# [email protected] to stop selling 18650 cells?



## xxo (Aug 13, 2020)

[FONT=ArialNarrow, sans-serif]Apparently loose 18650 li-ion cells, not installed in devices are being delisted from the site and will not be allowed to be listed going forward.

Can anyone confirm?
[/FONT]


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## ampdude (Aug 14, 2020)

Their loss. I've never bought any off there anyways. There's tons of great e-commerce sites selling 18650's.


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## markr6 (Aug 14, 2020)

eBay eBay eBay

I would hate to see that. Not because of the deals, but because that's one step closer to not being able to get 18650s online at all. Next will be reputable distributors. Then local stores, which are basically useless anyway, at least around here.


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## Lynx_Arc (Aug 14, 2020)

If it is so, it is because of FAA airline regulations regarding lithium ion cells they may only allow cells shipped in devices on airplanes without special shipping considerations. I received an 18650 inside a light from China recently (a month or so ago). It is quite possible that the "bare" 18650 cells being shipped are being sent normally in the mail circumventing the FAA safety protocols with no protection. I'm guessing the dealers that sell cells only have to ship them in approved packaging/cases (not bare like some on Ebay may be doing). 
If a dealer on Ebay is very large is it quite possible they have their own separate website that you can track down and order them bypassing Ebay itself. I've done this a few times with some items that I needed more in depth information and other considerations that I felt messaging through Ebay's system would be too time consuming.


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## boo5ted (Aug 14, 2020)

If that's the case I'd expect to not see ANY lithium cells being sold, not just 18650. I'll believe it when I see it though.


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## xxo (Aug 14, 2020)

[FONT=ArialNarrow, sans-serif]Looks like they took down about 80,000+ 18650 listings today, don't know how many they took down yesterday. I suppose some sellers will try to relist until they get caught?[/FONT]


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## Lynx_Arc (Aug 15, 2020)

xxo said:


> [FONT=ArialNarrow, sans-serif]Looks like they took down about 80,000+ 18650 listings today, don't know how many they took down yesterday. I suppose some sellers will try to relist until they get caught?[/FONT]



Most likely they will have to start selling them installed in flashlight (host) bodies.


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## stephenk (Aug 16, 2020)

Phew, my favorite Australian retailer is still there. But maybe not affected as shipping is not international?


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## Strintguy (Aug 16, 2020)

stephenk said:


> Phew, my favorite Australian retailer is still there. But maybe not affected as shipping is not international?



May I ask who that seller is please, I’m also in Oz


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## stephenk (Aug 16, 2020)

Strintguy said:


> May I ask who that seller is please, I’m also in Oz


supersports600


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## bykfixer (Aug 17, 2020)

Certain battery chemestries are not supposed to be on airplanes above certain heights at all. In or out of products. So those sending lights loaded with them are also violating restrictions. 

DHL for example, uses a ship if the package is labeled properly (indicating said battery(s) are inside the package). Now once upon a time I had a package of products pre-loaded with 18650's sent by the legal means and it arrived several days before another package (non loaded with batteries) from the same seller that crossed the big pond on an airplane. 

Point being if the seller labels it proper it will be sent by boat, which these days is not that slow boat to China anymore. Perhaps eBay was concerned about exploding batteries since there are lots of so called "rewraps" where a cheap junky cell is covered up by a label indicating it actually exceeds its true capabilities. The vaping industry for example is plagued with rewraps that indicate surge ability way beyond actual ability and those super vapes are very dangerous in those cases. 

I'd guess it's more about the stupid users than the airline thing.


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## Strintguy (Aug 17, 2020)

stephenk said:


> supersports600



Thanks mate


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## Timothybil (Aug 20, 2020)

Minor point: Ebay doesn't 'sell' anything. They act as agent for the individual people/vendors that have listings there. Technically, that lets them off the hook as far as shipping li-ion cells and any liability from doing so. But I can see Ebay being included in a liability suit from someone shotgunning every possibility when filing a suit, with the ensuing expense to defend against same. So I can see a decision to stop allowing listings of li-ion by themselves as a means of avoiding being included in any such suits.

Follow-up thought: I remembered that they will handle ALL the details of a transaction, for a cut of the sales. In that case, they may or may not be handling the actual packaging and shipping of those items. Still, the above thought still applies.


