[Scourge]

Hey all,

My girlfriend had her battery die in her laptop and I'm looking at getting a replacement. Sony wants $199 for it!! So I'm looking at aftermarket possibilities. At this point http://www.battdepot.ca seems to be at the top of my list. They've got the battery for $63CDN or $78CDN for the high capacity model.

Anybody have any experience with these guys? Alternatively, anyone have any other recommendations of where to get a decent price on a replacement battery?

The battery is a Sony VGP-BPS2C from a VGN-C240 notebook.

Thanks!
-George

[NOS2Go4Me]

There must be a reason the aftermarket ones are THAT cheap. Can you compare SKUs and see if the BattDepot batteries are truly compatible? I'd be wary of putting no-name batteries into a laptop when aggressive laptop use can (and does) cause inferior laptop battery packs to overheat, melt down and even catch fire - remember the flaming Dells, Sonys and others from a couple years back?

Just my 2 cents. :)

[darkpuppet]

I picked upa couple batteries from them for my pocket PC... they're generic, but they haven't exploded yet. And it's been 2 years.

[Scourge]

Thanks for the replies guys!

NOS2GO: I understand your concern with aftermarket batteries. I used to be quite leary about it but after looking at what all OEM's charge for their brand of battery and what most aftermarket manufacturers charge it really makes me wonder. I've been using generic replacement batteries in my electronics for years now and have yet to have any problems. When I can buy three aftermarket ones for the price of a single OEM ... I'd rather take the chance on them having half the life (and blowing up on my lap! :P) of an OEM.

DP: Thanks, I was hoping someone on here had purchased from them before. I'm always leery of dealing with unknown companies on the internet, it's nice to know that someone has successfully made a purchase from them.


Thanks again!
-George

[NefCanuck]

Are those the guys out in Woodbridge? (Highway 27 and something IIRC)

I bought a replacement battery from a place ther for my Sony PDA (since Sony wasn't even selling batteries for the thing I had no choice)

Prompt service but the battery and PDA never did work well together (The original could be conditioned by the PDA if it developed a "memory" effect, not so the generic replacement)

NefCanuck

[Scourge]

NefCanuck,Feb 11 2009, 10:59 AM Wrote:Are those the guys out in Woodbridge? (Highway 27 and something IIRC)

I bought a replacement battery from a place ther for my Sony PDA (since Sony wasn't even selling batteries for the thing I had no choice)

Prompt service but the battery and PDA never did work well together (The original could be conditioned by the PDA if it developed a "memory" effect, not so the generic replacement)

NefCanuck
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Nope, these guys are in Richmond BC. I've also noticed they use paypal which I like since I've recently discovered paypal has buyer protection for non-ebay purchases as well.

-George

[Gravter]

I've had success with these guy in the past:
http://www.totalbattery.com

Good luck.

[Scourge]

Just a follow up for those who may be looking in the future. I ended up ordering from battdepot.ca, easy to deal with, shipped super fast (ordered it on a sunday afternoon and it was here on Tuesday), and the battery has worked flawlessly so far.


-George

[StreetEdition]

arent the batteries in dell/sony/toshiba just rebranded batteries from someone else anyway?

so whats the diff between the overpriced one and one that might say "duracell" on it?

[torradan]

I pickd up a battery from battdepot about a year ago, and have had no problems with it at all.

Its identical to the Dell battery, minus the Dell logo on it.

[Scourge]

StreetEdition,Jun 3 2009, 06:04 AM Wrote:arent the batteries in dell/sony/toshiba just rebranded batteries from someone else anyway?

so whats the diff between the overpriced one and one that might say "duracell" on it?
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From what I've read, Sony has some sort of blocker in place in some of their laptops that will only allow you to use Sony brand batteries. Some of them have a software base controller and some have one that is hardware base, thankfully neither my laptop nor my gf's have this.

-George

[NefCanuck]

StreetEdition,Jun 3 2009, 05:04 AM Wrote:arent the batteries in dell/sony/toshiba just rebranded batteries from someone else anyway?

so whats the diff between the overpriced one and one that might say "duracell" on it?
[right][snapback]288707[/snapback][/right]

In theory nothing, however the laptop manufacturer can voild a warranty claim if they can prove that the laptop was damaged by the use of a non OEM battery.

But since the majority of the time the batteries fail when the machine is outside its warranty period, that point is usally moot, unless you buy an extended warranty that goes past the typical 1 - 2 years that laptops are covered.

NefCanuck

[darkpuppet]

StreetEdition,Jun 3 2009, 06:04 AM Wrote:arent the batteries in dell/sony/toshiba just rebranded batteries from someone else anyway?

so whats the diff between the overpriced one and one that might say "duracell" on it?
[right][snapback]288707[/snapback][/right]

Just to add to Nefcanuk's.. most, if not all Li batteries are made by a few companies and then rebranded/packaged for specific customers.

So when you buy generic, you're buying a battery that fits, and likely uses the same components, but it may not be designed with the thermal protection (venting/circuit, etc, improper material sealing).. etc.. and that's what can cause the big problems.