What should I consider when buying a T21 battery on EBAY?

[Mock]

Hi, I am going to be traveling alot in the next two years, and I need a reliable battery for my Thinkpad T21. I am considering buying from Ebay, as the IBM store list price is 189USD, which is far too much. What factors should I consider when buying a T21 from Ebay?

I noticed that sometimes there are no brand names listed. Are there generic brand name batteries?
Does new always mean new? Have these things been sitting on the shelf for a while? Does that significantly effect performance?
How come these guys can sell them for around 70 USD?

Thanks....

 

[whuang]

If you are buying from E-bay.
1. make sure that the battery is not used (you can't predict the life expectancy of a used battery.)
2. Make sure that you are buying from a company that is posting a bid on e-bay (back ground check won't hurt.)
3. for more information on notebook battery look through following sections in the link below :
"Things you should know about the Battery... "
"Battery rating: Volts and mAh "
"NiCad, NiMH, or Li-Ion?"
"Diagnostics for the new battery if it'd not work"
"Frequent Asked Questions"


IBM T21 battery - at greenlaptop

 

[jeffbui]

Sometimes you just get a steal on Ebay. I got a T42 battery for $37 bucks shipped, which comes out to around $30. It was a brand new IBM sealed and boxed battery in mint condition.