Li-ion: what's behind the vast price difference?

Looking for an extra li-ion rechargeable (NB-2L) on the Web, I've come
across vast price differences: 3.99 Euros up to 39 Euros (for the same
strength), plus postage. Not wanting a crappy one, but also not one that is
simply too expensive, I'm inclined to buy one around 12 to 14 Euros. Can
anyone explain what's behind the vast price difference?

 

Sometimes it's just out and out crookery on the low end.

A year or two ago, a friend of mine bought a box of non-rechargeable 2CR5
batteries for his Minolta SLRs. These batteries normally run $10-13
apiece here in the US for namebrands; the online source was offering them
for about $2.50 each. Of the 20 batteries, a majority were dead on
arrival, the rest good for maybe 10-15% max of the lifespan of a namebrand
versions. Not a happy lesson...

On the high end, you are paying for a recognizable brand name and the
advertising that makes it recognizable, as well as the quality that
(usually) goes along with it.

The trick is finding the balance between the two extremes. Your idea of
doing some research on Usenet and the Web for folks experiences with the
brands and sellers is a good one.

My reply, on the other hand, was probably not all that helpful... ;^}

Bob ^,,^

 

Inside the battery pack, there is supposed to be a printed circuit board
with various components for temperature sensing, over-current
protection, and charge regulation.

The cheaper ones may cheap out on this. There is no real way to tell.
Buy from a reputable dealer where you have some recourse if something is
wrong with it. Avoid eBay for batteries (at least in the U.S.) where
you'll find most of the really low end stuff.

 

The Canon brand name accounts for quite a bit..

If it's of any help to you I recently bought two NB-2L(H)s from
sevendayshop.com in Jersey for around GBP6 each. Used one of them this
weekend to take around 200 shots, many with flash. It's still showing 4
segements on my 350D..