NewPriusBatteries Replacement Modules

welcome!
that is surprising. @2k1Toaster is the owner and usually very responsive. there are two major threads here if you want to look through them.

the best option might be a new oem battery if you can find one close to his price. otherwise, yes, it is your best bet.

 

TLDR: Great pack, lackluster customer service

I purchase one of the NPB packs and I am very happy with the quality and performance. It's a really good pack and my 07 Prius drives like new with tons of power (for a Prius). So it's a good product at a reasonable cost without a need for a core exchange.

Now for the truth about NPB, at least my experience. They never return email. I mean never. The only semi-reliable way to get in contact with Nick is by text, but I'm not allowed to give you his number. Apparently PriusChat gets their panties in a bunch about this, so I won't.

Nick has mentioned here on PriusChat in the past that NPB is a side business for him (hobby business) and he has other businesses he operates that I guess are more important/lucrative for him. So fair enough I guess. It's a bit unconventional, but that's just the way it is. Expect to be in limbo once you place an order and you'll get your pack when you get it. Weird right? But you will get the pack eventually and his track record is really good over the past 4 years with the quality of his product.

But the end result is a very good pack with all the requisite nuts, bolt, wiring harness... everything you need for the job. I did it as a first timer and had no issues with the install.

I'm not saying the above to scare you off a good product, but I think I'm probably saying what most here know and don't say. But in the final analysis, I would buy a pack from him again knowing what I know and I still recommend to my friends with the above caveats. It's a really good pack at a great price.

Good Luck

 

i was not aware of that, thank you.

i do know from what he has said that he is a world traveling computer guy, and fairly big into crypto mining, among other businesses, so this is probably small pertaters

 

The potential for lack of service always was a concern for me on a multi-thousand dollar purchase as I’ve read the glowing reviews. A one man shop can go out of business overnight, car accident, illness, whatever, POOF! Then you’re SOL if or when a problem develops.
I’d stick with the OEM or at least a nationwide company like Greentec battery.

 

FWIW, my experience regarding communication from NPB is not the same; I emailed Nick to ask how long I had before I needed to install or charge my NPB, and he got back to me in I believe it was 4 days with an answer to my question. Earlier I had asked another question about shipping, and again he got back to me in around a week. They might be out of battery stock right now.

 

If they have no stock to move the business goes into 'holiday' mode with a skeleton crew. But I believe Nick still tries to keep on top of the emails.

You almost had me up until the last nine words, then I nearly sprayed my screen with coffee.

NPB is not a one-man band, but if there are no batteries in stock there is no work, so there is limited staff around in that situation.

 

When we are out of stock, we go on vacation and don't man the machines as often. We've got nothing until September shipment comes in. August shipment was entirely pre-sold and all got processed and sent out within 2 days which is a record for us! So everyone is working different projects at the moment.

We generally do not answer back every email that is just "when can I get a battery" when the answer is on the website. September is the estimated time. All the FAQ style questions that are answered, go on the backburner.

Our number is on the website and the number it gives out for text goes to my phone and I can ping back easily. Our emails I generally I do not use the phone for just out of principal. I have worked 24/7 for many years, but I try to limit it to non-email things. If you emailed this week, expect a response soon.

Also we have so many spam emails, it takes time to go through them all. Anyone who orders, automatically gets put into an "important" category with Google and their messages get priority.

 

Ordered, thank you!

 

now that's how you divert a thread!

 

My experience had a pretty sour ending...

 

You ordered. You didn't wait until in stock after dealing with logistics issues like every other company during COVID before doing a chargeback on your credit card. You were banned from the store. That's it.

When you do a chargeback, you cost us money.

If you wanted to cancel, we allow full cancellation before we ship, no questions asked. If we give you a refund, you get 100% of your money, and we pay nothing either. It is just some lost time.

When you do a chargeback, it costs us the nearly $50 we are charged to process your order, plus another nearly $50 for admin-ing a chargeback fee, plus hours of paperwork to show what happened. You doing a chargeback cost me over $100 out of pocket and about 3 hours of work back and forth with banks and credit card companies instead of just asking for a refund and everybody would be happy with 5 minutes of work. Chargebacks are a nuclear option. I have zero tolerance or respect for anyone that uses them willy-nilly. And yes, you will be permanently banned from any and all of my stores.

 

Wow....

 

Certainly a diy cell replacement deserves some planning and should not be an emergency procedure.

 

Your side of the story?

 

2k - i've been trying to contact you for over two months on the status of my aug 1st. order. I've emailed info@NPB and nick@NPB.

I've called the phone number on your site as well as texted it.

I'm just hoping to get an answer on the status of the shipment. If it's going to be more than two additional months - I'd like a refund. Not sure where else to try and reach you.

 

they already took your money?

 

When you need a refund they took your money up front. Sounds like another "crowdfunding" presale strategy where the customer is funding operations while there are no products to ship. Pretty close to a pyramid scheme where an ever increasing number of new customers are needed every month to cover the previous obligations. We seem to hear vehement denials from sellers on this site about the integrity of buyers. They could be trying to holdout the 120 days needed before a credit card chargeback can no longer be processed.

 

The pitfalls of buying non-OEM

 

yes - and I've not been able to contact them anywhere.

I know that chargebacks cost them money but I'm running out of options. Even if they're backed up sending some kind of status update would be nice.

"Expected shipment November" could mean anything. I ordered before the "Expected august" shipment and that ship sailed.