Very old dates on new batteries in stores

[callbay]

I was shopping for a small lawn & garden battery for a tractor. I went to several stores of large auto parts chains in our area. I saw many of these batteries with very old dates, Some as far back as March of 2012. That's 9 months old.

I doubt if these batteries get charged ever when in the store. I know it's out of season for lawn & garden batteries, but buying a nine moth old battery that's probably sulfating sounds crazy.

Do stores ever turn these batteries back in to the manufactures or will they still be selling these same batteries in the spring when they are a year ore more old?

I did also looked at Wal-MArt and Sam's and their batteries were very current.

 

[bdcardinal]

They can turn them in, however it requires staff to know what they are doing. It also requires a vendor that understands date codes and why customers don't like buying old stock when it comes to batteries.

 

[Kruse]

I've often wondered if there isn't just a little bit of deception when they stamp the date codes on the battery anyway.
On the morning of February 2nd of 2012, I went into a store and found a replacement battery that I needed. The sticker on the side of the battery said "Manufactured February 2012". Seriously? Okay, maybe the battery went off off the assembly line at 12:01 A.M. on February 1st, but to be put on the truck, shipped to a regional warehouse (probably), then shipped to the store and put on display within 36 hours of me buying it was unbelievable. BTW, this battery has a three year warranty, but failed on me and I'm going to have to see if they honor their warranty this week.

 

[Donald]

In some cases a vendor takes the exchanges, out of date ones and restocks new. Given the weight, battery acid and exchanges, its often handled outside of the normal stocking flow.

 

[GearheadTool]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
I've often wondered if there isn't just a little bit of deception when they stamp the date codes on the battery anyway.
On the morning of February 2nd of 2012, I went into a store and found a replacement battery that I needed. The sticker on the side of the battery said "Manufactured February 2012". Seriously? Okay, maybe the battery went off off the assembly line at 12:01 A.M. on February 1st, but to be put on the truck, shipped to a regional warehouse (probably), then shipped to the store and put on display within 36 hours of me buying it was unbelievable. BTW, this battery has a three year warranty, but failed on me and I'm going to have to see if they honor their warranty this week.


I'll bet they put the Feb sticker on it in January anticipating a February delivery.

 

[Mr Nice]

When I buy a new battery I always 'pick' my own battery, I don't let the employee pick it for me.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: GearheadTool
Originally Posted By: Kruse
I've often wondered if there isn't just a little bit of deception when they stamp the date codes on the battery anyway.
On the morning of February 2nd of 2012, I went into a store and found a replacement battery that I needed. The sticker on the side of the battery said "Manufactured February 2012". Seriously? Okay, maybe the battery went off off the assembly line at 12:01 A.M. on February 1st, but to be put on the truck, shipped to a regional warehouse (probably), then shipped to the store and put on display within 36 hours of me buying it was unbelievable. BTW, this battery has a three year warranty, but failed on me and I'm going to have to see if they honor their warranty this week.


I'll bet they put the Feb sticker on it in January anticipating a February delivery.


That's what I suspect. Maybe in their dictionary, the words "manufactured" and "delivered" mean the same thing.

 

[callbay]

I too saw a battery with a date that was for the next month when shopping a couple of years ago.

 

[Kestas]

I also trickle charge new batteries for a day or two before putting them in service, in case they're low on charge. I understand it's not good practise to have the alternator do the charging for an undercharged battery.

 

[OB4x4]

S.O.P. is for the store to rotate batteries when they hit 9 months old. What they do is test and recharge, then relabel it with a new date, typically with a RED date code sticker.

 

[bullwinkle]

This has happened to me the last 2 times I bought an AAP battery-and both times the battery was over 18 months old! I don't think they check their stock, personally, esp. on oddball batteries that they don't sell a lot of.

 

[getnpsi]

heh, wal-mart very ->current...

Before purchase ask if any problems go off the receipt or the date code. There is another battery thread talking about this too. If i had to get a battery today for the car or the toys I might even get a dry racing style as the price gap sure isn't double anymore.

 

[cathy]

I can't find the date codes on car batteries. (major brands).
Where are they located? (Are there any websites which explain this?)

 

[Donald]

Some date codes were melted into the case with a stamp. Its a two way street, a clever customer could replace an old sticker with a one year old sticker.

The older date codes were usually a letter for the month (A=Jan, B=Feb) along with 2 digit year.

 

[JavierG]

Originally Posted By: cathy
I can't find the date codes on car batteries. (major brands).
Where are they located? (Are there any websites which explain this?)

Interstate Batteries are stamped on the battery itself near the positive terminal. The sticker (month and year) itself should be punched upon installation by whomever is doing the installation. Interstate also requires that a store re-charge a battery if it is still on the shelf aftetr a couple of months.

 

[jim302]

This seems to vary by store. Some are very good about managing their stock, and others aren't.

I have seen batteries at several Wal-Mart locations with stickers well over a year old. Obviously, this happens more often with the less common battery sizes. This doesn't mean all Wal-Mart locations are bad. As always, it makes sense to check no matter where you buy the battery from. An old sticker also doesn't mean that the battery hasn't been put on a charger to prevent sulfation... although the amount of dust on some of the batteries I have seen would indicate that they haven't been touched in a while.