Chinese seller saying that he is not allowed to ship batteries

[spinixxxx]

I bought a remote control for an LED strip from a chinese seller. The description says that the remote would come with a battery, but it did not.

I messaged the seller that the remote is missing the battery, and that's what he said:

yk_tech

Hi dear, Good day

there is no battery itself. Because battery can't fly on the air, post office rules it.

could you pls buy one in your local?

Regards

I have ordered a few of these remotes in the past and they always came with a battery. I've even ordered batteries themselves from China before without a problem.

Is the seller lying?

[duchess-at-speakeasy]

Your seller is likely telling the truth. At one time, lithium-ion batteries were prohibited from air transport because of the fire danger. Eventually, the U.S. eased up on the restriction for domestic shipments as long as the battery was installed in a device. However, international restrictions still apply.

~~C~~

[tarpedge]

Yes, it's cost-saving scripted answer for any buyers who ask where are the batteries.

http://www.taobaoguides.com/2016/08/12/how-to-ship-batteries-from-china/

[victorjunkman55]

Buy American, because it matters. Good Luck to you.

[mudshark61369]

@spinixxxx,

The seller is not being totally truthful, Coin size non rechargable lithium batteries, were never a part of the battery ban from a few years ago.  However, for awhile customs were seizing items that came with any type of lithium battery, and removing them, because agents didn't know the difference between lithium polymer, and lithium metal hydride batteries, and didn't check to see if they were rechargable or not.  So many chinese mfrs, and sellers started pulling batteries from items being shipped to the US and other countries.

It doesn't natter what brand name is on them, but most of the button and coin size batteries come from China, and are allowed to be transported by air, if packaged separately or with a pull out tab, so an electronic device cannot be turned on during shipping.

[castlemagicmemories]

You could message him and tell him that other Chinese sellers include them with the device, and since the listing said it came with it, please correct the listing so others will not buy and not get what the listings says, and this transaction, so it will be as you described it. I will accept fill in the amount so that I can purchase the batteries as you suggest so that this transaction is as described.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you quickly.

Your buyer

[spinixxxx]

Thank you for all the responses. I already notified the seller to correct their listing, to avoid confusion with any future buyers.

I am confused though, some of you claim that there are international shipping restrictions on batteries, yet this is the first time I had an issue. I've ordered batteries, as well as products with batteries from China before, and yet I never had a problem with their delivery.

Is it possible that customs removed it from the package, or that the seller did, thinking it is prohibited?

[spinixxxx]

Thanks for linking me to the article tarpedge. That explains it well.