Dell Inspiron 1300 - new battery not charging?

I've bought a new Dell branded battery from eBay - it's from a user who bought it by mistake and found he didn't need it (also from eBay, but didn't have any receipt for it). The problem is when I've plugged it in, it's displaying 0% charging and telling me I need to buy a new battery (Dell branded of course). I can't send this one back and I'm looking for a possible quick fix for the problem. There's a similar thread on the site, but with a different Dell laptop, where users have found that you can power off / remove the battery / press the start button for 10 secs (whilst switched off) / wait 60 seconds / insert battery / switch on / plug in AC supply and it solves the problem - but this doesn't work with my laptop (Inspiron 1300) - any answers? thanks a lot : )