I mean, even a phone battery replacement is more than that... That's dirt cheap. I wouldn't expect anything with a rechargable battery in it to cost less than $30 or so, unless it was likely to burst into flames while plugged in.
- Jul 11, 2001
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It will never be plugged in again in my house. It will be dropped off at the UPS store.
My question for the product at Amazon got two responses by owners of it. Both showed lack of understanding in spades. Amazon's system there is incredibly sucky, doesn't allow me to counter their idiotic responses. It's buyer beware, folks.
- Jul 11, 2001
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Funny, I have 4 Android phones. The activated one is a Samsung Galaxy S9, and of course, cost me way over $30 even though it was a refurb (perfect). The other three, are cheapies I bought with the intention to use an app to control my 3 TCL 43" 4K Roku TV/monitors. Turns out I don't care for the app, it has gotchas, and I use the TV remotes instead. The cheap phones are ~$30 LG Rebel 3 Android 7 phones (unactivated) and they are handy around the house. I use them for music (headphone jacks!), wifi access to whatever, even use them when skating the streets with my heart rate monitor app going using bluetooth.
One of them suddenly would not charge and being in warranty, I called LG and they sent me another battery. Meantime the battery inexplicably started working again, so I have a spare battery. One of those LG phones is still NIB, haven't bothered to unbox it. You can get really cheap useful devices (i.e. phones) evidently because the money's in the subscription fees. If you don't subscribe, you still have a very useful device, using wifi, bluetooth, headphones.
I'm not sure what you're looking for. I mean there are more retail vendors than just Amazon and Ebay. Yes it is hard to find some items outside of those but that's where my 'trying' comment comes inCare to be more specific? I realize that stuff on Amazon isn't necessarily great, but ebay is worse, apparently way worse. Amazon has better customer feedback and you can post questions and get answers before or after purchase and get customer and sometimes seller feedback. Amazon until last December supported customer (or anybody's!!!) response to reviews ("comments") but they suddenly and in my mind inexplicably pulled the plug on that excellent and very useful feature, which pissed me off no end. I started a thread here about it:
Amazon in their infinite wisdom decide to censor their own content /S
I'm reading the reviews on a product I just shopped and ultimately bought and saw a very helpful review and decided to add a comment. But where was the "Comment" button? Where oh where is my Comment button? :oops: I figure there may be some lurking feature gismo, whatever, and do a search...forums.anandtech.com
eBay doesn't make a pretense that they're an online swap meet, so caveat emptor. It is somewhat difficult to buy quality goods on eBay, but usually one assumes that unbranded made in China electronics for cheap are bottom of the barrel stuff.Care to be more specific? I realize that stuff on Amazon isn't necessarily great, but ebay is worse, apparently way worse. Amazon has better customer feedback and you can post questions and get answers before or after purchase and get customer and sometimes seller feedback. Amazon until last December supported customer (or anybody's!!!) response to reviews ("comments") but they suddenly and in my mind inexplicably pulled the plug on that excellent and very useful feature, which pissed me off no end. I started a thread here about it:
Amazon in their infinite wisdom decide to censor their own content /S
I'm reading the reviews on a product I just shopped and ultimately bought and saw a very helpful review and decided to add a comment. But where was the "Comment" button? Where oh where is my Comment button? :oops: I figure there may be some lurking feature gismo, whatever, and do a search...
The problem with Amazon that isn't apparent is that they commingle all their inventory. To give you an easy example, you can buy Eneloops sold and shipped by Amazon, but they mix up their inventory with their 3rd party merch. So although the overall reviews for Eneloops are great, you'll see some reviews where buyers are irate that they received fake goods. This is probably Amazon's biggest problem, and it doesn't appear they want to solve it. It's becoming increasingly harder for them to grow at high rates, and it would be a very big decision to stunt that growth (reportedly fulfilled by Amazon is some half of their e-commerce business).
Basically anything that has profit margin has knock-offs from China, so it's somewhat of a gamble to buy off Amazon. Two examples (of many) are SD cards and electronic toothbrush heads. By knock-offs, I don't mean generic compatibles. I mean counterfeit merch where even the packaging is copied and it takes a discerning consumer to know you've been swindled!
You're right that Amazon's customer service is great; and I'll continue to buy goods from them until I see a better alternative.
