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Future supply of batteries

Chips

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Sep 2, 2017
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I was chatting with a DJI dealer recently and asked him if he could sell me a couple of batteries. He told me he had no more stock and noticed that prices were beginning to slowly go up. I asked him if it was due to exchange rates and he said that was minor. He suspects that what could be causing a price increase is diminishing stocks. According to him, DJI has mentioned that production of batteries for older models will be discontinued in the near future. When this happens, the existing stocks would likely start to cost more.

Of course, there will then probably be more third-party suppliers but personally, I trust only original products, especially mission-critical items like batteries which cannot fail when you are in the air. I would not buy a non-DJI battery for that reason.

In the auto industry, carmakers generally provide replacement parts for at least 10 years after the last production of a model. But I guess in the drone and electronics industry, the rate of change is very much faster - and the volumes are much higher - so the same principle probably can't apply.

It's a disturbing thought for me and though it may mean that I have to get a new drone in future, I might hate doing so. Noe because I have to spend money again but sometimes, like software, what you have has reached a point of being stable and near-perfect and you can really enjoy using it. Getting a new one means going through all the bugs again.
 
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You can buy all the batteries you want on the DJI website. Always in supply. Price hasn't changed. DJI also has official stores on eBay and Amazon.

Local third-party sellers may not stock them but users don't need to worry that DJI will suddenly stop production and risk harsh consumer backlash. They've never done that.
 
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DJI also has official stores on eBay and Amazon.

Good to know. I've had a couple of SlickDeals pop up from the app concerning DJI and I thought maybe it was fake because it said it was an official Ebay seller for DJI.
 
Good to know. I've had a couple of SlickDeals pop up from the app concerning DJI and I thought maybe it was fake because it said it was an official Ebay seller for DJI.

DJI definitely has an Official eBay Store. But also plenty of other sellers trying to impersonate DJI

Here is the link to all of DJI's official stores on the web

They are also partnered NewEgg and AliExpress if you use the official links on that page
 
I was chatting with a DJI dealer recently and asked him if he could sell me a couple of batteries. He told me he had no more stock and noticed that prices were beginning to slowly go up. I asked him if it was due to exchange rates and he said that was minor. He suspects that what could be causing a price increase is diminishing stocks. According to him, DJI has mentioned that production of batteries for older models will be discontinued in the near future. When this happens, the existing stocks would likely start to cost more.

Of course, there will then probably be more third-party suppliers but personally, I trust only original products, especially mission-critical items like batteries which cannot fail when you are in the air. I would not buy a non-DJI battery for that reason.

In the auto industry, carmakers generally provide replacement parts for at least 10 years after the last production of a model. But I guess in the drone and electronics industry, the rate of change is very much faster - and the volumes are much higher - so the same principle probably can't apply.

It's a disturbing thought for me and though it may mean that I have to get a new drone in future, I might hate doing so. Noe because I have to spend money again but sometimes, like software, what you have has reached a point of being stable and near-perfect and you can really enjoy using it. Getting a new one means going through all the bugs again.


whats going to suck is in 2 more years the batts will be gone... and we will have no choice to buy another drone from dji.. this is why i hate proprietary batts.... now the phantom you can tear down the batt and put new cells in it.. its easier the older one phantom 4 the batts are compact not like standard lipo sizes... so its harder... but as time goes on our sparks will be just a paper weight and i only fly once or twice a month and its been 3 years so far but 20 flights so im pissed i might not get to fly it from the batts degrading or not being avail
 
... but as time goes on our sparks will be just a paper weight and i only fly once or twice a month and its been 3 years so far but 20 flights so im pissed i might not get to fly it from the batts degrading or not being avail

The Spark was released in May 2017.
How have you been flying a Spark for three years?
 
yea 3 years... i have a time machine im really from the future.. lol i was thinking about another drone i was flying.. but the spark is still old by drone standards.. like pcs after 6 months poof your crap is opsolite
 
yea 3 years... i have a time machine im really from the future.. lol i was thinking about another drone i was flying.. but the spark is still old by drone standards.. like pcs after 6 months poof your crap is opsolite

I couldn't disagree more...
The Spark is 18 months old and FAR FROM OBSOLETE!

In fact it is still years ahead of every other entry-level consumer drone on the market. The amount of tech in that small package at that price point makes me think the Spark is from the future!
 
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well not really years ahead
I couldn't disagree more...
The Spark is 18 months old and FAR FROM OBSOLETE!

