The old policy was that I would fulfill and ship orders every weekday at noon, so I effectively had same day or next day shipping. That’s no longer possible for me, what with my new work schedule. It’s also not financially viable, as the number of orders on my shop doesn’t justify daily trips to the post office. Some days I was literally losing money on gas, not to mention time.
The new policy is that I will ship every Saturday. I know that this puts me at the back of the line when it comes to the ecommerce shipping speed arms race, but for my own physical and mental health this is the only way it’s gonna work.
I hope I’m not driving away any customers from this community by making this change, but I recognize that’s a possibility. Sometimes you just need stuff fast, and unfortunately I cant keep pressuring myself to compete with the pace that Amazon sets.
I have been meaning to mention this for a while, sorry it took me so long (I changed the published shipping policy on my website early last week).
Depending on your order flow, you should consider arranging pickups. No driving required. I can’t recall if it’s free or a small fee - probably depends on the service
It depends on the service. I’ve considered doing that for USPS (which is free I think), but it ends up being more hassle and wasted time. You gotta consider the time it takes to schedule every pickup, pack orders every day (or at least every day there are orders), make sure they are ready on time for the pickup, etc. And then there’s the odd order that I have to take in to one of the other services.
I know it doesn’t sound like much, but it adds up. And every minute I spend doing that stuff is a minute I cant spend building batteries (or, more accurately, a minute I cant spend sleeping, because that’s always the thing that goes in a time crunch haha).
Its definitely easy to ‘underheat’ them. I give all of the wires a good pull test when i use them. A couple have failed. As well as the pull test I make sure they are well secured down to the rest of the battery at the join.
Same results - I usually try to ensure I see the solder flowing. I have no idea why anyone would have strong feelings about a simple electrical connection for 22 awg cable, but apparently they do Just thought it was funny - was waiting for them to scorn you as well !
Alright folks, it’s been a long time coming, but the DBS DIY Supply shop is officially re-opening!
The Duck is back and better than ever! Massive restock on most of our store, with more new cool stuff coming soon! Use code “WELCOMEBACK” to celebrate our return and get 5% off at checkout!
Most everything is back in stock, but here are some highlights:
First and foremost, we finally have pre-built batteries back in stock and ready to ship! We are currently stocking 12s4p P42A packs, with many more layouts coming soon! (10s4p, 10s6p, 10s8p, 12s6p, 12s8p, 16s3p, 16s6p, and more!)
Our packs are designed the right way: robust, flex tolerant, and capable of massive discharge! Safety and reliability are our top-line concerns with all of our products, and these packs dont disappoint! Hand-made in house, here in Vancouver WA, USA!
Next up, our 21700 4p nickel is finally back! You know it, you love it, 0.2mm thick pure nickel, perfectly tailored for your 4p groups.
We also have several other shapes in the pipeline, here’s a teaser of what we are cooking:
(we aren’t prepared to announce an ETA for all of these shapes yet, but rest assured that you will know when we do!)
All Daly BMS’s are back in stock (10s, 12s, 16s, 18s) as well as two new ones! We added some massive 10s BMS’s w/eSwitch functionality, well suited for something like an eBike battery pack which needs a switched output on the BMS. Limited stock on the 80A units, so get them before they are gone!
As far as future stuff, we have complete, comprehensive, everything-but-the-cells DIY battery kits coming down the line, and will be posted very soon! We are just waiting on delivery of the last few bits. Our library of KitPCB layouts has grown signifiantly. We now have:
10s4p 18650 CompactPCB
10s4p 18650 FlexPCB
10s4p 21700 CompactPCB (Metroboard X.o)
12s4p 21700 CompactPCB (Metroboard X22)
12s4p 21700 LongPCB (Hoyt UAV)
16s3p 21700 LongPCB
All of our layouts support larger p-groups simply by using double (or triple!) stacked nickel.
As some of you may notice looking around our shop, we have sunset some listings. We no longer sell the PCB kit components individually, as it became a stocking nightmare trying to keep our inventory numbers straight for all those items as well as the PCB kits. If you need individual components or want to buy wholesale kits, please get in touch! We currently do not have any charge-ports in stock, as we were not satisfied with the 5.5x2.1 barrel jacks, and we are testing out new options to find something up to our standards. Expect to see charge port options soon!
Last but certainly not least, Duck Battery Systems has officially joined the Hoyt/Metroboard/DBS collective, and relocated to a shared workshop in Vancouver Washington! This is a huge step for us, as we now have much more space to grow, and the best neighbors a Duck could ask for!
As always, any questions are welcomed, and your support is greatly appreciated!
-Benjamin
And that’s not even all of them! No guarantees that all of those shapes will see the light of day. Die-cutting molds aint cheap! Some of them are on the way though, and we are very interested to hear which of these teased shapes (and any others) folks are most excited for. We want to make what y’all want to buy!
Thanks Al! This has been a long road, but I am super stoked to see Duck on the path it’s on now!
Just thought it was funny - was waiting for them to scorn you as well !
