eBay, yay or nay?

[Hokabe]

I purchased some batteries off eBay yesterday and was considering getting coils too as they are the same price and free shipping as my regular shop (which is currently OOS anyway). The seller for the batteries had tons of great reviews, no one mentioned them being fake or anything and the price was consistent with what you'd pay from a shop. They also accept returns.

It's obviously too late regardless for the batteries, but what about the coils? Are there any legit sellers on eBay or should I just steer clear from now on? I tried searching to see if this has already been answered but the results I found were all from several years ago, not sure if anything has changed since then. Thanks!

 

[dcfluegel]

depends on the coils, to an extent

i have used a couple of sellers on ebay who also have online stores (element vape, subtank supply) and had no issues at all for tanks, coils - just would not recommend purchasing batteries on ebay, but that is simply my opinion - for batteries, i tend to use illumn.com pretty exclusively

 

[Sir2fyablyNutz]

I am leery of ebay for vape supplies. There are a hundred vape businesses with really good prices and quality service.

Where to buy 18650 batteries or chargers in USA
http://www.illumn.com/ (California)
Authentic AW Batteries - RTD Vapor (Pennsylvania)
Liion Wholesale Batteries | Li-ion battery distributor (Pennsylvania)
18650 Batteries | Rechargeable Li-ion | Battery Chargers (Florida)
Earth's #1 source for IMR 18650 Batteries, Chargers, Cases & Wraps | IMRbatteries.com (Texas)

I've used these U.S. Vape vendors (usually 4 days order to delivery):
www.myvaporstore.com (New York)
www.originvape.com (New York)
www.vapeNW.com (Washington State)
www.vapesupersaver.com (Georgia)
www.sweet-vapes.com (Wisconsin)
www.mtbakervapor.com (Arizona)
www.myfreedomsmokes.com (North Carolina)
www.madvapes.com (Carolinas)
www.gotvapes.com (Texas)
www.rockymountainvapor.com/ (Colorado)

 

[suprtrkr]

I buy vape stuff on eBay all the time, and have never had a problem when sticking with top rated sellers. One thing I never do is buy batteries there.

 

[BrotherBob]

what about the coils

What type of coils? Can you describe?
Wire gauge
Kanthal, or other
Coil id
Ohm rating
Or are you talking about tank coils?

 

[Hokabe]

I buy vape stuff on eBay all the time, and have never had a problem when sticking with top rated sellers. One thing I never do is buy batteries there.

Well crap. Guess I'll just have to see what I end up with, I could get lucky right? Ha!

What type of coils? Can you describe?
Wire gauge
Kanthal, or other
Coil id
Ohm rating
Or are you talking about tank coils?

I need the SSOCC Ni200 coils for my Kanger Toptank.

 

[DebiK]

I actually buy my batteries on eBay, but only from GenuineCells.

 

[herb]

I also got to say do not buy batteries from E Bay under any circumstances , most don't have a clue that what they bought are actually counterfeits and freely give good reviews .

The fakes often look identical to the real things and the sellers post pics of the real batteries but thats often not what you get .

With pairs of authentic batteries being sold from legit vendors for around the same price as E Bay sellers there's no reason to ever buy them from E Bay.

Other gear can be bought on their but you still got to be careful.

 

[zoiDman]

I purchased some batteries off eBay yesterday and was considering getting coils too as they are the same price and free shipping as my regular shop (which is currently OOS anyway). The seller for the batteries had tons of great reviews, no one mentioned them being fake or anything and the price was consistent with what you'd pay from a shop. They also accept returns.

It's obviously too late regardless for the batteries, but what about the coils? Are there any legit sellers on eBay or should I just steer clear from now on? I tried searching to see if this has already been answered but the results I found were all from several years ago, not sure if anything has changed since then. Thanks!

I Wouldn't Feel Comfortable using Batteries that came from e-Bay. Many/Most e-Bay Sellers are Not Experts in Batteries. And have to Trust what their Suppliers say a Battery is and can do.

That said, I think a Person should consider How Hard are you going to Push a Battery?

I use .9 ~ 1.2 Ohm Single Coils on a Regulated Mod at about 14.5 ~ 17.5 Watts. Not asking a Battery to do much Amp wise.

But for someone Building to Super Low Ohm and then putting it on a Mech Mod? Or Running Sky High Watts from a Single Battery Regulated Mod?

Last thing to Consider. I have over a Thousand Positive Feedback Points on e-Bay as a Seller. Only have 1 Negative and 2 Neutrals. But I have Never Sold a Battery on e-Bay. So sometimes Feedback doesn't Really Apply to a Specific Item.

 

[Hokabe]

I Wouldn't Feel Comfortable using Batteries that came from e-Bay. Many/Most e-Bay Sellers are Not Experts in Batteries. And have to Trust what their Suppliers say a Battery is and can do.

That said, I think a Person should consider How Hard are you going to Push a Battery?

I use .9 ~ 1.2 Ohm Single Coils on a Regulated Mod at about 14.5 ~ 17.5 Watts. Not asking a Battery to do much Amp wise.

But for someone Building to Super Low Ohm and then putting it on a Mech Mod? Or Running Sky High Watts from a Single Battery Regulated Mod?

Last thing to Consider. I have over a Thousand Positive Feedback Points on e-Bay as a Seller. Only have 1 Negative and 2 Neutrals. But I have Never Sold a Battery on e-Bay. So sometimes Feedback doesn't Really Apply to a Specific Item.

