How to pick up a floodlight on ebay? Any suggestions are appreciated!!

sunshinemore · Jul 24, 2014

Hello everyone,

My question is how to pick up a floodlight on ebay. I know this question maybe seems stupid, coz you can buy any floodlight as you want on ebay. But it's a hard decision when you choose one item from many.:shrug:

I like shopping online, especially on ebay, it's really convenient. But recently I was troubled by the case of led. I'm a newbie to led light. Since I know the benefits of leds, I was fascinated by it. Now I intend to change my halogen bulb to led. But I have no idea on how to pick up a right one.

I search led on google and get some information, but still don't know choose what kind of it. coz I heard many guys bought some poor leds on ebay. I want a better one.
I know some reliable leds like Philips. but it's expensive. So do I have any other choice? What kind of led floodlight would you buy on ebay? Any suggestions would be appreciated!!

Elina

TEEJ · Jul 24, 2014

The problem with eBay for lights is that they lie to you, so no matter what the ads say, it could be totally false, mostly false, or somewhere in between. Its never true though.

sunshinemore · Jul 25, 2014

Oh,is that so? I don't know the condition of lights on ebay but I purchase some gadget from ebay and they work well. Maybe it's also work with the sellers reputation.
so you mean we can't rely on the product description?so how would you choose the product that you would like to buy.

TEEJ · Jul 25, 2014

sunshinemore said:
Oh,is that so? I don't know the condition of lights on ebay but I purchase some gadget from ebay and they work well. Maybe it's also work with the sellers reputation.
so you mean we can't rely on the product description?so how would you choose the product that you would like to buy.

Buy from an honest dealer with real people doing reviews instead of fake reviews, etc.

IE: Not on eBay until you have a way to verify the source, personally.

eBay is not the only place to buy stuff you know, right?

The reason FLASHLIGHTS are different, is that they can "work", IE: Light comes out when you hit a switch, etc...but, the ads say it will have 5,000 lumens and run for 2 hours on a single 10,000 mah 18650 that they sell you for $5, and that its IPX8 rated, and made of hard anodized HA3, aerospace aluminum, etc.

The light you receive is made of aluminum, painted black or slightly anodized, there's no such thing as "aerospace aluminum", there's aluminum...and, there's various grades of it, but that's not the name of a grade...it just sounds "fancy"....and its putting out 200 lumens not 5,000 lumens, and for 30 seconds, then it starts to fade as the 18650 fades...and its not a 10,000 mah 18650, its an old laptop battery that was re-cycled, and has only a few recharges left, re-wrapped in a new skin and label to look new, and has almost 1,000 mah...but might catch fire. (The names even tend to end in the word fire) The wires might be too thin, the connections poorly soldered, they might not have a heat sink or decent switch, and so forth.

So, if you don't know what 5,000 lumens looks like, and your prior light was only 5 - 10 lumens ( Incan maglight, etc...), the 200 L will look brighter for sure...so, you will just assume that's what 5,000 L looks like....and so forth. SO they get away with it. When a too thin wire melts or a shoddy connection comes loose, or the fake 18650 fails, you can buy another one since the first was such a great deal, or replace the parts with good stuff, and have a real light, etc.

If you buy a toaster, and the toast is not evenly toasted, etc, you at least can SEE that its not working properly....but, for a flashlight...unless you have test equipment/experience with them, you won't really be able to tell if you got what you paid for.

The flashlights with well soldered connections and thick enough wires, quality switches and good ground paths, heat sinks, etc, are simply more expensive to make...but, you can make one that LOOKS like a well made light, with NONE of those features, for a small fraction of the cost....and sell it as if it were the same as the "Brand Names" but for 1/10 the cost.

If lucky, the cheap eBay special may even work for quite a while, especially if you are gentle with it/it was made on a good day, etc....or, you were lucky that the seller was selling better lights. If the light is cheap, it doesn't mean its useless though, as you can luck out with some...but there are counterfeits, etc...so, again, the problem is one of trust.

sunshinemore · Jul 28, 2014

TEEJ said:
Buy from an honest dealer with real people doing reviews instead of fake reviews, etc.

