new prius batteries -- website down?

Ever try ordering from the priuschat shop? The one run by the same guy that runs this forum?

My own experience was good, but (after ordering) I've read enough horror stories about it to wonder.

At the end of the day, you've got to be careful about taking either side of such an argument.

Culturally it feels like everyone is spoiling for a fight and is ready to instantly dogpile on any perceived bad actor. But as forum users, none of us are even close to having enough information (never mind legal standing) to ever resolve those disputes.

I have to treat it as noise, but I remain open to other solutions.

 

We get tons of orders and tons of compliments. We get a few squeaky people who don't like how we do things or some that are straight up liars.

I literally have emails from people blackmailing us. Give me a $500 discount code or I am going to file a BBB Complaint. Or I am going to make a TikTok that your batteries explode... All sorts of just weird things. I run a lot of businesses, but I have never really seen the level of weird I have gotten from selling a car battery. It also makes it VERY DIFFICULT for me to weed out who is telling the truth and who is trying to steal money from me.

When we have a $1600 product, we get people asking to change the shipping address of orders they didn't order. We get people who after delivery, install the battery, and try to claim a refund. Which we do if unopened and when we get the box back it is filled with their old OEM modules. Like, you think we wouldn't notice that?

We get people who say they ordered "long ago" and never did. They just assume we will say "oh my gosh, so sorry, here is a free $1800 battery for good will".

Everything here on PC is public and I have ZERO moderation roles here. I can't silence anyone. I direct all my customers to this site to post feedback, positive and negative. I tell everyone this is a public forum with no bias from me. There are some complaints on here that are legit and I have tried to make everyone happy. Many don't pass the smell test. Being inactive for a period of time due to personal reasons I could not keep up with this forum and what was going on as much as I would like to have, but internet points aren't top priority. Now that I am recovered and things are going better I have the ability to go back to being more active.

My goal was never to make a boatload of money off batteries. I make money many ways, this is more of a passion project. I just want Prii out of junkyards and keep them on the road.

 

I don't doubt it. I run a small business myself. I feel very thankful that we operate B2B, no individual customers. That's a whole other dynamic.

 

I made one comment about the D cell stick kits and perhaps I should have kept my thoughts to myself rather than compare D cells to OEM or Lifepo4.... I have 33 D cell stick pairs = 396 D cells, and have read more than my share of reports on the 8 ah NiMh D cells out of china. Because of my experiences with NiMh. I'm not a fan of Nimh cylinder cells in cars. Blame Honda for my distaste of the tech.
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I understand your post above and have also experienced similar problems when I was in business. Even from so called friends that I gave deals to and even made house calls on support tickets for problems that I seriously doubt other business in my field would address at all. I don't envy you at all trying to provide a service to the community, even though I have a distaste for the product from my own past experiences.

 

The Honda IMA system is pretty different than the Toyota difference. I've had the civic hybrid fail a few times. Also the point of my modules is the difference. The plastics are the same, the electrolyte inside is not.

 

It's no surprise to me that civics would fail, from what I've learned about the IMA update my car got. I don'[t know for sure how Prius would handle the D cell kit, it kinda makes sense that with the 50 extra volts in the pack that the kit might actually work OK in the Prius where it might fail miserably in the Civic with the update IMA behavior.

 

The D-Cell style itself isn't inherently worse than prismatic. We have actually shown it to be better. The metal can allows for better heat transfer and air flow. We also have good welds between the cells. If implemented poorly, either packaging style can fail.

 

“Stop spamming”. That’s the response I get for paying $1600 for a battery last March with only one email update in June, 2022. I am real.

I have been very patient, I understood the covid backup and heard here he had other issues. I have thought long and hard about going public with my experience. I do not take it lightly but had no recourse. Not going to sit back and be taken advantage of.

It’s your choice Nick how you deal with customers. Get defensive or “Cowboy up” and admit a mistake and move on. I just want everyone to see my experience. Not going to tell you to buy or not buy from him. Make your own decision.

Nick has reached out to me (through this site- thank you!) and I have sent him my order and a screen shot from the account. I just want a refund and I will update the saga as it unfolds.

