What is the best source for 18650 batteries?

from where to get the best18650 batteries in terms of quality and price. Old laptop batteries, Ebikes, powerbanks, powertools, or maybe another sourcelet me know what do you think.

My preference is to buy them rather than harvest raw cells. You don't give your location, but from a US perspective I have 3 trusted sources. Things change over time, but at this moment - for about 60c/cell for (basically) new / 3000mah cells I'd point you to these RING batteries -https://www.batteryclearinghouse.com/products/local-pick-for-100-ring-battery-packs-mixed-high-grade-18650-cells-panasonic-ncr18650a-lg-d2 I'm currently building my next battery from these as I write this - these are great DIY powerwall (modest continuous power) cells.

Respected sellers of recycled 18650(s)in US in my black book are:
Battery Clearing Househttps://www.batteryclearinghouse.com/collections/all
BatteryHookuphttps://batteryhookup.com/
Power2Sparehttps://www.facebook.com/Power2Spare18650/

Everyone keeps referring people to batteryhookup.com but they have almost nothing in the way of 18650s in inventory.

from time to time they do have 18650's in stock. Withthat said I have been getting most of my 18650's from Battery Clearing House right now.
later floyd

floydR said:

from time to time they do have 18650's in stock. Withthat said I have been getting most of my 18650's from Battery Clearing House right now.
later floyd

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Agree with @floydR. Things change slowly over time. I've been buying 18650s for 3 years now on a pretty regular basis and there have been spikes in availability here and there. There's no guarantee the future will be like the past - but patience helps. Unfortunately, its not18650 good deals 'on demand' - its more here and there kind of thing

I live in the MEA region and i am using imported faulty power banks. the downside of these batteries that they loose capacity so fast at higher loads.

i think it's very useful to make a thread dedicated for 18650 battery sourcing where everyone -from different countries- can share his experience in collecting these batteries.

MEA= Middle East/Africa?
Contact the IT departments of hospitals, schools, , Large companies. Ebike shops, Maybe even the It department of government agencies.
Make a written proposal stating how you will recycle of the batteries, dispose of bad batteries.
Later floyd