OEM vs. After Market Cell Phone & PDA Accessories

OEM (original equipment manufactured) accessories are the accessories made by cell phone and PDA manufacturers. An important point many people are unaware of is the fact that OEM Accessories are mandated by international standards as part of the qualifications for ISO certifications. So for instance a Nokia battery that is an OEM Nokia battery means that the battery was manufactured by Nokia. The same is for Motorola, Palm, Sony Ericsson, Samsung, etc.

Aftermarket is basically the same as "Generic". Aftermarket or generic manufactured accessories are manufactured by companies other than the original manufacturer.

Quality,Workmanship & Length of Use

OEM accessories generally cost more due to the quality of materials used to manufacture them and for the assurance that you are buying something that is backed by the actual phones manufacturer and completely meeds the needs of your cell phone or pda device. Wow! That was a mouthfull! When you purchase an OEM accessory you can feel confident that the model will fit the phone it was made for and that the item was not made in some facility that uses sub par materials to manufacturer the accessory in order to provide a lower cost to the consumer. You may pay a few dollars more for a OEM piece but you know that you are purchasing something that will work as it was intended.

You just spent several hundred dollars on your cell phone, don't you want to know that the charger, battery, or other accessory is specific to your phone and will not void your phones warranty? By using your device with aftermarket accessories there is the possibility of voiding your warranty. Also, I have heard in some cases, aftermarket batteries that have melted down in cell phones and completely destroyed the phone.

What does "bulk shipped" mean? I see alot of sellers saying there may be scratches on the item and that the item is bulk shipped...

If an item is shipped without its original packaging, it is generally referred to as being "bulk shipped". When an item is bulk shipped to us, they generally come in boxes of several thousand at a time so there may be scratches on the item. In order to offer the low prices we do, we purchase most of our accessories as part of overstock or liquidation lots from major retailers. One of the main things that makes the accessories in the original packaging so expensive at your local wireless store is the cost related to shipping the extra packaging with the item. Once the item is shipped to locations in order to reach the hands of the consumer, shipping costs add up significantly making the item 2 - 5 times more expensive in a retail store front. We would not be able to offer our customers free shipping on all the items we sell if the items were shipped in the original packaging. The cost of shipping would be at least 2 - 5 times more then what it costs us now.

While we only list accessories in the condition we purchase them, there is the possibility of a mistake. We are human also. If a battery is listed as "brand new" then we purchased it as "brand new" and the battery should hold its full charge. If you are having trouble with a battery we ask that you try charging it for a full 12 hours prior to use. Sometimes these batteries can sit in our warehouse for an extended period of time and draining in rare cases does occur. Rest assured, we stand behind all of our items 100% with our 30 day satisfaction guarantee!

Also, know that a lot of other sellers are selling batteries that they purchase as used, as brand new. We try to be as up front an honest with our customers about the condition of our items and have high quality standards to ensure there is not an issue once you receive your item.

If you have any other questions at feel free to contact us at support@thebluedot.net.

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