"New" battery from 6/21

[ET16]

My daughter needed a battery yesterday. She got one from a local chain store, and showed me a picture. It was all dirty, so I became suspicious. I asked her to look for the date sticker. It was 6/21!

We called the store, and I told them the battery was unacceptable. They said to put the battery in, dive the car over, and they would swap it out for a fresher one.

It turned out that the battery was a group 48R not a 48, so the terminals were in the wrong place. Couldn't hook it up.

They took another car over to swap the battery. They finally got the right one (8/22 date code), but we're wondering.... Did they try to pass off old stock onto someone who they thought wouldn't know the difference?

 

[JoelB]

Do you want them to throw away batteries they don't sell? They can't control what sells well or not.

 

[atikovi]

Should have asked for 25% discount.

 

[aquariuscsm]

My daughter needed a battery yesterday. She got one from a local chain store, and showed me a picture. It was all dirty, so I became suspicious. I asked her to look for the date sticker. It was 6/21!

We called the store, and I told them the battery was unacceptable. They said to put the battery in, dive the car over, and they would swap it out for a fresher one.

It turned out that the battery was a group 48R not a 48, so the terminals were in the wrong place. Couldn't hook it up.

They took another car over to swap the battery. They finally got the right one (8/22 date code), but we're wondering.... Did they try to pass off old stock onto someone who they thought wouldn't know the difference?

You did good! I would've done the same exact thing. I check the dates on everything I buy, including batteries.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

They took another car over to swap the battery. They finally got the right one (8/22 date code), but we're wondering.... Did they try to pass off old stock onto someone who they thought wouldn't know the difference?

No. How much hand holding do you expect a retailer to provide?

 

[Lubener]

My daughter needed a battery yesterday. She got one from a local chain store, and showed me a picture. It was all dirty, so I became suspicious. I asked her to look for the date sticker. It was 6/21!

We called the store, and I told them the battery was unacceptable. They said to put the battery in, dive the car over, and they would swap it out for a fresher one.

It turned out that the battery was a group 48R not a 48, so the terminals were in the wrong place. Couldn't hook it up.

They took another car over to swap the battery. They finally got the right one (8/22 date code), but we're wondering.... Did they try to pass off old stock onto someone who they thought wouldn't know the difference?

Walmart sells a lot of batteries with a good turn around and I always got a fresh one there.

 

[DriveHard]

If it was sitting in a temp controlled showroom I wouldn't be too worried. I'd ask for the discount like mentioned above, but not give it another thought.

 

[ET16]

Should have asked for 25% discount.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[jeepman3071]

I doubt the counter person even looked at the sticker. Anything that happens at these stores is usually more an issue of carelessness than someone trying to take advantage of a customer. They are minimum wage employees, it makes no difference to them if the store pulls a fast one on somebody.

 

[Jetronic]

My daughter needed a battery yesterday. She got one from a local chain store, and showed me a picture. It was all dirty, so I became suspicious. I asked her to look for the date sticker. It was 6/21!

We called the store, and I told them the battery was unacceptable. They said to put the battery in, dive the car over, and they would swap it out for a fresher one.

It turned out that the battery was a group 48R not a 48, so the terminals were in the wrong place. Couldn't hook it up.

They took another car over to swap the battery. They finally got the right one (8/22 date code), but we're wondering.... Did they try to pass off old stock onto someone who they thought wouldn't know the difference?

You'd think they would wipe a rag over it to remove the dust in that case

 

[Chris142]

The tractor supply near me is loaded with old stock batteries. I don't think they are intentionally screw ing folks. Just slow movers

 

[Duffyjr]

The counter person is just taking your money, in this case we would need to look at upper management and how they handle rotation, first-in, first-out. 6/21 is just to old to be considered new.

 

[jeepman3071]

The counter person is just taking your money, in this case we would need to look at upper management and how they handle rotation, first-in, first-out. 6/21 is just to old to be considered new.

I'm sure that battery was placed right at the end of the shelf for first-in first-out which is why it was selected for sale. In the eyes of the company and upper management, the battery is still within warranty, so they aren't going to toss what they view as a "still good" product. A discount might be one way to get a better deal for an older product, but you definitely won't see them throwing it away so they can sell you a newer battery. To them, never used = new.

 

[Hall]

Did they try to pass off old stock onto someone who they thought wouldn't know the difference?

Exactly what should they do ? As a vendor/supplier, you always ship the oldest product first. If they had wiped it down, cleaned it up, and removed the date sticker, you'd have been none the wiser.

 

[ET16]

I doubt the counter person even looked at the sticker. Anything that happens at these stores is usually more an issue of carelessness than someone trying to take advantage of a customer. They are minimum wage employees, it makes no difference to them if the store pulls a fast one on somebody.

I guess that's right.

 

[atikovi]

If they had wiped it down, cleaned it up, and removed the date sticker, you'd have been none the wiser.

And risk going to jail. Remember, "Do not remove label under penalty of law."

 

[demarpaint]

As long as they honor the warranty based on the date of purchase I wouldn't lose sleep over it, but I would ask. I just bought a battery dated 6/22 at the end of August, I asked and the NAPA franchise owner told me keep the receipt and there will be no problems if the battery had to be warrantied.

 

[zzyzzx]

Walmart sells a lot of batteries with a good turn around and I always got a fresh one there.

If only they could maintain stock!

 

[Hall]

I just bought a battery dated 6/22 at the end of August, I asked and the NAPA franchise owner told me keep the receipt and there will be no problems

Because the battery was 3 months old ?

 

[tasch72]

As long as they honor the warranty based on the date of purchase I wouldn't lose sleep over it, but I would ask. I just bought a battery dated 6/22 at the end of August, I asked and the NAPA franchise owner told me keep the receipt and there will be no problems if the battery had to be warrantied.

That's the most important thing that is getting overlooked here. The warranty doesn't start until the battery is purchased.

As long as you have your receipt or your purchase can be looked up you're fine, otherwise then it defaults to the sticker on the battery.

If OP has a battery that has seen a year of shelf life, then its that much more likely to need replaced under warranty.