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There's not many places where you can get a battery for cheap. If you're desperate to save any money but want to still buy an Apple/OEM battery, there's always eBay but of course that comes with a lot of risk/hassle if things do wrong. Personally, $130 is a lot for a battery especially for the late-2008 MacBook Pro given how long it lasts off a single charge, but it's probably your best bet.

Other options would be third-party batteries on eBay or even Amazon but users have experienced problems. It would at your discretion if you choose to go this route.
 
There's not many places where you can get a battery for cheap. If you're desperate to save any money but want to still buy an Apple/OEM battery, there's always eBay but of course that comes with a lot of risk/hassle if things do wrong. Personally, $130 is a lot for a battery especially for the late-2008 MacBook Pro given how long it lasts off a single charge, but it's probably your best bet.

Other options would be third-party batteries on eBay or even Amazon but users have experienced problems. It would at your discretion if you choose to go this route.

thank you
 
There is a higher probability of issues, and some are very dangerous to the user, with using a non factory battery. The computer's settings knows the specs of the battery and is able to control for things such as temperature, overcharging, calibration, etc. A non factory battery may not be made to the same specs and this can increase the chance of poor performance, poor longevity, fire, explosion, overcharging, etc. Also, if you use an aftermarket battery for most electronics and then send it in for service, you may very well have voided the warranty. With that said, some aftermarket batteries are made to the same specs and standards, but determining which are and are not can be difficult. I'd stick with factory despite higher costs.
 
I got a cheap chinese eBay battery for my MBP a while ago for around a quarter of what Apple was charging. Despite the fact it's a "fake" Apple battery (ie. the charge indicator lights and button are fake) I am very happy with it. I'm up to almost 100 cycles, and it is still at 82% health. I'm rough with my batteries, and never calibrate. If I did, I might get better health.
 
I got a cheap chinese eBay battery for my MBP a while ago for around a quarter of what Apple was charging. Despite the fact it's a "fake" Apple battery (ie. the charge indicator lights and button are fake) I am very happy with it. I'm up to almost 100 cycles, and it is still at 82% health. I'm rough with my batteries, and never calibrate. If I did, I might get better health.

Calibrating doesn't make the battery last longer, it just makes it report to the computer correctly. It will have no effect on how long your battery lasts or the health.
 
Calibrating doesn't make the battery last longer, it just makes it report to the computer correctly. It will have no effect on how long your battery lasts or the health.

I know it doesn't fix the battery, but I do believe it helps tell the battery where the upper and lower charge limits are, so you might get back some charge the computer had "forgotten" about.

In the end, it doesn't matter, I'm just telling the OP I'm happy with my cheap chinese eBay replacement battery.
 
I know it doesn't fix the battery, but I do believe it helps tell the battery where the upper and lower charge limits are, so you might get back some charge the computer had "forgotten" about.
Calibration doesn't "tell the battery" anything. It simply makes the reading of the battery's condition more accurate.
i need a new battery for my 15" macbook pro 15" a1281 where should i buy it from apple is selling for $130
Personally, I wouldn't trust any battery that didn't come from Apple. While you may think your battery isn't worth $130, I'm sure you feel your MBP is.
 
I need to get one also. I'm lucky to get 2 hours off a charge. I average at about an hour and a half. Makes me sad when my sister gets 7 hours or more on her new MacBook Air.

Oh and this is using the 9400M graphics card. Forget it if its on the 9600 (1 hour at most).
 
Ugh, I also have "Service Battery" but $130 is a ridiculous sum to drop on a new battery...
 
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