What are the 9 Critical Things to Demand When Buying Batteries Online?

Instist on top Quality products!

Why? Because quality products mean longer battery run-times, more charge cycles (longer life), perfect fit and appearance, no exchange or return hassels and superior product safety.

It is fightening how many junk battery packs are being advertised on the internet by pirate companies selling cheap quality off shore products which are drop shipped from brokers. There are real preformance and safety concerns associated with some of these offshore battery packs. Many of these products have insufficient safety circuits that can cause cells to over-charge resulting in possible fire or explosion. Why risk the damage to you and your equipment? Some of these companies even ship refurbished batteries, used batteries or outright counterfeit batteries.

Batteries Direct offers replacement batteries and power accessories that meet or exceed the quality and performance levels of the original equipment manufacturer. We partner with manufacturers like Energizer, General Electric, Energy + and Ultrapower that use only the highest quality cells, plastics, electronics and safety components. All of our products are fully tested prior to shipment to assure OEM quality.

We believe in selling only the best quality batteries we can find. It may be hard to believe, but the majority of the laptop battery packs we sell are MADE IN AMERICA! We selected this partner partly because they were a a founding member of the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association (PRBA) www.prba.org and work diligently to promote higher industrywide battery safety standards. They also demonstrate their commitment to quality and safety by their active participantion in various PRBA working groups that cooperate with the US Department of Transportation (USDOT) and other agencies to assure the safe transportion of lithium batteries. Our partner is one of very few manufacturers that fully charges and test every laptop battery pack they build before it is shipped to insure the battery pack works perfectly - right out of the box. They cycle charge tens of thousands of batteries each month to assure the highest quality possible. We require that their quality department performs 100% inbound inspections on every item they receive and manufacture. This inspection protocol is an expensive process that is not available from all manufacturers but should be a requirement. In over ten years of business, we have found that these American made laptop computer batteries far exceed the quality and safety of the cheaper offshore imports. NONE of our laptop battery packs were subject to the recent battery safety recalls.

Another example of our commitment to quality is our choice to feature General Electric and Energizer battery packs for our cordless telephone batteries. GE's commitment to "Six Sigma" quality in all of their products is legendary. And Energizer is known wordwide as the top name in battery quality. We could sell no name imports for a little bit less, but we want you to have the best that is available. Also, our extensive business experiece has taught us that selling quality products is an excellent business decision! We thrive on the repeat business and referrals we receive from happy customers. By selling you the highest quality product available, not only do you get a better performing product, but we get to stay out of the costly, inconvenient (and sometimes) endless cycle of returns or exchanges brought about by inferior batteries.

So help insure your safety, and save yourself time, money and headaches - insist on quality upfront!

Tip - Call and ask who manufactures the battery you are buying. If it is not the Original Equipment Manufacturer or one of the companies we mentioned above, you may want to keep asking questions...

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No-Hassle 90-Day Money Back Guarantee

We Think it is important that customers have a concrete no-risk way to back out of your purchase. Perhaps you made a mistake with your order or the product is not what you expected. Maybe you just changed your mind. Demand a hassle free policy that allows you to return the product for a full refund within a reasonable timeframe. Batteries Direct offers exactly that... A No-Hassle 90-Day Money Back Guarantee. That is six times the industry average when (or if) it is even offered! If for any reason within 90 Days of placing your order with Batteries Direct you want to return your product for a full refund, you may do just that. Just give us a call to get your Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. After the initial 90 Day period, of course our generous warranty terms still apply.

Obviously we are betting that our superior quality products, order execution and pricing will insure you are a happy customer. Our history since 1996 makes this a safe bet!

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Free Shipping

How many times have you thought you had a great deal online until you went to checkout found out they want another Five to ten dollars (or more) to ship your item?

We believe there should be no surprise charges for shipping. That is why we offer free ground shipping for all of our products when you buy online. Of course we do charge if you request expedited delivery (overnight, second day or priority delivery). But even then, we our shipping charges are very reasonable.

One more point... NEVER pay a "handling charge"! Some companies actually have the nerve to ask you to pay them a "handling fee" just to pull your product off their shelf and put it into a shipping box!

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Competitive Prices

Certainly pricing is critical when choosing who to do business with online. Why buy online if you are not going to get a good deal?

Batteries Direct offers extremely competitive prices - the fact is that we have to do that just to survive. But our theory is to offer the BEST VALUE online. That may be different than the LOWEST PRICE you can find. Many times we are the lowest price - but not always. We strongly encourage you to demand the BEST VALUE for your money.

Value is a combination of many variables such as product quality, shipping cost, delivery time, return policies, warranty terms, customer support, personal privacy, order security, and on and on... all roled into a "final price package". Of course we compete on price. But we refuse to compete on price alone. If you are looking for the absolute lowest price out there, I'm sure there is somebody selling some of the same items we carry out of their garage. Maybe they can beat our prices, but buyer beware... Do you know that the item selling for a few dollars less is actually a genuine (not counterfeit) new (not used or refurbished) item? Can you be sure they are handling your sensitive personal data in a professional manner? What if you have a problem and need a warranty replacement? Will you be able to get in touch with these folks in a couple of months? These kinds of issues have real tangible value. The bottom line is that most crazy low prices that seem too good to be true - are just that. Too good to be true...

So maybe one, two or even ten dollars difference on an order is worth the additional quality, peace of mind and total transaction satisfaction.

