A battery issue (courtesy of an Amazon seller)

[Erdoc48]

The last time I took out the 94 ABS, I parked briefly and when I restarted it, I got a flashing ABS light (then I didn’t), so I assumed (maybe wrongly) that my battery was on its way out (it’s ~ 5 years old at this time- an AGM battery I believe from Batteries + Bulbs) and the ABS circuit might be a little low voltage sensitive- anyway, cheap me decides to get an Amazon battery, well, because it’s $39.99 shipped and I’m cheap (Weize branded AGM battery). So I wait the customary 2 days with Prime and it arrives, only to see the horror of really crushed/ deformed battery terminals that made the battery unusable:










So, I email the seller and was asked to mail said battery back, which I refused (a near 10 lb battery would be quite a bit to ship)- I told them I would but I wanted a guarantee of getting what I paid for shipping, plus either a replacement battery or a refund. Originally they wanted me to try to bend (with a wrench?!) the terminals to see if I could make them like normal again, to which I responded ‘You got to be kidding and this is an out of the box failure/ unacceptable for me to have to correct their mistake’. They were agreeable for me to keep the battery and sent me a refund. This took about a week to straighten out.

So I went to Batteries + bulbs, paid $90 for a new AGM, perfect shape and it’s in the bike now. The guy at B+B told me this isn’t the first time he’s seen this and said a lot of Amazon batteries are seconds or refurbs, so probably better to get them from a local seller. This battery and the core (my old one) were given to B+B (and they told me they couldn’t give me a second core charge back which is understandable).

Lesson learned. I’m posting this just to prevent a similar occurrence. Might be one in a million, or maybe more common than we would think.

 

[T_C]

he’s seen this and said a lot of Amazon batteries are seconds or refurbs, so probably better to get them from a local seller.

His living depends on you buying local.... did you really think he would say something about how wonderful Amazon is?

 

[SupraSabre]

I have bought a half dozen batteries off eBay and other mail order outfits, I've never had a problem with any of them like this. So the batteries aren't all that way when you get them!

Glad you got your problem solved!

 

[sirbike]

Just a wrench, that's silly you should use a torch to soften the metal first.

Glad it's sorted out.

 

[ST Gui]

Maybe I missed it but that battery seems to be in fine shape except for the terminals (and yes I realize that's a big deal). Given that the battery itself is fine I'd say the terminals were deliberately damaged similar to demilled firearms.

This might well be as the B+B guy said– a factory second due to be recycled/destroyed. And somebody got a hold of some of these and tried to fob them off as new. Or just some really sloppy work on the part of the vendor.

did you really think he would say something about how wonderful Amazon is?

That doesn't make his comment and experience any less valid especially since Amazon is commonly known to be a source for a lot of counterfeit products.

The OP's situation might be one in a million but it's still a good heads up.

 

[SupraSabre]

Lately, there have been a lot of complaints on how Amazon packages are being delivered. "Ring" (and other video devices) are Amazon Delivery People's worst nightmare. Even yesterday, from my Ring, I saw the Amazon driver drop kick my wife's make-up in a glass bottle on to the porch. It wasn't a high drop, nor a big kick, but still, you would think they would try harder to treat those packages better than they do!

 

[wjbertrand]

Amazon delivery sucks lately. This is how I received an order of spark plugs:

 

[DaveWooster]

The battery connections need to be clean and tight due to the importance of the battery.

But those terminals are made of lead, a soft metal. I once over tightened and broke one of the terminal's posts.

By the way, in that first photo above, I can't tell if in its lower right there are those important words "Made in ....".

And you did attach photos of the damage when you emailed the seller at first, right?

 

[Erdoc48]

They asked for pics and I sent them- also pics of the box the battery was in, which was perfect, so I’d have to assume it was boxed that way (in other words, no damage en route from the shipper)- it was only wrapped in a single box and wrapped with a FedEx bubble wrap envelope that was the shape of the box, so in truth, could have been shipped box within a box. And yes, as are most other things these days, it was made in China (label says it on the lower right aspect of the battery).

 

[SMSW]

Both wjbertrand's plugs and your battery are not victims of bad shipping but of poor packaging and preparing a damaged battery for shipment. In this case not the shipper's fault.

 

[DaveWooster]

... Amazon Delivery People's worst nightmare. Even yesterday, from my Ring, I saw the Amazon driver drop kick ....

So Amazon has its own shippers? (You're saying they are not FedEx or UPS or ....)

