Luyuan Technology - Pretty simple to view their website or to enter or register with Alibaba
https://szluyuan.en.alibaba.com/index.html
Amy Wan is the main contact (you can find her email address in a search of DIY Solar forums). I don't know of other "Amys". Jenny Wu from Docan has had good and bad user experiences which put me off as I could not afford the gamble. As well, Luyuan had more and better options and better prices, even if sometimes by just a little..
I found Alibaba very easy to use and to make credit card payments. You can use Alibaba to chat in real time or via messaging. Real time can be awkward due to time zone differences? Best to be organized with your questions and your answers to Luyuan as time can slip by quickly waiting for messages due to work, other customers, time zones, etc..
As Steve_S suggested, search these DIY Solar forums for "Luyuan" and you will get many threads to read on user experiences and more.
Steve_S from these forums has said that Luyuan is owned by Amy Wan and her husband and they also have one employee. Steve_S has much expertise and experience in DIY Solar and with Luyuan itself and to me, his info and experience(s) means A LOT. Plus he is Canadian, as is his location, which is relevant to my location. Based on his experiences and that of others here and due to the very good prices and sourcing of quality cells and components in one place, I recently made my second build order through Amy Wan at Luyuan via Alibaba with no order, product info or credit card problems whatsoever. THANKS STEVE_S for all your generous time and sharing!!!! I found Luyuan's prices for high quality cells to be lower than most and their info on cells is more complete than most, and so comparing exact cell qualities is not easy, as info from other sellers is vague, missing or wrong. Luyuan's "B" grade cells are also very good deal. They also offer many options for pre-assembled batteries (more configuration options than all or most that I have looked at) and at competitive prices. Downside is that shipping may be slow.
Luyuan has had very very few negative user comments, they had provided very good service, had provided the most high quality cells to users that I have read about and the prices are extremely competitive. The main negative it seems, is the time it takes for shipping from China, if you want to save money. There are faster but more expensive shipping options. Luyuan also had all the components / accessories that I needed for my complete DIY build, including very good pricing on very decent cases and that also allowed for some case customizations without extra fees (other than time) and they did not charge for flexible bus bars, epoxy separator sheets and breaker or case BMS use types (older vs new inverter JKBMS). I only caved into getting metal boxes due to aiding insurance prices, system inspection if needed, keeping out prying fingers of visitors, keeping out mice and pets and ease of use and space savings. Luyuan's cases were what I could afford for my basic simple system needs. The other pro with Luyuan, is if they have all your build components or can get them, then everything you order is packaged together and saves on shipping of extras, vs. having to go through more than one other vendor.
I have had extremely negative experiences with 2 other Chinese vendors but not due to being through Alibaba vs. the vendors being liars and cons. Returns were not easy and would be expensive, support after sale was disgusting but that can happen anywhere.
I had excellent sales service from 18650batterystore.com for my first batch of bare cells. Positives were: Sale was quick for cells in stock. Communication was prompt via email, which was all I required and used. Shipping via UPS to Canada was very fast and trouble free for once, that's 1/10 shipments. The JK BMS and accessories I ordered were on "sale", otherwise the cost was too high.
I did not go with 18650batterystore.com for my second build cell order due to:
- Cells I wanted were Out of Stock
- the BMS I wanted was Out of Stock or another BMS option was too expensive for me
- they did not carrying some products for the build
- they charged extra for flexible busbars, cell divider sheets, cables and most items were Out of Stock
- there was a long or unknown wait to restock of out of stock items, so I may as well save money waiting for a complete order from Luyuan
- 18650batterystore prices for cells were higher and getting cell matching reports did not happen in my first order or for some DIY forum users was/is not easy to get, unlike Luyuan which provides this without asking.
- their components and accessories are for me, significantly more expensive, though some sales can happen
- also there is a quite high UPS shipping cost to my location in Canada, so there is no savings on shipping for me but if items are in stock, shipping can be faster.
FWIW, I don't hold much or any value in "warranties" because from my location, ANY warranty or return claim is going to be such a huge hassle, that unless a company pays for return shipping, the costs that I would endure for a return of heavy cells or other components makes a warranty claim ridiculous. Even making a return via courier in my remote location requires days or my travelling 600 kilometers/370 miles to the nearest courier depot. That is why, when deciding on a purchase, I try to go slow, do lots of reading and take my time assessing the helpful user experiences of others before committing to a purchase. That is also a huge reason why I do not want to just buy a preassembled "battery", where cells are welded together and often even if the case were opened for inspection, it could void the warranty from some sellers. Sellers can put whatever they want inside a sealed box or case and call it whatever they want. Bare cells are more difficult to hide. Luyuan it seems is one of the few that reliably get or do the cell matching and quality control that users have had success with. That extra work is worth paying for and is not even extra compared to the higher prices from less ethical or less detailed sellers.