Tip: Trust your instincts.

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Easy and Secure Ordering

This seems so obvious, but here are a few things to look for before buying anything online.

Make sure that the company you are dealing with collects only the information they need to process your order. Usually the minimum amount of personal information needed includes your name, billing address, shipping address, method of payment, an email address for your confirmation and a telephone number. Completing a transaction online should not take more than 2-3 minutes on a well designed website.

Never give a website your date of birth and especially never give your Social Security number online! Also make sure to read their privacy policy so you can find out what they plan to do with your personal data. If they don't specifically promise not to rent, sell or trade your personal information - be ready for an onslaught of unwanted offers and spam e-mail at a minimum. Don't buy batteries from a company that requires you to set up an account and remember a password for their website. Unless you are a corporate customer that is frequently buying replacement battery packs, logins and passwords are unnecesary.

Regarding security... Make sure that the URL (web address) on pages where you begin typing personal data start with https://. Make certain that the "s" is there and a "lock" icon appears in the corner of your browser. That "s" stands for secure, that way you know at least the data you are sending in going to be encrypted for security. Next check for some type of independent third party secure site verification. Verisign, Thawte, and Hacker Safe are the leading companies in the industry. They all do a good job of validating security. But you have to CLICK ON THE SEAL to actually check their status and make sure they are actually enrolled in their program. We strongly encourage you to look at these certifications. Also check to see (and click) if they are members of the Better Business Bureau. You can see if there are any troubling signs. Finally regarding security, read the "terms and conditions of use" or any details the company provides regarding their security efforts. Many websites try to limit your rights in cases where there is fraud or breaches in their security. Don't accept these limitations.

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Toll-Free Customer Service

Is it too much to ask to have a toll-free telephone number with a real person answering the phone?

No! We think you should insist upon it.

Many of the "low Cost - Low Quality" websites don't provide a telephone number at all or hide it so deep in the site you can't easily find it. Run like heck when you see this! You may never need to use the telephone number - hopefully not. But not offering a toll-free telephone number provides a big clue about how unimportant customer service is to that company. Companies without toll-free telephone numbers are trying to discourage you from contacting them. They consider customer calls a nuisance.

Tip: Toll-Free numbers include the 800, 888, 866 and 877 prefixes.

I know at Batteries Direct we welcome your calls on our toll-free (888) 320-1212 phone number anytime from 8am to 5pm Pacific Time (11am to 8pm Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. If you call during those times, you will talk to one of our friendly employees approximately 94% of the time within four rings! If all of the folks here are busy, you will get a return call as soon as possible (usually within 10 minutes). You are spending your hard earned money with us. We should be available to talk with you on our dime when you need us.

Bonus Tip: Make sure they have a real physical address for the company and check it out. PO Boxes are unacceptable.

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Huge Selection of Fresh Items

Ultimately what matters here is that they have the specific item you are looking for in stock! The best way to improve your chances of that is to shop where the selection is large.

Importantly some batteries like Alkaline and Lithium AA's and AAA's have date codes and will eventually expire. Make sure you are dealing with a reputable company that rotates their inventory. If you have any doubts about the freshness of a perishable battery, call the company (on their toll-free number) and ask them to tell you the date code on the battery they plan to send to you. (Note: Date codes or expiration dates are not applicable to rechargeable battery packs).

It is your RIGHT TO KNOW and insist upon the freshest batteries available. There are unfortunately unscrupulous websites selling older batteries and a "grey market" of brokers and liquidators dealing in older expiring or expired batteries.

It is ok to ask about freshness!

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Generous Exchange and Warranty Terms

Never buy a battery online with less than a one year warranty. Many companies offering a 60 or 180 day warranty are selling refurbished or used batteries - run for the hills!

Read the warranty terms and conditions carefully. But a company should be able to convey their warranty terms in simple English (not legalese) in about half a page. Most companies will require that you get "pre-authorization" of some kind to return a battery under their warranty provisions. That is ok. Usually they will issue you a Return Authorization (RA) number or Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number. These policies insure that they don't have random batteries showing up at their facility. RA and RMA numbers allow them to log and track your returned battery in an orderly fashion to provide you better service. It should not be an obstacle erected by the company to keep them from processing your warranty return.

Many companies will sometimes offer a Prorated Warranty on certain products. That is usually ok as well - but read the terms carefully to make sure the Prorated Warranty is fair. Also most companies will require you to pay for the shipping of the return back to the company. That is standard and acceptable. Just make sure that if the battery turns out to be defective after testing, that they do not charge you for the replacement battery delivery. After all, the first battery was defective!

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Company Longevity

Go with a company that has "been around" for a while.

The easiest way to make sure that the company you are dealing with is legitimate is to find out how long they have been online. Check their Better Business Bureau listing.

Things like customer testimonials or a good looking website are easy to manufacture. Longevity is an objective measurement and hard to fake! Longevity comes only after satisfying customer needs over the long term by providing excellent products and service and great value.

Batteries Direct has been online since 1996. That is an "eternity" in the internet battery business!

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If you want Quality, Value, Convenience, a Generous Warranty, Fresh Products, Personal Privacy, Security, Real Customer Support, a 90 Day No Risk Money Back Guarantee - all from a stable mature company that has been online more than 10 years... Choose Batteries Direct!

So if you have any additional questions, please call us toll-free at 888 320-1212 (M-F 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. PST).

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