Where to find a Sony VAIO battery?

May 24, 2006 11:57 AM

where can you find a battery for a Sony VAIO for less than $140?

I'm posting this on behalf of my friend in Pittsburgh.

"My laptop needs a new battery. Specifically, my Sony VAIO PCG-V505BX needs a battery that apparently costs $140 plus shipping and handling if I order it from Sony. I'd like to see if I can't get it cheaper elsewhere. So I turn to you all for advice: who is a reliable retailer to get a Sony laptop battery from, other than Sony? Also, the laptop is now going on three years old, so I'm having trouble finding batteries for it at, say, Circuit City.com or the like."

posted by luneray to computers & internet (4 comments total)

Simple Micro. I got a new battery for my Vaio pcg-25 for $101 in January. It's still going strong (unlike another off-brand one I bought before that.)
posted by Kirth Gerson at 12:24 PM on May 24, 2006

Ebay. Find the model number on the battery and search there. I just bought a new (Dell made) battery for my Dell laptop from a seller there for less than 1/2 what Dell wanted direct.
posted by phearlez at 2:26 PM on May 24, 2006

but how well is that battery holding up, phearlez - I'm in the spot to purchase a new/more-celled battery for my (ancient) dell - is there a way to tell between "new from manufacturer" bats from "new in my stock" bats?
posted by porpoise at 11:18 PM on May 24, 2006

Well, the battery I got appears in every way to be an actual Dell battery down to the label and model number printed on it. Not to mention the DELL stamped on it :) I've only had it a week so I can't really tell you how it's holding up beyond that it works at least as well as the old one and has a better life than the 2 year old one it replaced.

The situation may be different for Sony stuff. For Dell there seems to be a large number of Dell resellers who auction things on Ebay. I bought a 1450 miniPCI network card on Ebay from someone for 1/2 what Dell wanted direct... and it came drop-shipped from Dell. This recent battery came from a Canadian location but it seems no less legitimate.
posted by phearlez at 2:35 PM on May 25, 2006