Fake LP-E6 Batteries

Well first time for this but I have been caught out in the fake battery saga , bought 3 genuine canon lp-e6 batteries from ebay and paid a little less than shop price but seller seemed good and when they came all in packaging with holograms etc, no problem.

After a month of use i have noticed they are not lasting as long as i would have expected so got in touch with canon and they are fakes. Now i have the issue of chasing for a refund and repurchasing as well as knowing some idea sold me dangerous batteries which could even cause a fire. Not a happy bunny ( excuse the duracell pun )

Heres the pics , on comparison the only thing now obvious is the glossier finish to the casing. Everything else looks very well copied.

batt1a.jpg

batt1b.jpg

batt1c.jpg


www.andrew-davies.com North East and Yorkshire Wedding Photography
 

Maximilian

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Pitty!

Thank you for sharing and I feel with you.

To avoid experiences like that people can also go to their local Canon HP to see the differences, e.g.
US:
https://www.usa.canon.com/internet/portal/us/home/explore/product-showcases/about-counterfeits/avoiding-counterfeits?cm_sp=AntiC-_-NewWeb-_-tab_avoidingcft
Germany:
http://www.canon.de/support/consumer_products/products/cameras/digital_slr/eos_5d_mark_iii.aspx?type=important&faqdetailid=tcm:83-1150281
 
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Andrew Davies Photography said:
Heres the pics , on comparison the only thing now obvious is the glossier finish to the casing. Everything else looks very well copied.

That is a very well executed fake. The difference in finish is either due to a different surface finishing of the molding tool, or that the tool simply is at a different stage during it's wear-cycle vs the original tool.

Since the seller was passing them as original batteries, I would imagine that ebay would like to know/take action on that.
 
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Andrew Davies Photography said:
bought 3 genuine canon lp-e6 batteries from ebay

Unfortunate, but unsurprising. You may end up finding the seller also believed them to be genuine, after buying them wholesale, perhaps from a seller like Alibaba (sort of a clearing house for counterfeit and fraudulent items).

Lesson hopefully learned – with easily counterfeited items (batteries, memory cards, etc.), buy only from manufacturer-authorized, reputable dealers.
 
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Unfortunately, many purchase counterfeit items and never know it. They are a problem on Amazon due to Amazon's practice of co-mingling products from different sellers into one bin. This allows Amazon to ship from the warehouse closest to you, but it may also mean that you get merchandise that is not genuine, because it was submitted by someone different then the seller you purchased from.

I believe that Amazon now identifies the seller that submitted the merchandise in order to control the issue.

I sell on Amazon, but my products are branded with my name and no one else sells them. I have my own set of UPC numbers. I have also declined to let Amazon co-mingle my merchandise, just in case.
 
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Hi , I am awaiting Canons letter at the moment and after approaching the seller they have agreed a refund so the search for a genuine battery will begin again ! anyone know the best priced genuine place to get an LPE6 or LPE6N ?

by the way one of the serial numbers reads as : bca8a8d

Wedding Photographer North East & Yorkshire
 
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Maximilian

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Andrew Davies Photography said:
Hi , I am awaiting Canons letter at the moment and after approaching the seller they have agreed a refund so the search for a genuine battery will begin again ! anyone know the best priced genuine place to get an LPE6 or LPE6N ?
I am glad to hear that you will get your money back.
As I am from Germany I have no idea where to buy in the UK.
In Germany the lowest price from reliable retailers is about 63,- € plus p&p
 
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Andrew Davies Photography said:
Hi , I am awaiting Canons letter at the moment and after approaching the seller they have agreed a refund so the search for a genuine battery will begin again ! anyone know the best priced genuine place to get an LPE6 or LPE6N ?

by the way one of the serial numbers reads as : bca8a8d

Wedding Photographer North East & Yorkshire

A authorized Canon dealer is your best bet. A few years ago, there was a rash of UK camera shops with faked batteries. They were sold them by a seller claiming that they were genuine but overstock. People and even businesses are often fooled and want to believe a story by a slick operator.

In the US, Reputable Camera stores are a safe bet. There are lots of them besides the obvious B&H or Adorama. I'd say that Amazon is aware of the fake battery issue and is probably a safe place to buy as well, as long as its sold by Amazon. Stay away from ebay or other discount places that allow any seller to hawk their merchandise. Its not just Camera batteries, but memory cards as well. A lot of high end merchandise is counterfeited.
 
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drmikeinpdx

Celebrating 20 years of model photography!
I bypass the fake battery issue by purchasing LPE6 clones sold under the Wasabi brand. I've used them for a few years and they seem to last about as long as the Canon branded ones that came with my Canon bodies. About the same number of shots per charge too. I will emphasize my use of the word "about" since usage varies so greatly.

None have ever caught fire and I have seen no reports of such.

