A few weeks ago I purchased what was listed as a brand new and genuine Apple MacBook battery (A1185 ) from a Chinese seller on eBay Australia. The reason I purchased over eBay and not directly from Apple? They were selling it for less than 1/2 the exorbitant price Apple sell these batteries in Australia.
When the battery arrived it was quite apparent that it was not brand new, and the case had possibly even been opened. Yes I know it's a risk buying from China, but it did have the full PayPal protection in case it turned out to be dodgy.
Although it does appear to be genuine, it was shipped in plain packaging like a refurbished unit. Also testing it with the coconutBattery app it does appear to have been previously unused, with only 1 recharging cycle.
To cut a long story short, the seller has eventually provided a full refund and I'm not out of pocket, but the interesting part is that the seller claimed that the battery was purchased directly from Foxconn. To quote them directly:
"we directly order them from foxconn factory in shenzhen china,which is unique factory made apple product".
If they are telling me the truth, and considering that the battery did not appear brand new, I am now wondering if Foxconn are selling manufacturing "seconds" or even excess stock to resellers in China. Anyone have any insight into this? I'm curious if they're doing dodgy deals here. From what I've read, this wouldn't necessarily be the first time.
When the battery arrived it was quite apparent that it was not brand new, and the case had possibly even been opened. Yes I know it's a risk buying from China, but it did have the full PayPal protection in case it turned out to be dodgy.
Although it does appear to be genuine, it was shipped in plain packaging like a refurbished unit. Also testing it with the coconutBattery app it does appear to have been previously unused, with only 1 recharging cycle.
To cut a long story short, the seller has eventually provided a full refund and I'm not out of pocket, but the interesting part is that the seller claimed that the battery was purchased directly from Foxconn. To quote them directly:
"we directly order them from foxconn factory in shenzhen china,which is unique factory made apple product".
If they are telling me the truth, and considering that the battery did not appear brand new, I am now wondering if Foxconn are selling manufacturing "seconds" or even excess stock to resellers in China. Anyone have any insight into this? I'm curious if they're doing dodgy deals here. From what I've read, this wouldn't necessarily be the first time.
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