately Sanyo offers Eneloops in many different packages and with different printings on the shrink wraps. I saw at least half a dozen, completely genuine, versions and there are probably many more. The fact that someone sells fake Eneloops in the package similar to the one you bought may show that yours is a genuine package - the fake ones are usually verbatim copies of the real ones.
I think that every fake Eneloop I saw had a plus button differing from the real ones but obviously everything can be copied. Ultimately the best test would be to see how the batteries behave. You checked their discharge capacity but you could also perform a high current discharge test or patiently wait to see if they are really LSD batteries. Of course someone could also make a fake Eneloop with an LSD chemistry...
As I wrote, looking at the information that you provided I think your cells are genuine and you can safely use them.
Marko
Newly Enlightened
Thanks Bones, the four cell package that I received looks exactly the same, here is a picture of backside of it:
Those 'eneloops' are now in the C9000 at break-in mode, but here is the results of dicharge at 400mA (cells straight from the package).
1 - 728 mAh
2 - 678 mAh
3 - 794 mAh
4 - 650 mAh
Funny, this was the last part of my old order at least four months ago, when I did my first eneloop order at dealextreme. Then I got my money back (and they also let me keep those fakes), and much later I noticed that one set of four was still missing from my old order - after couple mails they finally believed that one package wasn't at my original delivery, and eventually I received this last-eneloop-pack-from-hk-ever. At first, when opening the package, I think that could this be real deal, because of the different packing. But no, looks like it just have better wrapping around the cell (and ther is no clear plastic covering anymore) . :sick2:
edit: the packing looks very much like the one in Mr Happy's picture, so they got at least it right.
Those 'eneloops' are now in the C9000 at break-in mode, but here is the results of dicharge at 400mA (cells straight from the package).
1 - 728 mAh
2 - 678 mAh
3 - 794 mAh
4 - 650 mAh
Funny, this was the last part of my old order at least four months ago, when I did my first eneloop order at dealextreme. Then I got my money back (and they also let me keep those fakes), and much later I noticed that one set of four was still missing from my old order - after couple mails they finally believed that one package wasn't at my original delivery, and eventually I received this last-eneloop-pack-from-hk-ever. At first, when opening the package, I think that could this be real deal, because of the different packing. But no, looks like it just have better wrapping around the cell (and ther is no clear plastic covering anymore) . :sick2:
edit: the packing looks very much like the one in Mr Happy's picture, so they got at least it right.
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Marko
Newly Enlightened
Perhaps we should make somekind of "counterfeit gallery" - genuine eneloops vs fakes? :huh:
Bones
Enlightened
You're far from the first person to briefly dead-short an Eneloop Art.
Fortunately, they really are a tough little cell, and I've yet to hear of any consequential problems with their performance, even over the long term.
Insofar as initial capacity is concerned, please bear in mind that the Eneloop may not leave the factory with a full charge.
The following blurb is from a senior representative at Sanyo Component Europe GmbH:
Source:
http://www.stefanv.com ... sanyo_eneloop ...
-
Bones
Enlightened
It would certainly be both convenient and a useful tool Marko.
While its predecessors have been almost embarrassingly obvious, the counterfeit Eneloops you reported are thus far in a class by themselves.
Since it's a given they're only going to get more difficult to discern, a centralized respository for images and information would certainly save a lot of digging, especially for those that Google their way here.
Marko
Newly Enlightened
I'll try to take better pictures after the break-in sequence, or is there somebody who allready has those cells from the same batch (and have better photographing skills too :thumbsup: )?
rookiedaddy
Enlightened
here are two pictures I received from Sanyo:
hope to see more ways to ID these fake cells, but as the counterfeits getting better at imitating the physical appearance, it will be harder to ID them
hope to see more ways to ID these fake cells, but as the counterfeits getting better at imitating the physical appearance, it will be harder to ID them
Marko
Newly Enlightened
To avoid further misunderstandings or confusion with anyone else, here is what genuine eneloops in USA packaging look like:
Here is the front of the new packaging that I received, it looks very much like the genuine one.
My cells has similar ridge like fake cells on rookiedaddy's pictures. You can see it here, fake one on the right.
Mr Happy
Flashlight Enthusiast
The similar packaging is probably because the counterfeiters photocopied the original. It is more significant to look at the cells themselves. The exact shape and design of those is harder to copy.
Also, as I mentioned before, doesn't it seem a little odd to get a package distributed by "Sanyo Energy (U.S.A.) Corporation" from a vendor in Hong Kong? I would find that quite suspicious in itself.
Also, as I mentioned before, doesn't it seem a little odd to get a package distributed by "Sanyo Energy (U.S.A.) Corporation" from a vendor in Hong Kong? I would find that quite suspicious in itself.
digitor
Newly Enlightened
The four packs that I recently got in HK have got "Manufactured for: SANYO Energy (U.S.A.)" etc. written on the back, and they are definitely genuine. I must admit that I wasn't sure about that until I got them home and tested them all though!
Cheers