- Jul 11, 2001
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I've bought some Eneloops off Ebay, but mostly off Amazon. Maybe close to 100 cells by now. Probably more AAAs than AAs. I've had maybe 2-3 known failures, not really failures, just not evidently fully charging. Some may be fakes. They were certainly sold as Eneloops, probably all Sanyo or Panasonic.
I don't think I'd chance Ebay for Eneloops now considering the almost certainty that any SD card you get off Ebay is a phony! Maybe a place like B&H is a best bet for not phony. Don't really know.
So, you're saying that Eneloops "sold and shipped by Amazon" may indeed be 3rd party and fake?
I like to buy stuff like used books, DVDs, BRs (movies) off Ebay. Seems like a good 50% of the cheap used books I buy off Ebay seem like they're completely new and never read. Shipment is slow but I'm rarely in a hurry. As long as an optical disk plays I'm pretty much happy. I've only had one instance when discs bought off Ebay didn't play, many years ago.
Mostly I've had good luck buying electronics stuff off ebay. Maybe I'm just discerning.
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I'm not saying a significant fraction of the Eneloops you've bought are fake. Judging from the high average customer reviews on Amazon, it can't be that common.
I am saying that popular products "sold and shipped by Amazon" INCLUDE fake goods supplied by their third party merchants. Amazon is known to commingle all of their inventory, so even if Amazon sources only 100% authentic Panasonic Eneloops, that isn't a guarantee of what you'll receive. It all depends on the product and like you said, SD cards are one of the most commonly faked electronics items. For those a safe bet would be Best Buy or Costco.
Also this is but one aspect of their "fakes" problem. The other part is many of the reviews for cheap MiC products are shilled; the merchants have incentivized customers to leave 5-star reviews. So many of the cheap goods on Amazon with high marks are actually middling or mediocre. To combat this, you can carefully read reviews to get an idea of what you're dealing with. Or you can trust an algorithm to analyze the "fakeness" of the reviews. For that, two sites that rate the reviews are ReviewMeta.com and FakeSpot.com .
Ironically I've bought both an SD card and Eneloops off of Amazon before so what do I know.
You're probably safe if the item is ONLY sold by Amazon, for example their house brand Solimo goods.
- Oct 8, 2000
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This may be a little large for you but has a speaker and headphone jack that you can use eneloops with it. I've had one for years.
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I think I may have checked out FakeSpot.com, but I use reviewmeta.com all the time on Amazon. I have their icon at the end of the URL bar in Chrome. It actually shows their rating. I usually click it to get the site to confirm they're done a recent update. It also shows there the actual number of reviews as opposed to ratings. There are usually at least 3x as many ratings as actual reviews. I read reviews A LOT! Doing that really helps me make sure I'm buying the right thing. I hate buyer's regret, and I do pretty well at avoiding it.So many of the cheap goods on Amazon with high marks are actually middling or mediocre. To combat this, you can carefully read reviews to get an idea of what you're dealing with. Or you can trust an algorithm to analyze the "fakeness" of the reviews. For that, two sites that rate the reviews are ReviewMeta.com and FakeSpot.com .
Ironically I've bought both an SD card and Eneloops off of Amazon before so what do I know.
Only this week I discovered that if you scroll down at the ReviewMeta page for a product sold on Amazon you see a lot of extra info. I haven't gotten into that yet, I should see what that's all about.
I often check out Ebay before I'll buy something on Amazon and vice versa. Ebay often has way worse prices, sometimes it's the other way around. If you're discerning you can tell what's legit and what to watch out for. I've had lots of transactions that were bummers, but almost all the time Amazon or Ebay will come through, many times with a shipping label, other times a straight up refund.
Edit: I also write GREAT Amazon reviews!
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- Jul 11, 2001
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I might like that. It takes a while to put in earbuds, but flipping on a radio with speakers doesn't. If I like what I'm hearing, I can go with the earbuds. Thanks!
highland145
Lifer
- Oct 12, 2009
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paperfist
Diamond Member
I listen to FM.
Seems like anything small electronics related on Amazon doesn't carry a UL listing. Like everyone pointed out it's because it's made in China and there's somethings in life burning your house down isn't worth saving any amount of money for. Even the wiring, crimps, ends Amazon carries is the worst of the worst.
Too bad Radio Shack wasn't still around
- Jul 11, 2001
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Am I the only one who wonders why anyone would wonder why anyone would want to listen to the radio?