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## bykfixer (Aug 21, 2020)

Not all TB but quite a few of the items I've bought through eBay had eBay packing tape, mailing labels and/or other labels that showed it was an eBay sold product. 
Does that make them liable? Lawyers and judges would have to decide that. I suppose it would be like the victim of a drunk driver suing the store that sold the alcohol. Or perhaps the bar that sold it, which in my mind would be a lot different than suing, say Food Lion for selling the beer the driver got drunk with. 

I do know that a lot of vape shops got nervous when a few batteries exploded and no longer sold certain brands of 18650 cells because there were so many knockoffs of them that unless they stress tested every one there was no way to know if it was real or not. Those "sub ohm" vape devices can really tax a battery. Some draw less than half an ohm for up to ten seconds. WOW!!


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## markr6 (Aug 21, 2020)

bykfixer said:


> Does that make them liable?



In the days where anyone can be liable for anything...


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## bykfixer (Aug 21, 2020)

Me thinx if they donate enough to the right political organizations they'll be ok. If they don't……well good luck wit dat. lol


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## Poppy (Aug 23, 2020)

Before the internet was open to the public, a good friend of mine was a corporate risk manager for a large catalog company. If I recall correctly, ANYTHING they listed in their catalog, whether they handled it or not, could get them pulled into a lawsuit over it, along with the manufacturer, parts supplier to the manufacturer, and every entity along the way. The lawyers named everyone, and went for the deep pockets.

Some products, they wouldn't list in their catalog, or others, only if they had warning labels on them. The stories he told of various suits that were filed, often had me laughing in incredulity. He was a proponent of the British rule; "loser pays" to reduce the number of lawsuits, and the financial burden of continually having to bear the cost of having to defend against them.

One example is: A guy got drunk and fell off of a ladder, and sued everyone, up and down the line. You'll now find labels on ladders: "Danger falling hazard! Don't use this product after consuming alcohol!"


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## bykfixer (Aug 24, 2020)

Food for thought Poppy


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## marinemaster (Dec 27, 2020)

Total US lawyer BS, they don’t know anything else but to sue.


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## Daniel_sk (Dec 27, 2020)

I ordered a pair of 18650 from an eBay seller 3 years ago. I was surprised when I opened the package and there was a cheap LED flashlight light. I was going to write a question to the seller, maybe he sent me something else by mistake? But then I noticed that it's just a shell for the actual batteries, the flashlight didn't even work. This is one of the tricks how you can send 18650 or any other cells to comply with airmail rules (can't ship loose cells not installed in a device).


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## Tesla (Dec 28, 2020)

"Total US lawyer BS, they don’t know anything else but to sue"

You mean their customers don't know anything else. Lawyers don't sue just for fun...that's just a bonus.


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## Katherine Alicia (Dec 28, 2020)

Daniel_sk said:


> I ordered a pair of 18650 from an eBay seller 3 years ago. I was surprised when I opened the package and there was a cheap LED flashlight light. I was going to write a question to the seller, maybe he sent me something else by mistake? But then I noticed that it's just a shell for the actual batteries, the flashlight didn't even work.



I wouldn`t mind some of those fake lights, might be fun trying to make them into something that works


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## raggie33 (Dec 30, 2020)

im glad im.stocked up . i have a feeling ebay wont be the last


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## Afraid.of.dark (Jan 2, 2021)

Absolute freaking BS!! This world is turning into a horror show! 

I hope they don't plan on going after the e-commerce stores specializing in these cells because that will be a major problem. Obviously someone is on a spree of wiping out the availability of the li-ion cells!


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## nbp (Jan 2, 2021)

Overreaction much? Just buy cells from the many great legitimate online stores we know and trust and relax.


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## Daniel_sk (Jan 2, 2021)

It will be fine as long as you will find airmail shipping methods which are fine with loose li-ion cells. I would guess most sellers do not bother with these regulations and ship with whatever cheapest airmail option is available and the authorities have no way to find this out until an accident happens (read - airplane bursts into flames). I can imagine that within EU the sellers can have warehouses that ship with surface mail to end customers.


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## snakebite (Apr 15, 2021)

btw this is no real loss.
99% of the 18650 cells on ebay were pure trash anyway.
or counterfeit.
they are still there but bundled with a garbage charger that multiplies the risk!
just wait till a cheap device intended to skirt this rule turns out to be more dangerous than boxed or shrinkwrapped cells!


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## 3_gun (Jun 27, 2021)

As of May 2021 this hasn't happened. Spent $140 of CV19 .gov money buying up needed rechargeables including 18650, 14500 & 16340 batteries


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