Buying batteries

[Harvs]

Anyone got recommendations on where to get batteries (LiPo's really) in smallish quantity?

I was using hobbyking and liked their range/price, but even for small projects I've been bitten a few times by their logistics system being setup for hobbies.

I'll design something in that's in stock, then go to order (or maybe make another small batch a couple of months later) and it'll be out of stock in the AUS warehouse. Then you have to backorder and sometime (of which they wont even give you a clue no matter how hard you ask) in the next 1 to 6 months they'll fill your order, if they feel like it, maybe.  My last order for 40x batteries took them 4 months to fill, despite them having plenty of stock in every other warehouse in the world.

So basically I'm after something like hobbyking that can actually deliver.

[trophosphere]

I have had reasonable luck with All-Battery.

[Hobgoblin612]

Also give http://www.master-instruments.com.au a try.

[Harvs]

Thanks I'll give them a try.

[mark03]

I've been happy with http://www.batteryspace.com/
Their web site is a bit scattered but things are mostly well categorized.  I like that most of the Li-Poly cells come with protection PCBs included, unlike the RC hobby-market batteries.

[mariush]

Farnell / Newark stocks batteries made by BAK : https://goo.gl/TgGlCB

They have reasonable prices if you buy quantity.

Plenty of batteries made by this company on eBay and considering even my Sandisk Sansa Clip player uses a BAK made battery, I suppose they should be fine.

[suicidaleggroll]

I recommend batteryspace.com as well.

One thing I've found is that it can be somewhat difficult to find a distributor that will sell you legitimate, name brand cells without trying to sneak in a Chinese knockoff under the radar.  You need to be very careful about that, not only can the capacity be off, but the protection circuit can be either badly designed, under-performing, or completely nonexistent, which can be dangerous.  Amazon/eBay are both horrible about this.

[Harvs]

Farnell / Newark stocks batteries made by BAK : https://goo.gl/TgGlCB

They have reasonable prices if you buy quantity.

Plenty of batteries made by this company on eBay and considering even my Sandisk Sansa Clip player uses a BAK made battery, I suppose they should be fine.

Problem is they are literally x10 the price of hobby king etc.  >$30AUD for a 1350mAh 1S cell is just too much to swallow.  The only price break is ~$1 off at qty 10.

[mariush]

I agree, that's why I said prices are "reasonable", not great.

I find myself ordering more often from another European company, TME.eu , which stocks some brands that Farnell or Digikey or Mouser don't stock.

They have better prices, for example a 1350mAh flat battery is 8.5$ each, or around 6$ if you buy 100.

Here's a link :  http://www.tme.eu/en/katalog/rechargeable-batteries/144ff8478f8285ab3be31652ea3b7025.html

[Audioguru]

Some Hobby King batteries are very poor quality, their low cost shows it. Some batteries work not too bad and others don't work at all.
I buy Eflite and Thunder Power LiPo batteries from my local hobby store.