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Man buys $700 battery, discovers it’s just $30 worth of batteries stuffed in a big case

Published Feb 23rd, 2016 10:45PM EST
Man Buys $700 Battery Video
Image: Markus Fuller

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There are a lot of products out there that are flat-out ripoffs but YouTube teardown artiste Markus Fuller recently found a real doozy when he spent £500 (~$USD 700) on a rechargeable battery pack that was in reality approximately $30 worth of batteries stuffed into a big case. His teardown video of the battery and his gradual realization that he’d been ripped off is one of the most amusing things you’ll see on YouTube this week.

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“Here I take apart a £500 rechargeable battery for the Nagra IV (6) digital recorder to find Lithium polymers inside worth about £22.50,” he writes on his YouTube page. “I think it’s an expensive waste to purchase the box and circuit everytime a battery fails especially as the cell pack simply unplugs, and according to the Nagra website Lithium-Ion battery packs will last for between 500 and 1,000 charge cycles. Don’t get me wrong Nagra makes quite incredible top quality gear but I was somehow expecting some very clever tech in the battery box considering it’s price.”

Amusingly, he notes that the back of the battery says “DO NOT OPEN,” even though there’s nothing really all that dangerous inside it. What’s more, it’s clear that the “battery” could have housed a lot more batteries inside but most of it is just padded with a foam packaging sponge.

Check out the whole video for yourself below.

Brad Reed
Brad Reed Staff Writer

Brad Reed has written about technology for over eight years at BGR.com and Network World. Prior to that, he wrote freelance stories for political publications such as AlterNet and the American Prospect. He has a Master's Degree in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University.