If you'd read my posts you would have discovered that my phones make shitty FM listening devices, even my Samsung Galaxy S9. Also my Sandisk M250's. Reception on a 1-10 scale is around a 3. The two devices I bought off Amazon about a week ago are a 9 or 10 for reception. I'm returning the one with the Li-ion battery, I'm not OK with endangering my life (or house) with it. But the other one uses 2x AAA's, which is right up my alley. I always have lots of charged Eneloops onhand. I ordered another of these great little radios, received it yesterday.
This wonderful little goody uses 2x AAA's and cost me $15.72, tax and shipping included (I have 2 of them):
Portable Radio, ZHIWHIS FM Digital Tuner with Best Reception, Pocket Transistor Receiver with Stereo Sound, Battery Operated Walkmen with Scan and Preset Function $15.99 - 10% discount.I've yet to notice any reception issues or needed to recharge the batteries after maybe 8 hours of use all around my property. Also, the stereo separation is rated at 32db, and it sounds it. Really great.
Now, I can't speak to the included earbuds. I tried them for a few moments, they're maybe not too bad but I am using my Etymotic Research earbuds, which are definitely pricey. I've been an Ety fan for over 20 years.
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- Jul 11, 2001
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Hey dude, haven't you heard? The best things in life are free!
highland145
Lifer
- Oct 12, 2009
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Maybe the 8 pack of Eneloop AAs I got a year ago off Amazon are fakes, but I'm not qualified to say. I don't have too many NiMH cells, but 4 of these swelled up and overheated during charging. This has never happened to any of the other cells I have, which include some old Eneloops from Costco, some new IKEA Laddas and some old Duracells that have been tossed out. Next time, I'm buying more Laddas.
I use an old La Crosse BC-900 charger that should be reliable. I say should because one odd thing is whenever I charge AA, it always runs to the charger maximum of 3700 mAh. That seems a little concerning, but the cells operate normally after charging. Besides the now questionable Eneloops from 2020, none of the others has gotten hot during charging. I charge at the lowest, default rate.
Apparently, maybe I should toss out this charger lol:
La Crosse BC-900 Charger Warning
1/9/2006 Many of you are familiar with the La Crosse BC-900 charger. It has a lot of excellent features and has been highly recommended by myself, and others. In the last month, there have been several reports of meltdowns with this charger. At first I thought it had to do with charging...
www.candlepowerforums.com
AAA??? That's a rechargeable radio, that is if you use rechargeable AAA batteries. Duracell sells them, with the charging station as well.
- Jul 11, 2001
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@manly: OK, that thread at Candlepower Forums was started in January 2006.Maybe the 8 pack of Eneloop AAs I got a year ago off Amazon are fakes, but I'm not qualified to say. I don't have too many NiMH cells, but 4 of these swelled up and overheated during charging. This has never happened to any of the other cells I have, which include some old Eneloops from Costco, some new IKEA Laddas and some old Duracells that have been tossed out. Next time, I'm buying more Laddas.
I use an old La Crosse BC-900 charger that should be reliable. I say should because one odd thing is whenever I charge AA, it always runs to the charger maximum of 3700 mAh. That seems a little concerning, but the cells operate normally after charging. Besides the now questionable Eneloops from 2020, none of the others has gotten hot during charging. I charge at the lowest, default rate.
Apparently, maybe I should toss out this charger lol:
La Crosse BC-900 Charger Warning
1/9/2006 Many of you are familiar with the La Crosse BC-900 charger. It has a lot of excellent features and has been highly recommended by myself, and others. In the last month, there have been several reports of meltdowns with this charger. At first I thought it had to do with charging...
I have a La Crosse BC-900 charger since March 2007 and I'm not unfamiliar with issues with it. I prefer the BC-700 (do most of my charging with one), which came out later and La Crosse evidently addressed issues with the BC-900 in designing it. The BC-900 has a nasty habit of showing "null" when inserting a cell that's pretty run down instead of showing a voltage. The BC-700 will do that (very rarely in my experience, only 2-3 times I think). The same cell (AA or AAA I think) that shows, say, 0.85 volts on the BC-700 will show "null" on the BC-900 and refuse to charge, whereas it would charge on the BC-700. I keep a different charger at hand where I keep my BC-900 that requires two cells to work, and slip in such a cell along with another companion for a few seconds (5 seconds are probably enough) to boost the charge on the "null" cell to where the BC-900 will charge it. This has happened dozens of times with the BC-900 -- very annoying!!!