In fact it is still years ahead of every other entry-level consumer drone on the market. The amount of tech in that small package at that price point makes me think the Spark is from the future!
.. its not years ahead.. dji stole most of the ideas from 3dr and other drone users.. heres how... before 3dr had a arduino based gps drone that in fact does the same thing dji does rth waypoints though mission planner etc on a 8 bit micro controller... old school.. then they added what sonar.. optical flow.. there have been optical flow and sonar on 3dr robotics drones since way before dji... you can buy all these things now for 1/3 the cost you can build a 250 size drone with optical flow gps rth waypoints on mission planner software and 3 batteries for 250 dollars maybe 300.... so dji like apple stole the ideas and all they did was make the drone sexy looking ie like apple market a attractive looking drone.. you can even buy gimbals for the 250 size drones.. so what dji is doing it nothing new...

infact i can build a 120 size drone with rth etc with a 50 dollar f4 controller board for like 200 bucks or less the size of your palm...

so what dji does is play on peoples stupidity.. they marketed their stuff as inovative.. i see no inovation in anything they do...

have they made something no one else has no.... oh boy they stuck cameras on the sides and back... and the software to tie them in ill give them that thats about it folks...

like apple people will jump on drones and buy them if they hear it has a bigger screen... wheres the inovation? im telling its not there.. dji is a chinese company thats making millions off us... and we have the power to change them... the spark was made to just make a profit not satisfy a need.. because all their drones are 3 times the price of what you could build on your own..
 
well not really years ahead

.. its not years ahead.. dji stole most of the ideas from 3dr and other drone users.. heres how... before 3dr had a arduino based gps drone that in fact does the same thing dji does rth waypoints though mission planner etc on a 8 bit micro controller... old school.. then they added what sonar.. optical flow.. there have been optical flow and sonar on 3dr robotics drones since way before dji... you can buy all these things now for 1/3 the cost you can build a 250 size drone with optical flow gps rth waypoints on mission planner software and 3 batteries for 250 dollars maybe 300.... so dji like apple stole the ideas and all they did was make the drone sexy looking ie like apple market a attractive looking drone.. you can even buy gimbals for the 250 size drones.. so what dji is doing it nothing new...

infact i can build a 120 size drone with rth etc with a 50 dollar f4 controller board for like 200 bucks or less the size of your palm...

so what dji does is play on peoples stupidity.. they marketed their stuff as inovative.. i see no inovation in anything they do...

have they made something no one else has no.... oh boy they stuck cameras on the sides and back... and the software to tie them in ill give them that thats about it folks...

like apple people will jump on drones and buy them if they hear it has a bigger screen... wheres the inovation? im telling its not there.. dji is a chinese company thats making millions off us... and we have the power to change them... the spark was made to just make a profit not satisfy a need.. because all their drones are 3 times the price of what you could build on your own..

Spark is unparalleled in the current market -- that's why YOU and I both own one!

I wish you were as happy with your Spark as I am with mine. It doesn't "satisfy all my needs" -- that's why I have a Tello and Mavic Pro too
 
Spark is unparalleled in the current market -- that's why YOU and I both own one!

I wish you were as happy with your Spark as I am with mine. It doesn't "satisfy all my needs" -- that's why I have a Tello and Mavic Pro too

i have a non spark that does gps and return to home.. its 90s bucks with a controller..

i have a 100 size drone that has a f4 processor that can do way points with a cell phone and pc and i have a 5.8 ghz gimble.. so tell me why why is that...

i got a dji spark because it was given to me as a xmas pressent... i build drones and airplanes and helicopters from the past you know old school balsa wood... etc.... sure i fly this thing its fun to go out and just turn it on and go.. but by no means am i happy that a company got 500 bucks for a crappy drone..... no offence everyone if your dji fans etc
 
You sound very unhappy to be a Spark owner. Strange to find you here

who said im un happy... if you were paying attention not jabbing at you just saying if you were listning .. then im talking abotu their tactics as a business about the things bs they pull.. hey im old this is what old men do complain lol but by no means ive had problems with my drone its been great.. i just see alot of crap and im out side the preverbial box of society... id rather stand outside then be in the box because nowadays no one can be taken at face value
 
The Spark is the best deal for the money. It's very capable, reliable, small, compact, very firm and stable, no folding parts to break. The reason it is so popular is we didn't HAVE to build it. It's ready to go as is, easy to fly. It has convinced me that I don't need a FOLDING drone at all, just small like the Spark with features of Mavics. Add the monitor built-in to the controller, Ocusync and that will be the only drone I want in the future. Most of us are not in to building our own.
 
The Spark is the best deal for the money. It's very capable, reliable, small, compact, very firm and stable, no folding parts to break. The reason it is so popular is we didn't HAVE to build it. It's ready to go as is, easy to fly. It has convinced me that I don't need a FOLDING drone at all, just small like the Spark with features of Mavics. Add the monitor built-in to the controller, Ocusync and that will be the only drone I want in the future. Most of us are not in to building our own.

I think you are correct that a Spark 2.0. would not necessarily be folding. It would be nice if it was even smaller but then it would almost certainly be too frail. The current Spark's tolerance of minor crashes is currently a strong point.

We all have our "wish list" for new features but each one carries a substantial price tag. The current MP2 remote with monitor is $650 all by its self. Adding OccuSync maybe $50-100. Three-axis gimbal maybe $50. 4K camera another $50 and so on. Just look at the recent price jump from original MP to MP2 for instance

The day I realized the next Spark would cost a lot more was the same day I bought my Mavic Pro. In the meantime Spark 1.0 is still awesome!
 
I don't know your international location but on Amazon, DJI was selling two new batteries for $91.00. Best price I've ever seen for new units directly from DJI.
 

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