Laptop battery replacement

[jayess64]

The battery in my 5-year old Asus laptop has reached the end of the road and I want to replace it. In searching for a supplier I get the feeling that I have fallen down some sort of rabbit-hole. I have found 4 websites offering wide selections of replacement batteries. Three of them, batteryupgrade.co.nz, batterybuy.co.nz and nzbattery.co.nz, are suspiciously similar in appearance and appear to be fronts for a Chinese company. "Buyer reviews" are displayed, and most of these seem to contain complaints about delivery times, poor battery quality and refund problems. Some of the reviews go so far as to describe the suppliers as "scammers" and "frauds". Not exactly encouraging.

The fourth supplier, ebattery.co.nz, is also Chinese (stated on the web page) but has a different appearance to the others. My problem after seeing all this is, who can I believe? Has anyone had experience with obtaining a replacement battery and can offer some advice? A couple of years ago I found a replacement battery for my wife's laptop at PB Tech in Wellington, and it worked OK. PB Tech don't offer a suitable replacement this time, hence my new search. However, I now see that the illustration in the PB Tech catalogue appears identical to that shown in the 3 companies named above.

Any comments or advice gratefully accepted.

[harm_less]

Most suppliers of electronic goods these days are peddling identical items from the same, often Chinese, manufacturers/suppliers.

I recently purchased what was supposed to be 2x Micro2 sized fuse taps to install a dashcam. My first attempt was from Jaycar and despite the packaging stating Micro2 the fuse taps were Mini versions. The checkout docket actually stated Mini but this wasn't checked until after I had attempted to use them and discovered they would not fit. A full refund was given.

I then searched Trade Me with more knowledge gained from the Jaycar episode and many of the listings for Micro2 fuse taps included (identical) photos of Mini versions. I went to the effort of requesting confirmation of the actual item being Micro2 and only one supplier answered to the positive, and got my order. A month on I'm still waiting for any response from the other sellers so I guess they had been blindsided by incorrect stock items as Jaycar had been.

[CliveM]

A couple of sites to look at. Elive and/or Ascent technology both .co.nz I don't know if they have what you want but I have had good service from both.

[SueDonim]

I have bought laptop batteries on TradeMe several times, both for my old laptop and the current one (which is now old enough - 2013 - that original battery is long gone). At any given time I have two spares to tide me over when we are camping and might not get enough sun for solar charging. The only time I have had a problem was with a battery that I bought and charged up, then the next time I went to use the laptop it had gone flat. The vendor asked me to return it for checking and replaced it at no charge.

[Garysixtyseven]

https://www.storebattery.co.nz I bought one for a 5 year old asus last year from them

[Wainuitech]

You can generally tell if the places are in NZ or the site is only a Link to overseas.  If the delivery states  7-10  (or longer) Working days is over seas generally.

I have used a place in Auckland for years (and they are) https://www.raytech.co.nz/  If hes got the battery or other components in stock you will get them within a day or 2.

He's not always that good at conversation, English is not his 1st Language. But his service is good ( usually).

[jayess64]

Thanks for those comments, everyone, especially Garysixtyseven & Wainuitech. Your suggestions helped me to search deeper until I found just what I wanted.

I only wish that the UN or EU would mandate a standard design for laptop batteries! That would save having to search through literally thousands of different shapes, sizes and capacities.

[neilmcc]

Thanks for that site link wainuitech. Have ordered a battery for my Dell laptop from him.

[paulw]

Thanks for those comments, everyone, especially Garysixtyseven & Wainuitech. Your suggestions helped me to search deeper until I found just what I wanted.

I only wish that the UN or EU would mandate a standard design for laptop batteries! That would save having to search through literally thousands of different shapes, sizes and capacities.

I just wish you could replace the battery without having to dismantle the laptop.

[Wainuitech]

I just wish you could replace the battery without having to dismantle the laptop.

That the price we pay these days for having slimmer Laptops. The older ones used to be easy to "unclip" from the back. But most laptops these days dont have optical drives, so being thinner they also use thinner batteries. Most are still easy to get to, just undo the screws on the bottom, the whole case pops out, and there's the battery, motherboard etc.