Clone Camera Batteries sold on Amazon - How Safe Are They?

I had been thinking about saving a few bucks and buying one of those after market batteries till I read this from someones Facebook page.  Apparently this person lives in Germany and test all sorts of batteries.  

"The Verdict: Forget all those clone batteries!

Watson, Wasabi or however they are called. Most of them not only provide less juice in the long run, some of them even pose a threat.

Virtually ALL of those clone manufacturers take shortcuts (no pun intended!) to get to the low prices they offer. Others literally cheat by falsely claiming capacities they don't provide (lesser or fewer battery cells used). These are mostly the counterfeit battery manufacturers.

Some of these culprits use crippled circuits that do not faithfully monitor the battery's temperature which they then counter by letting the charger never fully charge the battery to avoid worst case scenarios.
After the infamous problems with Samsung's Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and also some hover boards, this should not be taken lightly.

NONE of them have the original, fully functioning circuit boards - against their claims.
The bottomline (for me) is: not the expensive genuine batteries are the rip-off, the cheaper clones are.
(The author’s bottomline is: IF you want to use clones, buy the cheapest ones and only use them as backups. But don’t buy counterfeits - they are the worst.)

And since some of them blatantly compromise quality (and safety) I personally will no longer put money towards these cheapos. I will only buy genuine and at a reputable seller. Somebody well known recently talked about “draining the swamp” 

 Good to know 

Those that have tried them already know they aren't as good as OEM batteries, though some think they are....

Never had any issues with the ones I've used.. Aftermarket, not fakes. Thing is though, why would a reputable site like B & H sell aftermarket if they were really that bad ? It would damage their reputation if they were. The Samsung batteries as well as the hoverboard batteries (and the older Sony laptop batteries) were all OEM batteries, not fakes or aftermarket. All of the OEM camera makers subcontract out for their batteries. Just require the subcontractor to manufacture to their specs. I'd take this Facebook user's post with a grain of salt myself...

I have two different brands for my cameras and have never had a problem with them. They work as they should including the battery meter. The last 2 I bought for my E-M1 are more powerful than the OEM battery. There are duds out there but with a little due diligence you can determine the good from the bad. 

Taking uncertain risks comes with the territory of buying knock off brands or counterfeits. While it's unlikely that something along the lines of the Samsung horror stories will happen to you, I don't think you should expect a third party battery to live up to those made by reputable manufacturers. That said, consider whether saving a few bucks or having a higher quality product is a bigger priority when you make your decision on where your battery is coming from.

You will also find there are times a non OEM battery will void a warranty, while it may be tough for it to be proven. Also B&H used to sell a D300 knock off that would NOT operate in the camera, as it lacked a chip. I think Nikon abandoned that idea....I tried third party batteries in the past, marked and logged info, and never had one that matched the OEM performance. Its your call.

I don't think the camera makers make their own batteries. If they don't make them then who does? I doubt they would make batteries for just one company so who actually makes them and do they sell under a different name also? Food for thought.

They are made to spec in any event, like sensors. Nikon was chipping them for a short time, and there's a reason there are cost differences.....

Agree, the most likely are all made by the same manufacture in China

I've bought many cheap batteries and have had no issues with it.