The Candlepower forums (where I am registered) are probably where I learned about the BC-900 difficulty in detecting the fact that a cell has reached the cut-off threshold (which you say is 1.37v) when charging AA cells. As I understand it the problem is particularly if you charge them at the lowest charge rate, i.e. 200mah. The workaround (as I understand it) is to charge AAs at the next higher charge rate, 500mah, and I ALWAYS do that with Eneloop AA's. I charge Eneloop AAAs at the lowest rate, 200mah and AFAIK there's no issue with that. I do these things with the BC-900 and the BC-700. I'm not aware of having had problems personally with these chargers (other than the BC-900 failing to charge a very run down cell without boosting its voltage using a different charger), but yes, as you say, charging AA cells has (anecdotally, for me) resulted in charger "meltdowns" which are very concerning, presumably could cause a fire. I used to have another rechargable cell brand but have stuck with Eneloops almost since the beginning.
When I bought it the BC-700 was selling for less than the BC-900. I think it's a bit less featured than the BC-900 but has the features I use, and doesn't have that annoying inability to charge a very depleted cell without its charge being boosted. These chargers have a lot of great features including being able to charge from one to four cells, each in its own way, or even test one or more of those cells (determining its capacity) simultaneously with charging others, go through a refresh process in which a cell is charged and depleted automatically several times until its capacity reaches something like a maximum for it. I've used those features a few times. Just what's available in chargers now, I don't know. I've been reasonably happy with those La Crosses, but am careful to always charge AAs at 500mah charge rate.
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- Jul 11, 2001
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I am so pleased with this radio. I slapped in a couple of charged AAA Eneloops when I got it and it hasn't complained or stopped working, must be 8-10 hours use already, maybe more. My Sandisk M250's, I'm lucky to get 3 hours use out of them when they just flat out turn off, no warning, and if in the middle of listening to an MP3, they don't remember where you were in the song/selection. Very annoying. I took to swapping out their batteries before using them every time. This radio doesn't support playing MP3s, it's simple, doesn't have AM either, but the radio I returned had super crap AM, it was unlistenable. Real good FM, but the questionable charging system made it a no go for me. I returned it to Amazon, already got my refund.
Red Squirrel
No Lifer
- May 24, 2003
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Picking up random AM stations at night is always fun. If conditions are right I can pickup all the way to Boston. Often get Toronto as well. It seems to work better on older radios. I bought a "high end" radio that does AM/FM/Shortwave thinking it would do better since it has an antenna but the old clock radio that came with the house still does better. The shortwave one is fun though, lot of interesting stuff on shortwave if you play around with a long wire antenna.
Finding a country station on AM is always kind of nice too, brings me back to my childhood camping with my grandparents. My grandpa used to always play country music, and there is just something about the AM sound, especially when there's a thunderstorm and you can hear every time there's a lightning strike.
Finding a country station on AM is always kind of nice too, brings me back to my childhood camping with my grandparents. My grandpa used to always play country music, and there is just something about the AM sound, especially when there's a thunderstorm and you can hear every time there's a lightning strike.
- Jul 11, 2001
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I had a player in my car around 1968 or so, maybe that was 8 track? Don't know. I used to record cartridges at home off FM and play them in the car. Or I'd buy prerecorded cartridges, IIRC.
AM is always crap (compared to FM), but sometimes listenable. I had a hard time finding an AM station that sounded anything but crap using that radio I returned. The FM of these cheap, light, portable devices I just bought (2 different ones) was fantastic, just way better than that of any of the portable devices I've used in the past that supported FM. I suppose they've designed much better DSP's for FM. They use the headphone cable for an antenna. I'm just using one of my Etymotic Research earbuds which have relatively long cables, I have several kinds, so far so good.
- Jul 11, 2001
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There was a different aesthetic to popular music recording way back when that's pretty fantastic. I like the way a lot of those old recordings end, in particular! They don't waste your time.
Scarpozzi
Lifer
- Jun 13, 2000
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Nope....I still had to pay her $50 for her services. I did the math too.....I basically paid her $6000/hour.So are STDs.
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