I recently purchased a couple of "Samsung" batteries from eBay:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390461705094&ssPageName=ADME:L:eek:U:CA:3160
They came packaged only in thin plastic sleeves. These seemed to have a tighter fit than the one that came with the phone and the labels look different. The model number is different. I assume these are for the international version of the phone. So I could believe the difference in labels is due to this and maybe a difference in thickness of the label would account for the different fit. I don't have a second device to test if the NFC antenna works.
But what made me think these are counterfeit immediately was that on the front of the label both have identical serial numbers. Still, I wanted to hope maybe this could be legit and these serial numbers are not unique but are really lot numbers.
Just now, I scanned the QR codes on the same label.
The one on the original battery reads: GH43-03702A+EB-L1G6LLA
I'm not sure what most of the digits mean, but the last part, "EB-L1G6LLA" is the model number.
The batteries I got from eBay have a QR code that reads: 12345678
Another sign is that the + and - symbols don't appear to align perfectly to the contacts the way the original does. I read this is one of the signs of a counterfeit.
I've attached photos of the battery below. The original one is always on the far left.
Is my assessment correct? Is there any chance these are actually real?
They were only $10 a piece. It's possible, whatever they are they're perfectly adequate batteries. But the fact that they're being sold as counterfeits rather than 3rd party batteries makes me very wary about putting these in my phone. I don't trust counterfeiters to care much about quality control or even putting in functional charging circuitry.
I'd also be grateful for any advice on how to deal with this. Should I report to eBay and/or Paypal or maybe Canada Post (as these are supposedly shipped from Canada there may be Federal Postal Fraud laws that apply).
Finally, any good place to buy genuine Samsung batteries at a reasonable price?
Thanks!
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=390461705094&ssPageName=ADME:L:eek:U:CA:3160
They came packaged only in thin plastic sleeves. These seemed to have a tighter fit than the one that came with the phone and the labels look different. The model number is different. I assume these are for the international version of the phone. So I could believe the difference in labels is due to this and maybe a difference in thickness of the label would account for the different fit. I don't have a second device to test if the NFC antenna works.
But what made me think these are counterfeit immediately was that on the front of the label both have identical serial numbers. Still, I wanted to hope maybe this could be legit and these serial numbers are not unique but are really lot numbers.
Just now, I scanned the QR codes on the same label.
The one on the original battery reads: GH43-03702A+EB-L1G6LLA
I'm not sure what most of the digits mean, but the last part, "EB-L1G6LLA" is the model number.
The batteries I got from eBay have a QR code that reads: 12345678
Another sign is that the + and - symbols don't appear to align perfectly to the contacts the way the original does. I read this is one of the signs of a counterfeit.
I've attached photos of the battery below. The original one is always on the far left.
Is my assessment correct? Is there any chance these are actually real?
They were only $10 a piece. It's possible, whatever they are they're perfectly adequate batteries. But the fact that they're being sold as counterfeits rather than 3rd party batteries makes me very wary about putting these in my phone. I don't trust counterfeiters to care much about quality control or even putting in functional charging circuitry.
I'd also be grateful for any advice on how to deal with this. Should I report to eBay and/or Paypal or maybe Canada Post (as these are supposedly shipped from Canada there may be Federal Postal Fraud laws that apply).
Finally, any good place to buy genuine Samsung batteries at a reasonable price?
Thanks!