Buy tool batteries from overseas

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reven

3743 posts

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#245415 2-Feb-2019 14:22

anyone buy tool batteries (eg Makita 18v) from ebay etc?

They say they ship here, but not sure if they would be stopped somewhere? Just heard horror stories of people buying tools from amazon etc and the batteries being removed at customs or something before going on the plane.

Batteries can be quite a bit cheaper off ebay vs local, even for genuine ones. but may also gamble on some 3rd party batteries for backups (so far I have 2x 5ah and 2x3ah genuine batteries).

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172 posts

Master Geek

#2171854 2-Feb-2019 15:26

I attempted to post a tablet battery via Youshop from the US only to discover they will not forward them to nz. I have purchased after market drill batteries from a guy on trade me. No problems and cheaper than genuine.

reven

3743 posts

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#2171864 2-Feb-2019 16:03

thats with a freight forwarding service, but the ebay sellers say will ship to NZ. just wondering if people have gone that route and had success?

ermat

172 posts

Master Geek

#2171908 2-Feb-2019 16:27

I believe batteries are restricted by the airlines.

Rikkitic

Awrrr
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#2171920 2-Feb-2019 17:05

I bought a notebook in the USA a few years ago via my sister, who lives there. She had to do some paperwork to be able to ship it here with the battery, but then it arrived without problem. Customs wanted their ounce of blood but they weren't bothered by the battery and it was forwarded to me after I paid the ransom. I'm not suggesting this would work for others, just that it can be done if you are able to jump through the right hoops. There is no ban on sending the batteries here. How else would they get imported? The sellers just aren't prepared to go to the trouble.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

richms

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#2172311 3-Feb-2019 17:02

There are different reqiurements for loose batteries, and batteries packed with the tool that uses them, which may affect this.

Everything with batteries just seems to be too hard for most sellers.

Richard rich.ms

old3eyes

9120 posts

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#2172386 3-Feb-2019 19:11

About a month ago I bought a cell phone battery on Ebay but it got stopped at Youshop. They said it was a prohibited item.

Regards,

Old3eyes

1101

3122 posts

Uber Geek

#2172629 4-Feb-2019 09:54

loose batts are classified as Dangerous Goods and MUST be sent as such .
If not correctly packaged, labled, at the low charge they can be confisacted by customs or rejected by the freight companies

Ive had many batts simply not make it out of China.
Its a crap shoot, some sellers will label it as something else to try & sneak it through
Most sellers either know the issues and cant be bothered , or dont care & dont care if they never arrive

batts as part of a phone laptop etc can be sent ONLY if part of the original device & sent with that device , and could still get rejected any step along the way

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reven

3743 posts

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#2172631 4-Feb-2019 09:56

1101:

loose batts are classified as Dangerous Goods and MUST be sent as such .
If not correctly packaged, labled, at the low charge they can be confisacted by customs or rejected by the freight companies

Ive had many batts simply not make it out of China.
Its a crap shoot, some sellers will label it as something else to try & sneak it through
Most sellers either know the issues and cant be bothered , or dont care & dont care if they never arrive

batts as part of a phone laptop etc can be sent ONLY if part of the original device & sent with that device , and could still get rejected any step along the way

thanks, i wont chance it then.

I could get 2 5.0ah makita 18v batteries for around $180nzd but that saving isnt worth gambling on not getting them at all.

richms

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#2172647 4-Feb-2019 10:22

If the seller is handling the freight and you dont get them, then you get refunded as goods did not arrive.

Richard rich.ms

1101

3122 posts

Uber Geek

#2172657 4-Feb-2019 10:29

Rikkitic:

There is no ban on sending the batteries here.

sort of is.
They are restricted goods , and cant be sent as air cargo on passenger jets
Even a NZ distrubutor for laptop parts was having serous issues importing laptop batts last year (I assume they found another way eventually)

They can be sent by sea, or a dedicated air cargo plane as dangerous goods (so most freight companies arnt interested) , and there are restrictions on total capacity being sent.

There was a serious lipo fire in a Aus Airport, just as they were wheeling the passengers luggage up to the cargo bay. Could have been a real issue if the plane was in the air, it was undeclared batts
catching fire in a suitcase .
Its all for a very good reason. :-)

I believe you can still take batts on planes as carry on luggage , on some airlines. So still alot of holes in the regs .

Rikkitic

Awrrr
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#2172706 4-Feb-2019 13:03

I don't know the details of the regulations and I don't know if they have changed in the past few years. I do know that my sister was able to legally send me a new notebook containing lithium batteries but in order to do so, she had to supply technical details of the battery which she had to obtain from the computer manufacturer, and then she had to submit that information to some authority to obtain some paperwork which was required by the shipping company. I can't remember which shipper she used, though I suppose I could try to look it up. In any case, it was a standard shipment that went by air. I don't know if it was a passenger plane or a freight one but it definitely went by air. Upon arrival, Customs hit me for import charges because with shipping costs the total was just over the limit. I was annoyed by that but there was no issue with the batteries. As soon as I paid the money, the notebook was sent on to me via NZ Post.

All of this occurred a few years ago, but it was well after the battery fire disasters and tightened regulations. My understanding is that there is no actual prohibition on shipping the batteries, also not by air, but there are formalities that have to be gone through to meet safety requirements and most sellers simply can't be bothered so they say it is not allowed.

Plesse igmore amd axxept applogies in adbance fir anu typos

pctek

807 posts

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Inactive user

#2173066 4-Feb-2019 20:10

I have bought batteries...although not ebay. Amazon.

$48 NZ inc shipping for a De Walt drill battery. No issues with customs. Amazon was the middle man, the postage was the shops.

debo

307 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2173122 4-Feb-2019 22:37

youshop stopped my dewalt drill & battery set. It was new & packed in the air freight approved cardboard box. To be legal, it must be covered in warning labels. This is what panics Youshop. I returned it to Amazon and was refunded my money.

1101

3122 posts

Uber Geek

#2173225 5-Feb-2019 09:40

You cant even send batts(easily) within NZ with many NZ couriers (there are special rules that have to be met)
So even if they make it into NZ, they still have to be couriered localy .
https://www.nzpost.co.nz/personal/sending-within-nz/prohibited-restricted-items

Muddying things even further are the many varieties of Lithium batts
Some are Very safe, some can burst into flame for seemingly no reason (lipo).
Lipo are used by RC Hobbiests for RC Planes etc. I'm often hearing of a RC Hobbiest having some sort of house fire . Thats the last thing
you want on a plane :-)

Some will get through, customs and airfreight companies cant check every package
It's a crap shoot , Ive been trying for years . Often the sellers that will send eventually get caught then stop sending to NZ .
Ive even had a multimeter rejected , as they THOUGHT it might have (AA) batts in it : it didnt .

US is actually less strict than China , for sending batts :-)

dt

1152 posts

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Inactive user

#2173336 5-Feb-2019 11:10

you could ask the seller to check if their freighting provider will ship them to nz without problems?

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