Annoying Energizer marketing scam

[Cerebus]

... I've found that Ray-O-Vac alkalines last just as long as Duracells and Energizers and are pretty much half the price.

Same here. They're probably cheaper because they don't waste money on marketing bullshit and nonsense advertising like commercials with pink bunnies and copper tops.

We had the same Ray-O-Vac 6V zinc carbon battery pack powering the front door bell in my parent's house from before I was born until my Mother sold the house 47 years later.

[strangersound]

... I've found that Ray-O-Vac alkalines last just as long as Duracells and Energizers and are pretty much half the price.

Same here. They're probably cheaper because they don't waste money on marketing bullshit and nonsense advertising like commercials with pink bunnies and copper tops.

I used to be snobbish towards generic brand things, but it's really worth a person's time to try generic alternatives. Malt-O-Meal (bag) cereals being a primary example. It's actually better cereal than the name brands, and costs a lot less due to eliminating excess packaging and like you said, a bunch of b.s. marketing. Not all things are equal and some name brand stuff is better, but it's worth doing the comparison.

And I've noticed a lot of generic products seem to use older style packaging, so I think this is playing a strong role in price, along with the lack of marketing. It makes me wonder if while big brands are continually updating and changing their packaging, these smaller/generic brands are buying the phased out packaging equipment for pennies on the dollar. Just a theory, though...

[John Coloccia]

Ave. Funny guy.

I started using generics quite some time ago. Eric Johnson (guitarist) started this thing back in the day, because he claimed he could hear the difference between Alkalines and Carbon Zinc batteries in his distortion pedals. Well, when you're a tone junkie, you can't let this slide and you have to try it for yourself. Well, I'm one of the people that felt that there was a difference. There has been endless discussion about it in guitar circles, but the primary idea is that the carbon zinc batteries have a voltage sag which affects the circuit. It's subtle, but there is a difference. It's supposed to be much more pronounced in germanium based pedals than it is later transistor distortions and compressors. It's even given enough merit that boutique pedal makers actually recommend carbon zinc batteries over alkaline.

Short story long, after dicking around with this battery debate, I found that pretty much any battery was lasting as long as any other, so I stopped buying Duracells and Energizers and just went with the cheaper stuff. And in my regular alkaline use, I've found that Ray-O-Vac alkalines last just as long as Duracells and Energizers and are pretty much half the price.

There's definitely something to it. A lot of pedals won't care until things start clipping that shouldn't, but the old fuzz pedals can really be quite sensitive to operating voltage. I should say that part of my business is actually building pedals.

Anyhow, I include Duracell ProCell 9Vs in my product for a number of reasons:

1) they're much smaller than cheap, crappy batteries. They fit better in smaller enclosures.

2) The intercell connections are spot welded AAAA batteries. Crappy batteries either have pile construction, which is really piss poor all around, or connections that are mechanically held together. I think Energizers are just held together by the outer shell...take it apart, and the whole things falls apart if I remember correctly. It's been a while. Take a crappy, pile style battery and squeeze it. The voltage will change. I think Dave may have even shown that in a video. I've taken apart a lot of batteries when I was selecting one, and there are huge differences in manufacturing quality and design.

3) Can't remember ever having one leak. This one's a biggy. All batteries are definitely NOT made alike in this regard

4) the ProCell version is the same as their regular batteries, but they're available in bulk with individual terminal caps. Makes shipping them in the unit very easy, and if someone doesn't want to use a battery they can take the cap off the cell and put it on the snap terminal to keep that from shorting out. They don't cost much in bulk. I pay just over $1 each in cases of 216.

Lots of advantages to the Duracells that don't really have anything to do with voltage or capacity.

[John Coloccia]

Shoot, I almost forgot. WTF is an energy ring??   

[System Error Message]

When it comes to alkaline, they're all made at the same factories. A few factories supply all the alkalines. However the best alkalines are made in japan so thats what you should look out for (brand doesnt matter).

For lithiums and other batteries, there are way more producers so the brand starts to matter.

decades ago getting duracell or energizer made a huge difference compared to generic or other brands but technology is old now and there are other types of batteries so it becomes one of those things you can produce easily yourself.

[tom66]

the only advantage lithium really offers is better performance in high-drain applications

There are three other more important advantages: they don't leak, they have a very long shelf life, and they don't leak.

You can put lithium batteries in a product, come back many years later, the product will still work, and the batteries won't have leaked. That is the reason I tend to buy and use lithium batteries. It is also the reason I was disappointed they didn't work in the BM235 multimeter. Alkaline batteries leak, ergo I don't use alkaline batteries in anything valuable.

Alkaline cells rarely leak. I only saw Duracells and the zinc cells leak on our 50+ battery sample, after years sitting discharged in a box.

The high shelf life is an additional bonus but even alkaline cells usually have a minimum 5 year shelf life retaining at least 70% of capacity. Lithium may be better in this regard, but I can't see any huge advantages for the additional price.

[Macbeth]

My batteries are all labelled SUPER HEAVY DUTY and I get stacks of them in the 99p shop. I think I am winning. I will be applying for a job with Batteroo soon... 

ETA: I think I should add that these SUPER HEAVY DUTY batteries have got lighter and lighter over the years, so much they almost float away. I think this is an example of amazing technological progress, but Batteroo can even squeeze another 800% out of these amazing cells 

[Someone]

Well it's easy when the packaging is blown up to such a large size like that 

The packaging is a completely different colour, with completely different text, and one says "lithium", the other doesn't. 
On this shitty 7" tablet, the pictures are smaller than actual size!

Nope, you're not blaming this one on the marketeers!

In fairness to the OP, the "Ultimate Lithium" batteries *used to* be called "Energizer Advanced Lithium" and were in fact heavily marketed as such for many years. Only when these Eco batteries came out did they suddenly change Advanced to Ultimate.

I can see how he would make a mistake at a glance. Like him I suspect that's the point.

The standard used in English courts to decide if packaging is similar enough to be accused of "passing off" is that of the judgement of a "moron in a hurry". That is, if it could fool a "moron in a hurry" it would be treated as infringing.

Passing off is used to protect one companies brand from another imitating it, I'm not sure energizer would be so keen on pursuing a passing off case against its self.

[Cerebus]

The standard used in English courts to decide if packaging is similar enough to be accused of "passing off" is that of the judgement of a "moron in a hurry". That is, if it could fool a "moron in a hurry" it would be treated as infringing.

Passing off is used to protect one companies brand from another imitating it, I'm not sure energizer would be so keen on pursuing a passing off case against its self.

The point was about "making a mistake in a hurry". Context is everything. Passing off is about fooling consumers, the original discussion here is about fooling consumers but in a different way.

[RGB255_0_0]

The standard used in English courts to decide if packaging is similar enough to be accused of "passing off" is that of the judgement of a "moron in a hurry". That is, if it could fool a "moron in a hurry" it would be treated as infringing.

Passing off is used to protect one companies brand from another imitating it, I'm not sure energizer would be so keen on pursuing a passing off case against its self.

The point was about "making a mistake in a hurry". Context is everything. Passing off is about fooling consumers, the original discussion here is about fooling consumers but in a different way.

But with that argument it's like going into Tesco and buying Tesco Value washing power when you wanted a quiche because you didn't read the packet but the packages look the same at a glance.

Just don't fall for it again: fool me one...