IE: Not on eBay until you have a way to verify the source, personally.

eBay is not the only place to buy stuff you know, right?

The reason FLASHLIGHTS are different, is that they can "work", IE: Light comes out when you hit a switch, etc...but, the ads say it will have 5,000 lumens and run for 2 hours on a single 10,000 mah 18650 that they sell you for $5, and that its IPX8 rated, and made of hard anodized HA3, aerospace aluminum, etc.

The light you receive is made of aluminum, painted black or slightly anodized, there's no such thing as "aerospace aluminum", there's aluminum...and, there's various grades of it, but that's not the name of a grade...it just sounds "fancy"....and its putting out 200 lumens not 5,000 lumens, and for 30 seconds, then it starts to fade as the 18650 fades...and its not a 10,000 mah 18650, its an old laptop battery that was re-cycled, and has only a few recharges left, re-wrapped in a new skin and label to look new, and has almost 1,000 mah...but might catch fire. (The names even tend to end in the word fire) The wires might be too thin, the connections poorly soldered, they might not have a heat sink or decent switch, and so forth.

So, if you don't know what 5,000 lumens looks like, and your prior light was only 5 - 10 lumens ( Incan maglight, etc...), the 200 L will look brighter for sure...so, you will just assume that's what 5,000 L looks like....and so forth. SO they get away with it. When a too thin wire melts or a shoddy connection comes loose, or the fake 18650 fails, you can buy another one since the first was such a great deal, or replace the parts with good stuff, and have a real light, etc.

If you buy a toaster, and the toast is not evenly toasted, etc, you at least can SEE that its not working properly....but, for a flashlight...unless you have test equipment/experience with them, you won't really be able to tell if you got what you paid for.

The flashlights with well soldered connections and thick enough wires, quality switches and good ground paths, heat sinks, etc, are simply more expensive to make...but, you can make one that LOOKS like a well made light, with NONE of those features, for a small fraction of the cost....and sell it as if it were the same as the "Brand Names" but for 1/10 the cost.

If lucky, the cheap eBay special may even work for quite a while, especially if you are gentle with it/it was made on a good day, etc....or, you were lucky that the seller was selling better lights. If the light is cheap, it doesn't mean its useless though, as you can luck out with some...but there are counterfeits, etc...so, again, the problem is one of trust.

Yea, you're right. I really have no idea on how bright of 5000 lumens. But I think if I don't try it. I'll never know it.
Also you mention the way how you shopping online. You'll focus on the real review. But you know, sometimes reviews don't work. Some products although have few reviews but works well and inexpensive, and some have a lot of reviews but it's just so-so and expensive. So I am not a person who values the reviews a lot.

And you talk about the trust, so would you mind if I ask you what kind of product will gain your trust? I guess it will be brand stuff. I'm curious of it.

Anyway, thank you for your suggestion!!!
Sorry for late to reply, coz I'm not always online. :grin2:

TEEJ · Jul 28, 2014

sunshinemore said:
Yea, you're right. I really have no idea on how bright of 5000 lumens. But I think if I don't try it. I'll never know it.

Also you mention the way how you shopping online. You'll focus on the real review. But you know, sometimes reviews don't work. Some products although have few reviews but works well and inexpensive, and some have a lot of reviews but it's just so-so and expensive. So I am not a person who values the reviews a lot.
And you talk about the trust, so would you mind if I ask you what kind of product will gain your trust? I guess it will be brand stuff. I'm curious of it.
Anyway, thank you for your suggestion!!!
Sorry for late to reply, coz I'm not always online.

LOL

Think about it this way - You PAY for a light with 5000 lumens, they DELIVER a light with 200 lumens, you say, hey, I don't know what 5,000 lumens looks like until I try it...so you try 5,000 lumens, but get 200 lumens.....and, now, DO you "know it"? DID you try 5,000 Lumens if they send you 200 Lumens?

And, you are 100% correct that the fake reviews can't be trusted.

Try a place like goinggear (dot com).