Good points. For what it's worth, the majority of the reviews were for batteries, several said they were authentic although I guess it's hard to tell. I got the LG Hg2s, is there a way to know for sure once I get them if they're genuine?

As far as how hard to push a battery, I don't know a lot about it but I assume I'm probably pretty easy on them? I have a topbox and use pre-built coils at pretty low temps/watts. Batteries do scare me though now that I know a little more about them. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised with these ones!

 

[zoiDman]

Good points. For what it's worth, the majority of the reviews were for batteries, several said they were authentic although I guess it's hard to tell. I got the LG Hg2s, is there a way to know for sure once I get them if they're genuine?

As far as how hard to push a battery, I don't know a lot about it but I assume I'm probably pretty easy on them? I have a topbox and use pre-built coils at pretty low temps/watts. Batteries do scare me though now that I know a little more about them. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised with these ones!

If I had to buy Batteries on e-Bay, I would at least want to see that a Seller had a High Feedback Rating and had Positive Reviews on the Batteries I wanted to buy.

I get Kinda Nervous when I go to Buy Something and I look at a Sellers other Auctions and it is a Bunch of Garage Sale Bricker-Brack and Old Baby Clothes. I fell better when I look and the Seller just Sells items like what I am Buying.

---

Not Really sure how to Tell if a Battery is Genuine or Not? That is why I like to spend a Couple of Dollars More and buy them from Someone who has a Track Record of selling the Non Knock-Offs.

 

[zoiDman]

...

As far as how hard to push a battery, I don't know a lot about it but I assume I'm probably pretty easy on them? I have a topbox and use pre-built coils at pretty low temps/watts. Batteries do scare me though now that I know a little more about them. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised with these ones!

BTW - This is a Good Site to plug in Values and see what type of Amp Load the Battery will be asked to Provide.

Battery drain

 

[Chrissie]

I may buy batteries from a couple of good ebay vendors, but would never buy anything pacifically e-cig related as ebay banned the sales of e-cigs over 6 years ago.

 

[djsvapour]

I prepared a long post and then had to delete it. To me, a coil is a little bit of wire you can buy or make for a few cents. Auction sites are very bad for these, unless you want to pay the same price for 5 coils when you can buy 100.
You are talking about replacement atomizer heads (SSOCC Ni 200) and there are possibly millions of clone atomizer heads on sale with all the correct Kanger logos and packaging. A good seller will have genuine Kanger ones. A bad seller will have ones that look like genuine Kanger. As with all things; as long as you can afford the risk it's not a big deal.

 

[Hokabe]

I prepared a long post and then had to delete it. To me, a coil is a little bit of wire you can buy or make for a few cents. Auction sites are very bad for these, unless you want to pay the same price for 5 coils when you can buy 100.
You are talking about replacement atomizer heads (SSOCC Ni 200) and there are possibly millions of clone atomizer heads on sale with all the correct Kanger logos and packaging. A good seller will have genuine Kanger ones. A bad seller will have ones that look like genuine Kanger. As with all things; as long as you can afford the risk it's not a big deal.

Right, I guess I was lumping coils in as the same thing as an atomizer which isn't really accurate. I think I will hold off on using eBay for any more of my vape related purchases and just suck it up to pay shipping from a reputable shop

 

[Winchester]

I have been buying batteries from two different sellers on eBay for about 4 years now and have never had an issue. I got a dented battery from one of these sellers once. They asked for a photo of the damaged battery and once they saw it they replaced it and sent me an extra battery no charge. Both have prices that are good but,not give away prices. Look for sellers that have been around for a long time and sell batteries only and have good feedback. If you use a little common sense and do a little checking you should be good to go. As always buyer beware!! One more thing learn to make your own coils. The more independent you become the more really cool stuff you can buy with the money you saved!

 

[chinacatsunflower-]

The thing about any website like ebay is every vendor is a different one, you don't know who their supplier is, or even who the vendor is. High ratings are good and all, but then you have to factor in that a lot of the reviewers may not have the knowledge to authenticate that what they bought was actually a genuine product. I personally never buy from sites like ebay, it's simply an unnecessary risk when there are tons of other reputable online vendors for all your vaping supplies. That's me, I'd never have peace of mind if I ordered anything from there, especially potentially dangerous things such as batteries. Which if not authentic, can not only ruin your setup, but be potentially dangerous to you as well.

 

[Hokabe]

One other question about batteries... I originally purchased a couple of LG He2 batteries and a (I realized after the fact) really crappy charger when I got my kit. About 2 weeks after I got them the charger stopped charging and would emit a high pitched squealing/whining noise. I quit using it after a couple of tries and sent it back, but it seems like now my batteries aren't lasting as long. Could the charger have messed up the charging capacity for them? Are they still safe to use?
I'm also kind of questioning if these batteries are legit. They're red but no stamp on them, unless it's under the white sticker that's on them? I wasn't sure if I should remove it. Anyway, since ya'll are a fountain of knowledge I figured I'd ask

 

[Topwater Elvis]

Remove the white sticker, the markings are most likely under it.

A really poor charger can damage batteries, it is rare but can happen.
Are you now using a quality charger?

 

[Hokabe]

Remove the white sticker, the markings are most likely under it.

A really poor charger can damage batteries, it is rare but can happen.
Are you now using a quality charger?

I am waiting on a Nitecore D2 digicharger, should be here tomorrow. That's a decent one, right? In the meantime I've been charging via the USB port on my Topbox. Not ideal!