Hello there
Just bought a used (eBay) Sony NP-F950 battery that so far refuses to charge.

The charger gives a blinking light instead of a steady charge light, and there's no charge at all on the battery, not even enough to light the battery status display for more than a second.

Is there a trick to this or is the battery bad?

Thanks!
Cheers
Chris

I don't think there's a trick to be used for a bad battery. Do you really have a "NP-F950" battery? I've had NP-F960's and NP-F970's but never a 950. I bought two NP-F960 batteries in 2001 when I got my VX-2000. One of them died somewhere around 2004 with the exact symptoms you describe. The other is still working fine with my Z1. Go figure...

In the past I've read about people buying counterfeit Sony batteries on eBay which were no good. Maybe you were unlucky enough to get one of those?