Cellphone and laptop batteries problems are old hat. The latest bunch of batteries to burn up and leave customers feel hot under the collar are the ones that power Portable DVD players. Find out how it affects resellers and how you can get around it.
Like cell phone batteries and laptop batteries before them,
portable DVD players have not been free of controversy lately.
Whether it has been from batteries over-heating and exploding or faulty adapters there have been battery problems, big brands have been involved and it hits resellers reputations hardest of all.
A number of big brands have enacted product recalls of their portable DVD players for various reasons. Companies including Toshiba, Polaroid, Thomson, Disney, Welkin, Mintek Digital and Coby have recently recalled either battery and adapters or the full units.
These massive recalls can affect several hundred thousand items at one time and cost these companies huge amounts of money.
The prime reasons sited include an overheating battery and other reports of minor burns and cases of the batteries bursting while being charged. Examples of some recalls include:
* Toshiba recalling 142,000 units of their AC adaptors which were causing their DVD players to overhead.
* Memcorp recalling 102,000 battery packs used in five different models after reports of property damage and minor skin irritation.
* Nagasa & Co Ltd recalling over 420,000 units recalled due to defect that could cause fire due to overheating of some of its components on board.
* Thomson Inc recalling 47,000 units as "battery can overheat and explode while recharging, posing a burn and fire hazard to consumers."
* Polaroid Brand Portable DVD players replacing over 420,000 units due to a defect that could cause fire due to overheating of some of its components on board.
** What is the risk for resellers? **
Faulty battery packs pose more of a risk to resellers than they do to big brand names traders.
This is largely because there is a natural skepticism amongst customers for no-brand products.
While almost all these products have been manufactured in mainland China, the brands have the advantage of high off-line and online visibility that helps alleviate some of the consumers concern.
Online, the fear of being sold a dud increases manifold, as the consumer is generally not familiar with either the reseller or the brand of the product.
Should you happen to receive and sell a faulty series, it can hamper your reputation as it would not take long for your consumers to go online and post negative comments and ratings about your store.
The approach to take in such a situation is to be proactive.
If you are aware of a product defect to the following:
* Post details of the defect on your store and other public locations
* Talk to your customers about the problem
* Offer product recall and replacement
* Provide information on brands with similar problems
** Prevention is better than cure **
Product recalls are expensive and, if badly managed, can result in anything from a loss of reputation to lawsuits.
It is best to take preventive action.
Sourcing quality products from reliable suppliers is key. Obviously being a reseller you probably do not have time to whet the hundreds of Portable DVD manufacturers, or check the quality of the battery.
If you are using drop-shipping chances are you have not even physically inspected the product you are selling.
The next best thing would be to actually source from a reliable agent, they should carry out their own testing and stand behind their products with delivery and manufacturers guarantees.
This ensures the cost of a product recall is not borne by you.
Finally, the issue of heating batteries will remain as of now. Provide information on your site about proper battery maintenance and charging to your customers.
Provide links on battery maintenance and your customer will thank you for it.
Don't just sit around hoping that a overheating battery will be something that you don't have to deal with. Take proactive steps to lessen the chances of getting hit by faulty products and set up a gameplan to follow should the unthinkable should happen and you will protect yourself while reaping in the profits.
