Cubezz.com shipped it to me without batteries. I had to drive around to four different stores until I found one that had the batteries. The two batteries cost twice as much as the puzzle. In all, I didn't spend $6, I spent over $18 for the puzzle plus two batteries locally. The puzzle comes dry with no lube, but doesn't seem to need any. It turns very smooth. The puzzle seems a bit unstable. A magnetic version would probably make it more stable. Press and hold the button to turn the timer on. Press and hold again to start a new timer. The timer shuts off automatically after a couple minutes. Trying to find the corner piece and pressing the button adds to your solve time a little.