No Stupid Questions

The fact that someone even asks this question tells me there is something deeply wrong with the culture these days. No shade on you OP, I’m sure you are a good person. But it’s obvious that corporate propaganda has worked extremely well.

No, absolutely not, you are well within your rights to buy off brand and second hand equipment. Heck, I consider it a moral victory in avoiding the hellish markups the big brands put on their consumables.

Push back when kind of question comes up, we have to counter the propaganda, otherwise it will soon become law. I’m certain home tool manufacturers would move to a printer ink model in a heartbeat. It’s bad enough that there isn’t a universal battery mount as it is.

This can't be a real question

The fuck? Of course not.

Corporations aren't people. You can't harm them.

And even if they were, you wouldn't owe them loyalty.

LOL no.

You are in no way morally obligated to go out of your way to protect some corporation's exploitative business model.

It’s unethical for companies to force you to buy overpriced essential parts. If you find a compatible battery for cheaper, there’s no reason not to buy it. Unless the company prevents third-party batteries from working in their products...

Nothing unethical about finding a better price.

Corporations are not your friend. Ethics plays no part in it. It's economics. If they price themselves out of the competition, that's their problem, not yours.

No, more like the other way around

It's unethical that companies constantly produce incompatible chargers and batteries that cause more pollution when lost, cut customer options, which after a few years when they no longer get made, cause even more pollution

Why would that be unethical? I honestly don't even understand this question, of course it wouldn't be.

No, but corporations that sell overpriced products absolutely love that you’re asking this question.

Absolutely not. What's actually unethical is the ruinous prices the name brands charge for their "genuine" batteries which under the hood are just as much Chinese garbage as the off-brand ones.

As unethical as buying the OEM batteries.

you mean, someone else found a way to do the exact same job but cheaper? According to capitalism, all is as it should be and you should rest easy buying the knockoffs.

More pragmatically speaking, from what I recall when I watched AvE (before he revealed himself as a canadian maga), the performance of knockoff batteries was in general adequate as long as you didn't expect the same low temperature performance. That's apparently where knockoffs and the legitimate batteries tend to differ, is when you've got to use them in freezing temperatures. So if you're planning on using your power tools in a frozen shithole, stick to buying legit batteries -- I know you were asking about the ethical concerns, but that's something else to keep in mind. but imo fuck DeWalt, they've already got their pound of flesh out of you buying the legit tools in the first place.

That's called the other side of the coin of the free market economy. Capitalism.

You sell your tool's battery for $200/ah? Someone makes the same thing without the tag that is compatible with the same ah rating but without your warranty for $50 and I buy it from them, you lower your price or see your sales drop off a cliff

What you think anyone should actually subscribe to the Ethics for thee but not for me model?

BTW I'll be buying some aftermarket tabless 12ah batteries for my Ego tools when they kick and guess what I won't be paying for 6 of them.... $4,000

Yes, four. thousand. dollars.

I'll be spending less than $1,000.

Absolutely not, crazy position to hold. Fyi you can buy orprint 3D adapters for a lot of things. My dyson runs on dewalt batteries.

Intellectual property isn't real.

This feels like a trick question. 🤔

Am I missing something here? Where's the potential immorality behind it? Maybe if they're work tools and the cheaper batteries ruined the tools over time, sure, there could be an argument for it...

What sort of circumstance could possibly make buying cheaper compatible batteries unethical?

1. Did you make an express promise to only buy brand-name batteries? (I.e., are they paying you money to showcase their brand? Did you lease or rent tools with a contract that specified brand-name-only batteries? )
2. Are you spending someone else's money who wants name brand batteries?
3. Are the third-party batteries illegal in your country?
4. Is there a known greater ecological harm in the manufacture of the third-party batteries?
5. Are you expecting to have your power tools be harmed by the third party batteries and returning them for warranty repair you caused?

For a typical consumer in America, and likely most professional contractors, the answer is "no" to all of these. And DeWalt apparently only offers a one year warranty that specifically excludes "normal wear and tear".

https://www.dewalt.com/en-us/support/warranty

Anything up to and including prying open the proprietary casing and swapping in new cells is entirely ethical.

unethical? no.

but depending on the batteries you're buying, could be a fire hazard.

The trick is you're doing it backward. For a lot of tools, the cheap tools aren't much worse than the expensive ones unless you are at the level where they are in constant/heavy use, hours of driving from the store, and you desperately need the extra durability, but the reliability of the batteries is where it's actually worth the cash. Good batteries can hold a charge while not being used and last longer while in use. Cheap batteries can be e-waste after a week of use, or even before you open the box if they're really bad.

As for ethical? The question is absurd. They're your tools. It's unethical for companies to even sell tools with proprietary connectors because it effectively acts as them telling you what you are allowed to do with your tools. There is no ethical problem in bypassing corporate B.S.

no.

No ethical consumption in capitalism….

It's unethical, because when you buy compatible batteries the DeWalt CEO may have to wait a month more for his second yacht.

/S

It is possible that DeWalt designs and manufactures its own batteries, and there is some clever tech in them that makes them superior to other batteries, or that they pay for high quality components that make them last longer.

However, it is just as likely that they buy the batteries themselves "off the shelf", put them in a custom plastic enclosure, slap their label on them, and sell them for an insane markup. Sometimes, they don't even need the custom enclosure and they just buy someone else's finished battery product. The "off-brand" option may be the exact same product.

It's not unethical to use off-brand batteries, but then if you buy a substandard one that causes a problem the manufacturer may use that as an excuse to deny their warranty claim. But when was the last time you replaced a tool under warranty?

Of course it isn’t.

Those cheaper batteries are usually lighter in weight or a fire hazard though.

The manufacturers of those off brand batteries are unethical because they almost always use inferior cells and less robust protection circuits, and in many cases have less than advertised capacity.

Why do you think it could be unethical?

I can't think of a multinational corporation that deserves your loyalty in that way. It's up to you and me to determine if the markup is a brand name premium or a actual measurable quality improvement and direct our spending accordingly. I have had both good and bad luck and sometimes you don't even get a choice because there's only one battery option available.

I'm sure the companies would like it to be seen as unethical or even illegal, but most people I know (even older non-internet-savvy people) like having more options than just a greedy OEM for parts and service.

I think you can let your conscious rest easy knowing corporate would feed you headfirst into a meat grinder on Easter Sunday live on national television before they have your best interests at heart.

Nope, why would it be?

The only concern that I would have buying off brand batteries is durability. They left something out to make it significantly cheaper and batteries are notorious for unexpectedly catching fire.

It’s unethical that these brands get you into buying their tools and force you into their specific brand of battery when you never encounter that in stuff like a GameBoy that can use any brand of AA battery.

There are adapters on Amazon, such as ones I got, that allow my Ryobi tools to use Craftsman batteries.