@Keystone posted:@gunrunnerjohn I also had leakage from Kirkland AA and AAA w/ the same DEC 2025 date that were unused and still in the packaging or battery storage box. While recently at Costco I asked if they had seen similar leakage while unused and the staff said "yes" and to bring whatever I had left the next time that I was returning to the store and they would refund what I paid. I said that I thought I bought them 1 to 2+ yrs ago but the great staff said that's no problem. I returned 2 weeks later w/ approximately 80% of the unused package that included about 10 to 20 leakers. When they looked up the purchase in the system it was more than 2 yrs and said it was still OK to refund especially since the good through date of DEC 2025 was still valid. Gotta love Costco. They also confirmed that they had similar leaking returns w/ the Duracell branded batteries.
I'm also making the changeover to rechargeable Eneloops/Panasonic or buying Energizer Lithiums. Unfortunately Costco recently carries less of the Eneloop/Panasonic and now offers Duracell NiMh (no thanks
) and some Energizer NiMh kits. The saying "they don't make them like they used to" comes to mind especially since I still have 4 each of Sears Craftsman AA and C Ni-cads that I bought almost 20 yrs ago that still hold a good charge and perform OK.
Sadly, this is NOT just an issue with batteries having a best by date of 2025. I've had this problem for years with their stuff. I switched to Duracell and they are not much better. Duracell will also pay for the replacement of items damaged by their product WITH ONE CAVEAT. If the batteries are the OEM ones which were shipped with the device, they will NOT cover it regardless of the best by date. They send you back to the manufacturer of the device. I've been fairly successful at getting both COSTCO and Duracell to reimburse me for damaged items. The last incident involved a Brother P-touch label machine which was damaged by Duracell batteries. After going through the script outlining how to best store and use their batteries, the rep asked me how much it was and sent me a check for a replacement. Maybe if they get enough people doing this, they will pay closer attention to quality control.