The lights are real, its a reputable dealer, and, there are VIDEOS of the lights being shined into fields and the back of a house at night, etc...for you to SEE what the beams look like.

sunshinemore · Jul 30, 2014

TEEJ said:
LOL

Think about it this way - You PAY for a light with 5000 lumens, they DELIVER a light with 200 lumens, you say, hey, I don't know what 5,000 lumens looks like until I try it...so you try 5,000 lumens, but get 200 lumens.....and, now, DO you "know it"? DID you try 5,000 Lumens if they send you 200 Lumens?

And, you are 100% correct that the fake reviews can't be trusted.

Try a place like goinggear (dot com).

The lights are real, its a reputable dealer, and, there are VIDEOS of the lights being shined into fields and the back of a house at night, etc...for you to SEE what the beams look like.

How did you know a light with 5000 lumens mustbe a light with 200 lumens? I mean I'm not denied its brightness despite Idon't know how bright of 5000 lumens.

Yea, that's the point - reputable dealer.

so you mean a reputable dealer would provide us a real specification of the light as well as some demo videos, right?

sunshinemore · Jul 30, 2014

Again thank you for your suggestion, I know how to do it!!:twothumbs

LEDninja · Aug 1, 2014

Electrical equipment that you buy and plug into the wall have to meet code. In North America they have to be tested by a certified laboratory to meet that code - UL, CSA, ETL and a couple smaller ones. If an item without the proper approval/listing catches fire and burns down your house your insurance company will NOT pay. So check for the UL, CSA or ETL in the description. Simply checking for the lack of UL, CSA, or ETL will eliminate 90% of online products. CE is a standard for 230 volt European grid and is NO GOOD for the US or Canada. Many eBay/Amazon dealers will still print the CE to make the item look more official so beware.
115 volt AC LED bulbs have to meet the code. 24 volt AC or DC does not but the transformer that converts 115 volt to 24 volt does.

Good online retailers like EarthLED used to make sure all their bulbs have UL. But the speed of new product introduction and price pressures mean that some of their offerings no longer have the proper approval/listing.

Big brick and mortar stores like Home Depot usually make sure their products have the proper approvals. Smaller ones do not. The advantage of stores is they often have some bulbs on demo so you get a feel for them. So that is how bright 800 lumens is. Or 450 lumens.
Price of standard A-line bulbs are ~$10 to $15. Floodlight bulbs more.

Hint:
cULus means the bulb is tested to both Canadian and US standards.
cUL means the bulb is tested to Canadian standards only.
ULus or UL means the bulb is tested to US standards only.

LEDs are directional. So depending on which way the manufacturer points the LEDs the light can go in different directions forward or sideways. Do watch this video before you buy any bulb: Note the Philips #2 bulb behaves like a floodlight at less than half the price.
Picking the right 60W LED bulb - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1DuVDD8Nmc

18650 · Aug 2, 2014

LEDninja said:
Electrical equipment that you buy and plug into the wall have to meet code. In North America they have to be tested by a certified laboratory to meet that code - UL, CSA, ETL and a couple smaller ones. If an item without the proper approval/listing catches fire and burns down your house your insurance company will NOT pay.

I hear this a lot but is it actually true? So every cheap child's toy that is wall pluggable with no cert will void your policy? Source?

LEDninja · Aug 18, 2014

18650 said:
I hear this a lot but is it actually true? So every cheap child's toy that is wall pluggable with no cert will void your policy? Source?

Source?
Read your insurance policy. All of it. Line by line. It differs by company and kind of contract.

In Canada it is the law that only approved/certified/listed equipment can be plugged in. In the USA it is up to the specific insurance company that you have a contract with.

How to pick up a floodlight on ebay? Any suggestions are appreciated!!

sunshinemore

Newly Enlightened

TEEJ

Flashaholic

sunshinemore

Newly Enlightened

TEEJ

Flashaholic

sunshinemore

Newly Enlightened

TEEJ

Flashaholic

sunshinemore

Newly Enlightened

sunshinemore

Newly Enlightened

LEDninja

Flashlight Enthusiast

18650

Enlightened

LEDninja

Flashlight Enthusiast

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