Found my old Darpa Def 2

retiredtim

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Hi, searching my old army box, I found this flashlight issued to me as a maintenance test pilot while on a deployment years ago for me to review. I am wondering if there are still people collecting these. It does have some nicks on it as I used it for what it was given to me for. I have done a brief search on this light, but can't find much. Thanks in advance for your input.
 

nbp

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I don't know much about the lights in particular, but the DARPA Surefire lights are always very desirable to collectors.
 

retiredtim

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user @fordcappy might be able to tell you more about this. I only say this because he has a long running thread about wanting to purchase DARPA lights. I'm assuming he knows something about them!

Thanks, I will see if I can send a message. New to this whole forum thing
 

fordcappy

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Guys, just to clarify I was not asked to provide pricing. Gunnerguy reached out to me with an "I have a rare flashlight make me an offer" message and I told him I do not get into those types of sales.

If I was asked for prices I am happy to share them privately as I have done for others. I would appreciate not being misrepresented like that. I am here to help support this forum.
 
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retiredtim

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Guys, just to clarify I was not asked to provide pricing. I respect CPF rules and do not get into price fishing with people. "Make me an offer" is not how I do business. If I was asked for prices I am happy to share them privately as I have done for others. I own 8 Darpas that I have purchased in the past year so I would say I am current on pricing. I would appreciate not being categorized like that. I am here to help support this forum.
That sounds like he was there the same timeframes and matches what I had been told when I got mine. I had a DEF 1 as well at the same time but was talked out of it years ago. I don't really care if it doesn't sell so I probably won't ever list in on Ebay. I don't like selling on there anyway. Thanks for the story, it is cool to see someone with similar stuff.
 

desert.snake

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That sounds like he was there the same timeframes and matches what I had been told when I got mine. I had a DEF 1 as well at the same time but was talked out of it years ago. I don't really care if it doesn't sell so I probably won't ever list in on Ebay. I don't like selling on there anyway. Thanks for the story, it is cool to see someone with similar stuff.
I am personally not interested in this light, but a friend of mine is very interested in it, but not in terms of buying. If your light is in excellent condition, could you take photos from different angles, a shot of the beam on the wall, and maybe a the runtime graph? This is just for the history of SF models :)
 

retiredtim

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I am personally not interested in this light, but a friend of mine is very interested in it, but not in terms of buying. If your light is in excellent condition, could you take photos from different angles, a shot of the beam on the wall, and maybe a the runtime graph? This is just for the history of SF models :)
My light is not excellent. It has dings and such from use. I posted a lot of pics on my for sale post.
 

retiredtim

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Actually, to clarify Fordcappy's post, I responded to his "Wanted Darpa Light" ad, letting him know that I'm interested in selling an extremely rare DARPA DEF2 8K, DEF1 and an early Milspec Kroma. I told him if he was interested to make an offer, since obviously there aren't more than a few of these DEF2 8K lights in existence.

I told him I had no idea of the value, but since he's the resident expert on DARPA lights, let me know what he thought. He refused to give me any info or what he considered a fair market price. I'm not into games, as a STEM instructor I absolutely despise having to pry information from people with a crowbar. If he wants to play games, I'm not the guy to play with because my tolerance for BS is at an all time low.
I understand the frustration. I searched for a long time trying to figure out the value and it led me to this forum, which doesn't give you an idea either because of the policy. I understand not wanting the fishing thing, but I don't really know how to figure out a value if the experts wont tell you either. There is no trail to go by with these. Regardless, I don't think either of us are needing money so bad that we want to sell these lights to buy food. I will leave mine on here for 1k and if it expires and nobody buys it then I honestly don't care. I figure I need to find the right *** for this saddle, most people would never pay that much for a flashlight. Maybe this will be the basis for what they might be worth if it sells on a forum full of folks that get into these things. Take care!
 

desert.snake

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My light is not excellent. It has dings and such from use. I posted a lot of pics on my for sale post.
Minor damage doesn't matter. I mean a more classic type of photo - strictly right / left / top / bottom, etc., and photo of the beam. Here's an example, I just took a photo 6PX:
IMG-5946.jpg


IMG-5947.jpg




IMG-5949.jpg


IMG-5950.jpg


IMG-5951.jpg


IMG-5953.jpg


IMG-5954.jpg


IMG-5955.jpg
 

nbp

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I understand the frustration. I searched for a long time trying to figure out the value and it led me to this forum, which doesn't give you an idea either because of the policy. I understand not wanting the fishing thing, but I don't really know how to figure out a value if the experts wont tell you either. There is no trail to go by with these. Regardless, I don't think either of us are needing money so bad that we want to sell these lights to buy food. I will leave mine on here for 1k and if it expires and nobody buys it then I honestly don't care. I figure I need to find the right *** for this saddle, most people would never pay that much for a flashlight. Maybe this will be the basis for what they might be worth if it sells on a forum full of folks that get into these things. Take care!

Well, it would appear your reserve price is $1000, and everyone else's buying price is less than $1000. So you do know what you'd need to do to sell it but you aren't willing to do that. That is perfectly fine, but you did get the answer you were looking for. The value in dollars is less than you are willing to sell it for. Lots people spend a grand on a flashlight, but the market for THIS flashlight may not be what it was years ago, so you may not sell THIS flashlight for that much anymore.

The only way the experts know the value of something is by following previous sales prices over the years. That is the only way anyone can really determine the value of anything: what are people willing to pay for the item? This varies by all kinds of reasons over time. CPF has always maintained a policy of leaving sales prices up after sales finish, exactly for price research purposes. So you are welcome to comb through old sales to see what others have sold their similar lights for, to put a value on yours. This is the exact same thing someone like fordcappy would do to determine a price. So you are welcome to do that as well.

For example, here are the search results for "Darpa" in the Sales archive.

 
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