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[Tangerine]

This is an easy answer for most I'm sure. I'm probably more OCD about this stuff.

If it's say, a lithium battery in a switch pro controller, monster hunter edition. Or an entire switch or switch lite, or oled...that you intend to get one of at the end of the generation. I heard the Wii U prices went insane for brand new unopened models. Perhaps a different topic there, but it's related.

Is it just, for most, if it's being used that's good, don't keep it fully charged all the time though, right? It's good to every now and then let it run down to say 10% then recharge...and do that periodically maybe once a month? Or once every few months? This would apply to the Switch I'm docked mode that stays in the dock 24/7?

What about collectables? If they are easily opened do you bother to charge it then uncharge etc?

What if they are in shrink wrap? Maybe best to just not collect that stuff? Or at least not long term? I intend all my things to be long term tbh. Unless I fall on hard times and need cash desperately.

I have a few items I feel I should be charging but I'm yet to do so for some reason :/

Do people on eBay just expect older items with batteries in, to be vastly worse than when brand new? Perhaps needing replacement.

Saying unopened is generally the safest bet for more profit but with certain items surely those in the know would prefer it if it was opened periodically and the battery tended to?

I noticed my new MacBook Pro charges to 80 when left plugged in for over a month (guessing the month part) to protect the battery.

Its a mine field and collecting makes it even harder!

 

[Kupfer]

For my opened stuff lying around unused (PSP, PSVITA, DSLITE, AdvanceSP, modded Gameboys, DS3/DS4 and so on) I charge them once a year, switch them on for like half an hour so the battery isn't at 100% anymore and put them back again.
Sealed stuff remains sealed. Battery is probably broken in 10 years or so but IF I really want to unpack and use the device, I'd just swap out the battery for a new one. If I want to sell sealed stuff with a probably broken battery inside the device, I'll let the buyer know, what he/she's buying.
EDIT:
I used to pay attention for a long time not to discharge below 20% and not to charge above 80% to save the batteries, but now I just use and charge the devices I use on a daily basis as needed, because it kind of stressed me out to pay so much attention to it. My cell phone is from 2018 and I've now changed the battery for the third time, the Steam Deck will do the same in a few years, but until then I just want to have fun with the device without much thinking and worrying about possible future wearout.

 

[Tangerine]

I think I need to pay more attention to my wireless snes controllers, Zelda and Mario game and watch mini handhelds, Zelda skyward sword joycons, and a monster hunter switch pro controller.

It's been years already for some of that and it's still all boxed with batteries uncharged by me (obviously!)

I hope it's not to late for their batteries. Being a collector I really don't want to open them though. In my mind it devalues the items. I wonder if they would have more value in the future with working batteries and opened packaging, or kept unopened so that's the key selling point...

As I say, I have no plans to sell anything any time soon, maybe never. But who knows what life will through at you.

I'm not in a rush to add any more battery containing items to my gaming collection, I know that much! This has crept up on me, didn't have to think about this potential issue till now.

Wish I knew more about good battery health/practices tbh. I've heard so many conflicting methods to prolong their life. Hard to know what to believe.

 

[Crayon]

As far as I know, a virgin lithium battery has chemicals that let it hang out for a long time without damage. They break down when you start using it. Maybe someone knows more about that. I could be wrong.

 

[Kupfer]

It's been years already for some of that and it's still all boxed with batteries uncharged by me (obviously!)

Use caution when attempting to charge these batteries, especially if they have not been used in years. Old, unused batteries tend to swell and can catch fire if things go really crappy and you try to charge them in this deep discharged condition.

I hope it's not to late for their batteries. Being a collector I really don't want to open them though. In my mind it devalues the items. I wonder if they would have more value in the future with working batteries and opened packaging, or kept unopened so that's the key selling point...

I know what you mean and I believe that someone who spends a lot of money on still sealed products in the future as a collector is aware that the batteries are dead and need to be replaced. Either the person buys the product to have it still shrink-wrapped in his/her collection or he/she really wants to play with it and repairs it.

Wish I knew more about good battery health/practices tbh. I've heard so many conflicting methods to prolong their life. Hard to know what to believe.

At least for single-cell li-ion and li-po batteries with a nominal cell voltage of ~3.7V : do not charge them to 100%. Do not discharge them to 0%.
Keep them between 20% and 80% to keep them alive as long as possible.
Don't charge it up to 100% and then put the device back into storage. Rather charge it to about 60% and check again in half a year to year and charge again to 60%.
60% is also often the delivery condition for new devices with installed batteries, because the manufacturer does not know how long the devices are in storage / stores and you can assume the longest possible storage time at 60% with low battery wearout or the danger of a deep discharge. If you have an adjustable charger or even a multimeter, make sure the batteries are at about 3.8V when stored.
In any case, not above 4V and not below 3.5V which corresponds to about 80% and 50%.

I hope I can explain this correctly now : if such a battery is deep discharged for a long time (deep discharge does not mean 0V, it can also be e.g. 1V or 1.5V), spikes can form inside the battery, which can lead to short circuits inside the battery during charging/discharging, thus to heat generation and in the worst case to fire.
So if you have an old battery, but it does not charge by default on the device, please do not do anything stupid and try to revive it. This can work, maybe the battery will work for a few cycles, but you can never be sure that something will not go wrong when you are not present.

 

[zeomax]

What if they are in shrink wrap? Maybe best to just not collect that stuff?

For collectibles i don't care. It's not gonna be used anyways so for me it does not matter if the battery is dead inside. Normal devices i remove the battery if it is possible, if not i charge them maybe once in a year.

 

[kiphalfton]

PS Vita and OG Switch sitting unused in a drawer somewhere in my house probably dead.

 

[Tams]

tl;dr:

If you really care, charge to 80% every half a year or so and then put the battery/device away at 60-80%. That will minimise the wear.

But ultimately, all batteries are disposable, non-permanent items. It's all downhill from the moment they are manufactured.