Canon did change their firmware for the 5D3 that caused the camera to say that communication was irregular with my Wasabi batteries, although they still worked. This went away after I purchased some new Wasabis.

I also have one sold under the ProMaster brand which works perfectly.

Since nobody seems to do a formal test of any of these batteries, claims of one brand lasting longer than other are highly subjective, in my opinion.
 
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Andrew Davies Photography said:
Hi , I am awaiting Canons letter at the moment and after approaching the seller they have agreed a refund so the search for a genuine battery will begin again ! anyone know the best priced genuine place to get an LPE6 or LPE6N ?

by the way one of the serial numbers reads as : bca8a8d

Wedding Photographer North East & Yorkshire

A few years ago I had a similar issue with fakes. Canon confirmed that authentic LP-E6 will always haven an 8-digit serial number (I have 5 and they all do). So, this is a quick way to do an extra check :)
 
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drmikeinpdx said:
I bypass the fake battery issue by purchasing LPE6 clones sold under the Wasabi brand. I've used them for a few years and they seem to last about as long as the Canon branded ones that came with my Canon bodies. About the same number of shots per charge too. I will emphasize my use of the word "about" since usage varies so greatly.

None have ever caught fire and I have seen no reports of such.

Canon did change their firmware for the 5D3 that caused the camera to say that communication was irregular with my Wasabi batteries, although they still worked. This went away after I purchased some new Wasabis.

I also have one sold under the ProMaster brand which works perfectly.

Since nobody seems to do a formal test of any of these batteries, claims of one brand lasting longer than other are highly subjective, in my opinion.

I have been running a pair of Wasabi's in a 70D battery grip since 2012. Alternate with a pair of Canon LP-E6, not seeing any difference yet between the 2 brands.
 
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Quick update : Paypal have refunded the transaction and the ebayer has stopped selling the batteries ( although they have sold 165 of them ! ) , I have received a confirmation from Canon of the fakes too which is good.

One interesting note : I have 6 original Canon LPE6 batteries , i weighed them on some digital scales and all came out around 74g each.

I weighed the fakes and they were all around 60g each , I knew there was a difference when holding them but this confirmed it and could prove to be a useful way to check them ? ....


Wedding Photographer North East & Yorkshire Northumberland & Wedding Photographer Cumbria
 
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The issue with fakes is much more serious than buying a third party battery from a seller who actually supports his product like Wasibi.

The issue with the non Canon batteries is one of being able to identify who is selling good ones, and who is cutting corners because no one will go after them in China. Some of the counterfitters are hunted by the police, they setup shop in a different location, sometimes every night. They take the fly by night term literally.\

Obviously, if third party batteries were exploding frequently enough, they would be banned.

The issue of harm coming to you or equipment is somewhat like hitting a baseball thru that small hole in the outfield fence. Counterfeit or poor quality batteries make that hole much larger, so there is more of a chance that you will have a issue. There is news almost daily of someone with a lithium battery that melts down. I read of a major manufacturer who is currently recalling their laptop batteries.
 
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I tried an officially non-Canon LP-E6 clone once. I haven't noticed much difference in capacity (It too much depends on usage to be able to tell a difference during occasional use), but the capacity indiator was very unreliable. Removing and reinstalling the battery made it jump by up to 15%, including jumping from 15% to 'camera turns off because it is completely empty' without warning. I got a replacement with the same behavior and then a refund.
Bought a new LP-E6N which was available for less than a month back then instead of a LP-E6, because I doubted counterfeiters had a chance to copy the LP-E6N in the limited time and I didn't want to take a risk with a LP-E6 (even though it was cheaper).
If I need a new battery again I will likely buy Canon again from a seller that existed for a few years and that ideally also has a physical store, but definitely not from eBay.
 
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niels123 said:
A few years ago I had a similar issue with fakes. Canon confirmed that authentic LP-E6 will always haven an 8-digit serial number (I have 5 and they all do). So, this is a quick way to do an extra check :)

Which number is the serial number? I assumed it was the one within the silver box on the battery (though looking at it now this looks like it's a date of manufacture) but if that's the case my battery only has a 6 digit code, and this came from the same authorised Canon agent that I bought the camera (7D original model) from!
 

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Andrew Davies Photography said:
Hi , I am awaiting Canons letter at the moment and after approaching the seller they have agreed a refund so the search for a genuine battery will begin again ! anyone know the best priced genuine place to get an LPE6 or LPE6N ?

by the way one of the serial numbers reads as : bca8a8d

Wedding Photographer North East & Yorkshire
I think I have the same serial number on my SterlingTek clones. I have SterlingTek and have no problems with them. I would trust Wasabi as well.

NEVER go on eBay for OEM/Genuine batteries no matter how cheap the batteries are. #1 place for fakes. Even if the price is a few bucks. You're better off buying from an authorized store..after all, its a few bucks. If you want genuine products, buy from an authorized dealer or an actual camera store.
 
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