I started feeling guilty about throwing out single use batteries recently. I have just finished changing to CFC Bulbs throughout the house, so my next target was the single use batteries we use in so many things. We go through so many batteries these days, especially with two young boys in the house. Almost every toy they have uses either AA or AAA batteries. The toys also seem to use up the batteries within a matter of days (generally because the toys are not always turned off after being used).
Finding good quality but cheap batteries was not as easy as I first though it might be. I went to the local “we have everything at the lowest price” store and found that a pack of four AA batteries was going to set me back over $12. That is over $3 per battery before the tax man adds to the price. The only batteries they offered were Energizer and Duracell brands. I figured these two brands would be the most expensive so I though I would look for something in the generic but not crap category. It turns out that none of the stores in my area carry anything but Duracell and Energizer batteries. I guess the stores must love the generous mark up!
Ebay has long been my friend for finding great things at fantastic prices. But I thought that since the batteries are such a low priced item, that the shipping costs would make them almost the same price as buying them in the store. Boy, was I wrong! They have a huge selection of both brand name and generic rechargeable batteries at great prices, even when you include the shipping charges.
I decided to look for batteries with the following qualities:
- brand new (don’t want older batteries that may have already been recharged many times)
- minimum 2500 mAH for AA and 1000 mAH for AAA rating for the batteries (This gives you and indication of how powerful and more importantly, how long each charge will last for the battery. The higher the number, the better)
- no “memory effect” (Older batteries had this. The battery starts to hold less and less of a charge over time. Think portable phones from the 90′s!)
- Guaranteed to recharge at least 500 times.
- Need to be NiMH. (Nickel Metal Hydride. Ni-Cad and Alkaline both have the “Memory Effect” and will decline in power over time)
- Need to be less than $1 for each battery inlcuding shipping and taxes.
Well, I found that many sellers on eBay! meet all of this criteria and then some. So, I bought 12 AA and 12 AAA BTY(generic) batteries for just under $20. For the non-math geeks out there, that is about $0.83 per battery. That price is less than most brand name non-rechargeable batteries and just over the generic non-rechargeables.
A note about buying from eBay!.
eBay! is a very safe place to buy things and can also be entertainment. The thrill of winning the bidding on an item, the satisfaction of getting a really low price for many things and the ability to get rid of so much junk that other people consider to be useful.
Here are a few useful tips for buying on eBay!:
- look for sellers with higher number of feedback responses (this tells you that many people have bought items from this seller and wrote about their experience)
- look for sellers with greater than 99% positive feedback (this tells you that almost all or all of the items that the seller has sold were a positive experience for the customer)
- contact the seller if you have questions before you bid on the item
Now, back to the rechargeable batteries topic… I will update this post in a couple weeks when I have had a chance to test out the batteries. Those toys the boys have can really put batteries to the test!
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