 

[wjbertrand]

In fact FedEx announced they will no longer deliver for Amazon. By investing in transport, they’ve become a competitor now, even shipping non-Amazon stuff.

 

[ST Gui]

So Amazon has its own shippers? (You're saying they are not FedEx or UPS or ....)

Amazon uses UPS and USPS. They also have their own shipping network (I use the term loosely) for short range deliveries. Some of them maybe full time amazon personnel in white mostly unlabeled vans. A lot of others are part-timers using their own vehicles doing it for bit change.

Depending on what you order and/or where it's coming from dictates how Amazon ships it. I've had generally good luck but a few bad experiences. I contact their CS with a complaint and volunteer pics and generally got some satisfactory compensation.

As far as meeting Amazon's quoted shipping times FedEx has been the worst for whatever reason. As they keep tightening the restrictions for Prime shipping and cost for membership I complain if they miss a dated by a day.

 

[ibike2havefun]

I went through the damaged-battery-from-Amazon almost exactly a year ago. In my case the packaging (inadequate) was clearly damaged when it arrived but I have no way of knowing where in the preparation and shipping chain that occurred. I contacted Amazon instead of the seller, and experienced no hassle on a refund. The replacement was sourced locally, from a battery supplier I've dealt with on previous occasions. Dunno why I didn't start there, except it's easier to "Let my fingers do the walking", as the old Yellow Pages ads used to put it.

 

[T_C]

Amazon uses UPS and USPS. They also have their own shipping network (I use the term loosely) for short range deliveries. Some of them maybe full time amazon personnel in white mostly unlabeled vans. A lot of others are part-timers using their own vehicles doing it for bit change.

Around some cities, it ain't just small scale delivery driver. Amazon is running theuir own dedicated fleet. Now I think they are subbed out, but it's not generic white vans.

On the highways I'm seeing these more often:

 

[ST1300 Alicia]

I buy my M&M's from Amazon. I can't find the Large 42oz bags of Chocolate locally. Everybody wants to stock the Peanut M&M's. I'm Allergic to Peanuts. How can you screw up delivery of a bag of M&M's. The last order of 5 bags arrived with one bag being full of Broken M&M's. How do you break a Whole Bag of M&M's in Transit. I guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was.

 

[SupraSabre]

... How do you break a Whole Bag of M&M's in Transit. ....

the good ole "drop kick" is a popular move amongest the Prime Drivers...

 

[SMSW]

I buy my M&M's from Amazon. I can't find the Large 42oz bags of Chocolate locally. Everybody wants to stock the Peanut M&M's. I'm Allergic to Peanuts. How can you screw up delivery of a bag of M&M's. The last order of 5 bags arrived with one bag being full of Broken M&M's. How do you break a Whole Bag of M&M's in Transit. I guess I'm not as smart as I thought I was.

So many questions, so few answers. Though when it comes to breaking individual MnM's, either the shipper worked overtime to do this damage or, again, its the fault of the manufacturer (see my Post #10 above) and not the shipper. I'd like to see a drop kick that breaks half of the MnM's in a bag and doesn't damage the packaging or the other bags of candy.

 

[DaveWooster]

... only to see the horror of really crushed/ deformed battery terminals that made the battery unusable ...

Erdoc48 or OP, can you confirm that the plastic part of the battery was not damaged? (If so, maybe it was deliberate, as someone said.)

... As far as meeting Amazon's quoted shipping times, FedEx has been the worst for whatever reason. ...

FedEx has been doing a great job on my ebay purchases and on my online purchases of used camera gear from Georgia, USA.

I went through the damaged-battery-from-Amazon almost exactly a year ago. In my case the packaging (inadequate) was clearly damaged when it arrived but I have no way of knowing where in the preparation and shipping chain that occurred. I contacted Amazon instead of the seller, and experienced no hassle on a refund. ...

Ebay has a feedback system that seems to keep the sellers in line. Does Amazon have one?
If so, I would be sure to leave bad feedback for the bad seller.

I've seen people leave the equivalent of bad feedback by posting a "review" of the item. If it were me, I would find the Amazon item I purchased, post a bad review for it, and in that review, mention the seller by name, as the reason for the bad review.

I buy my M&M's ....

For what its worth, I heard that the food coloring in the coating of most M and Ms is bad for people's health, especially children's.

 

[Larry Fine]

the good ole "drop kick" is a popular move amongest the Prime Drivers...