 

Once I saw what was happening I reached out to you pretty quickly I think. Without divulging personal info you can be anyone. Scammers and thieves try this all the time. The details you provided don't match what we have in our system which shows that order being shipped a long time ago.

I am trying to figure out what happened to your order if it is your order. It's not even working hours in California yet where your order was shipped from. We have had people with hacked emails where the hackers try and return/refund/etc orders made to that email address. It's a crazy world now.

The stop spamming is in reference to posting your message in a bunch of threads all at once. I am trying to figure out what is going on with that order and you. I can't just take your word at face value. The email address you had responded to me back with after our PM was marked as reported spam by google and high risk. The email originated through a high risk IP (generally VPNd or campus shared) and does not match the origination details of the order which also flags it as high risk. That email address was blocked in July of 2022 as being suspicious and most likely fraudulent.

A few hours ago is the first time I have seen someone try to contact me about that order since June.

 

Yes I use a VPN. I have tried to contact you through your site numerous times. I called your phone. I left a personal message here. Why no response? Do you want to see the charge on my credit card?

This is the only place that I got your attention.

 

Yes, I have posted on numerous threads talking about this ordeal. It is the first reply from you since June. Wanted to keep it private once you contacted me. Not looking for a drag out cat fight but your defensiveness to this situation speaks volumes. I am not going to let you soil my reputation.

If the order was shipped, give the tracking information. Show me the email stating it was sent. If it was stolen off my property then I will let it be known here. I will not apologize but let it be known. If your business model sends out high dollar items without any confirmation or updates than you are looking for issues just like this.

 

I see the order was paid for. I also see it as shipped. That's what I am trying to reconcile. Once you are marked as a bot, I am not going to get your messages. I also just checked my "conversations" page and the only one I have with you is the one I started today. Do you have another account you sent me a message to on the site?

From my view point, I saw your complaint today a few hours ago. I am working on it. Anything you've done before now, I just haven't seen. I am not trying to be confrontational with you, I am trying to figure out who you are and where the problem lies. It is 100% possible we made a mistake. It is also possible, as has happened in the past, that you are trying to get a free battery or money. There are some red flags here.

I also use a VPN for most activities and I am aware that I get routinely blocked from businesses, banks, etc. I can't rent a car with Hertz or view a ticket on Ticketmaster, log into half my bank accounts, view some forums I like, or even access my own online stores if I am using a VPN. At least with my stores I can whitelist. I really wish it would change to where VPN was normal and didn't make you high risk. But that's where we are today and all eCommerce sites, like mine, are extra vigilant because crime is rampant. Once that payment is sent out, you're never getting it back if you were duped. Every transaction that is processed in my store has like a report card on the person that paid. How they paid, addresses and what it is tied to, all sorts of creepy information. Then a risk factor and a probability that the contact is real, real but fraudulent, or straight up fraud.

I'll let you know shortly. Posting in multiple spots makes it just more difficult to communicate in a serial fashion. I don't control this site. You can make 1000 posts if you want.

 

maybe post whatever info have such as receipts, order, etc.

you've been a member here since 2011, i can't see a scam here.

 

Really?

You don't say?

It seems the business model of these guys, regardless if they are selling batteries or shades, is to take the money, block them and then call them liars.

 

I am posting this update in all the threads that I had talked about my experience with NewPriusBatteries.com.

Update. Nick offered me a new battery or a refund. I chose the refund ($1600) and he promptly complied.

We were never able to figure out what the mix up was. His end showed the battery delivered and my end showed it awaiting fulfillment. He apparently has a lot of scammers and is very leery of them.

I reached out here because I was getting nowhere with communication. This forum helped put me in touch with Nick and get a refund. Thank you! I will drop the issue, consider it closed and let you make your own decision on his batteries.

 

You did the right thing by making it public. The vpn excuse is ridiculous, I and many others operate through a vpn and NEVER have buying issues. Anywhere large or small. The fact that its always "he is a liar" and "its not on my system" as the first public response is telling.