(crossposted from DIYElectricCar forums)
I just got a reply via email from him saying I could pass on the info he gave, and he says he apologizes for not updating the thread but "been extremely busy and have not had an opportunity to get to the site in a while".
The prices apparently still hold valid at $6.50/cell as he did not mention a new price in his reply to me, and I had quoted that price in my email to him. That price is for bare cells or for assembled packs, so even if you do it yourself it won't cost any less. I'd asked about it referring to expecting a cost of $286 for 44 cells assembled as 11s4p for my ebike pack, giving me about 36.3V@9.6Ah, which sounds like a fair enough price compared to some of the (probable) junk I've seen on ebay for a lot higher price.
He did not mention any additional costs for shipping and handling, and I forgot to ask in the original email, and have asked a separate question regarding that.
He also sent some photos of his welder setup and of a unit being assembled, which I've attached to this post. The two photos of the battery pack are very low resolution and very small files, while the welder photo (with cells setup on it) is very large and high resolution (nearly enough so to read the labels on the cells). I had to make a 33% size version of that photo in order to upload it, so I also uploaded a cropped version of it with just the batteries at the original resolution, which fits within the forum limits for filesize.
The cells do appear quite similar, perhaps identical to, the cell photos posted previously by someone else in this thread.
He said he could make the pack for me whenever I am ready, and I advised him I am holding off on the purchase until he resolves others' expectations at this thread, including the promised but never delivered photos (of which i do not count the ones he sent me directly that I have attached here).
I do not trust anyone easily, as I have been "bamboozled" before. Even if someone had a good reputation and did not appear "flaky", I would still require time to ensure trust before I purchased, especially considering that my entire emergency fund for at least the next year would be going into this purchase (meaning that should *anything* bad happen, I would be out on the street without a home because of it, since I'd have to use my rent and/or utility/bill monies for the emergency instead).
(The only reason I am even considering this purchase is because my ebike *is* my transportation, and if I have to keep using the two (or three) 23-pound bricks of lead I use now, I will not be able to build/use a lighter bike and thus am restricted to short-range (7mile roundtrip) destinations if I have heavy cargo to move, or the weather is hot, kind of common here in Phoenix AZ. Pedalling all that motor and lead, about 60 pounds worth, plus 60 pounds of bike so it doesn't break from the batteries+cargo+me, all the way home from outside that 7 mile radius should the batteries get too low is very difficult even under the best of conditions with my bad knees--it's why I am using the motor in the first place!)
Just sounds too good to be true 
