buying a used e-bike battery through e-bay

[Chancelucky2]

I've been watching e-bay for used e-bike batteries. Despite some posts here that make it sound all but impossible or at least prohibitively expensive to ship e-bike batteries, there are some people buying them and selling them via e-bay with what appear to be good customer feedback for the transactions. In particular, there's a guy from Poland who seems to sell them regularly to buyers in the United States. There are also a few sellers in the United States from time to time.

Is it necessary to pay customs? How are they getting shipped? Has anyone tried this route?

 

[rich c]

If they are easily shipping them, I would suspect they are not correctly declaring the contents. I've read of people who get shipments of marijuana through FedEx. Illegal shipments are not unusual. I watched a show called Air Disasters. A 747 cargo plane was brought down by lithium batteries. It's a serious deal !

 

[Chancelucky2]

I know about the Samsung Cell Phone thing, but people cumulatively fly with multiple devices that use lithium ion batteries that together are much bigger than probably a few e-bike batteries. E-bike manufacturers also routinely ship batteries. I assume there are ways to do it that minimize the risks. That doesn't mean it's not serious. E-bay's clearly not doing much about it, though it also wouldn't be the first time someone shipped items through e-bay that were too dangerous to ship.
It sounds like your take is to avoid these sellers.

 

[tomjasz]

A shipper just needs to get certified and use proper labels and packaging and ship at 3.7V/cell.

A used battery is a complete coin toss. Very easy to get burned.

 

[JRA]

A customer came into a shop I worked at with a Bafang BBS02 motor in a priority mail box and an HL type battery in a priority mail envelope from Bafang Direct. I thought that was pretty sketchy. I guess the upside is that if the battery being shipped does go off there won't be any evidence of who sent it or who it was going to.....but any more instances of lithium batteries being the cause of such as bringing down a 747 and look for the regs to get even tighter.

No way I would consider a used lithium battery for any reason. There are sources that you can get good quality batteries delivered legally at what I consider to be the best prices yet. I recently got an 11ah 48v battery with 21700 cells for $400 in a UN certified package as an example. I paid more than that for a 10ah 48v Duct Tape LiFePo4 battery 7 years ago.

 

[Alex M]

people cumulatively fly with multiple devices that use lithium ion batteries that together are much bigger than probably a few e-bike batteries.

A few ebike batteries means 1000-2000 WH total. To get the same amount with multiple small devices, you need to carry 20-40 laptops or a hundred-something smartphones. All passengers together might have that much WH, but the chance that all those laptops will go off simultaneously are practically zero, and the damages from only one small battery burning are minimal, can be easily extinguished. The risk of one big battery going off is what counts.

E-bike manufacturers also routinely ship batteries. I assume there are ways to do it that minimize the risks.

Ebike manufacturers ship additional batteries in a legally safe container - this would be the way to minimize the risk.
Like others noted, used battery is toss a coin and makes little financial sense.

 

[tomjasz]

Ebike manufacturers ship additional batteries in a legally safe container

I'm afraid we're naive if we believe they follow all conventions! A seller can be fined for "causing" a battery to be shipped without being certified.

 

[rich c]

The issue of illegal shipments will be if they are in the cargo hold of the plane. An issue with a phone in the aisle of the seats is way different than one on fire jammed into a full cargo box, out of site.

 

[tomjasz]

The issue of illegal shipments will be if they are in the cargo hold of the plane. An issue with a phone in the aisle of the seats is way different than one on fire jammed into a full cargo box, out of site.

Most flight crews have fire safety "pouches" for events with devices. I've looked at them but they're really expensive.

 

[Chancelucky2]

Yikes. Everyone's concerns make sense to me. I have a Bosch Performance Line system , so as far as I can tell I'm limited to Bosch e-bike batteries. New Power Pack 500's sell for close to 900 dollars. If they were 400 or so, I wouldn't be looking at alternatives.
My current 400 battery gets me where I want to go 98% of the time. It's just for the very occasional long tour that I need an extra battery. $800+ just feels impractical, even though it's about what one pays for 4 nights in a hotel.
I actually thought there might be someone here who'd tried an e-bay e-bike battery.

I guess it's like buying a gun from a registered gun dealer instead of through a gun show or through private sale with a stranger only with the mail order part added to the uncertainty. I certainly wouldn't want even an indirect role in takiing out a passenger airliner.

fwiw, I messaged the seller and asked how he shipped the battery from Poland and never got an answer. Could be a language issue, but probably also a sign that he's not following all the rules. He does print out a test sheet with his listing and with one exception he gets a high level of satisfaction with buyers. He was selling a Power Pack 500 that showed 6 cycles of use for $450 with no delivery cost, but it sounds too risky even for the$400 plus in savings. I may have to think about doing my 300+ mile trip on a regular bike.

 

[Alex M]

Not to rub it in, but the issue with proprietary batteries (= expensive, not available generic) has been mentioned many times here. Buyers beware.

 

[tomjasz]

battery from Poland a

That makes it even CRAZIER!!!

 

[Chancelucky2]

I don't regret the choice, but definitely didn't realize how much second batteries would be when I bought the bike. Apple does the same stuff selling RAM, ac adapters, cellphone batteries, etc. I don't like the strategy, but a lot of companies that believe they have a "premium" product do this sort of thing. The argument is the same: it reduces compatibility issues and makes things somewhat more reliable. IT also happens to help with profit margins. I do think it would help the acceptance of e-bikes in general if they'd treat batteries more like a commodity.

 

[Chancelucky2]

Bosch batteries are manufactured in Poland, at least the ones sold in Europe are. I assume that they're just being assembled there though and the cells come from Asia. European prices for Bosch e-bike batteries are
considerably cheaper than here. I'm not sure why they mark up as much as they do here.

 

[tomjasz]

I buy cells from a fellow there. I've come to believe that Bosch batteries are among the most reliable and well made available. Yes, the price hurts but the reliability and safety of their products eclipse anything out of China. Perhaps we get what we pay for? I'm seeing riders getting 10,000 miles out of a battery!

 

[Alex M]

European prices are lower because this is what local market demands. Yes, made in Asia and relabeled or assembled in East Europe.

One of reasons for longer total mileage of Bosch batteries could be (relatively) low wattage of mid-drive motors. Double cost is still hard to justify. Bosch chargers are proprietary too, as I recall - can't use a different charger with their battery, not without some tinkering.

 

[tomjasz]

European prices are lower because this is what local market demands. Yes, made in Asia and relabeled or assembled in East Europe.

One of reasons for longer total mileage of Bosch batteries could be (relatively) low wattage of mid-drive motors. Double cost is still hard to justify. Bosch chargers are proprietary too, as I recall - can't use a different charger with their battery, not without some tinkering.

But I’ve been in a Bosch battery and buy cells from an Eastern EU source that disassembles rejected packs. Extremely high QC.