Scammed on my led bulb purchase? possibly.

I just purchased a 3 led flange bulb for drop in replacement of my turtlelite 2 bulb. I orderred the ledtronics 3 aqua green led bulb which is supposed to rate 30,000 mcd versus 18,000 mcd for the ledtronics 3 cool white. I assume this should be even brighter than the stock 2 white led turtlelite II bulb from ledcorp which is not bright itself. My supposed aqua green 3 led bulb just came today in the mail. I orderred it from tanners. Here are the links to the specs page and tanners:

http://www.safetyled.com/safetyled/ds/9&15mm_flashlight_&_task_light_led_lamps/112.htm

http://www.tannersstorefront.com/ledtronics.htm

Note that ledtronics also sells an ultra green 3 led ledtronics bulb for half the price $9 versus $18. But the ultra green is a lot darker.

Well, my bulb has the right color tape around the bulb to match the aqua green bulbs identifying tape from the factory and tanners webpage. But the output is very green like the christmas tree decoration green with no hint of blue. Plus the output is darker than my 2 led white stock ledcorp turtlelite II bulb that I wanted to replace with a brighter bulb. I orderred 2 bulbs.
When Craig reviewed the flash led flashlights from ledtronics on his ledmuseum he also had a problem with the prototype aqua green he was sent. It was very dark but at least it was cyan colored. Mine isn't even cyan. He notified the company and they replaced it for testing with rank nichia 10,000 mcd green aquas. THen he said the output was what was originally promised.

I think that someone may be intentionally switching ultra green bulbs for the aqua green bulbs and placing the aqua green tape label on the outside to hide the theft. That way they make $13.50 profit on each $18 sale versus a $9 profit if wholesale for both bulbs is 1/2 what retail is going for, or even more if markup is more than double. Either the factory may be doing this or the retailer.

But,I'm no expert and I may be pointing the finger at innocent parties. So take this warning with a grain of salt. I am however a rational consumer. I know that what I'm looking at is in no way at all anything similar to the aqua green photo shot on the ledmuseum on the review for the flash led's from ledtronics the same maker of my bulbs. Also, I've walked outside, flashed the ceiling, put the bulb in various flashlights and compared to even 1 led white turtlelite I and I'm telling you this thing is darker. Plus this thing is even GREENER THAN THE LEAVES OF A CHRISTMAS TREE in its beam color. There is no way this thing is cyan or aqua green. It wouldn't be so suspicious except that the same company does sell an ultra green for half the price and I think that's what I have got in my flashlight.

I don't have the time to do anything about it. Life's to short to worry about this sort of crap. But, I thought you guys might like to hear this to avoid the same bad purchase.

Contact the seller... These things can sometimes get screwed up before even they get them for resale.. If they are a reputable retailer, they should take care of you.

Let us know how it turns out.

I contacted the retailer tanners at 7 am pacific time. Lo an behold there is no telephone contact number on their website just a fax number or email contact info. So I emailed them.

http://www.tannersstorefront.com/contact.htm

It has now been 1 business day for I'm posting this candlepower forums message at 3 pm pacific time and the store is in florida so they're probably closed now. This is the email I sent them:

I orderred two bulbs from you which were supposed to be 3 led flange base aqua marine from ledtronics rated for a total of approximately 30,000 mcd according to the spec page which is nearly twice the output of the 3 cool white ledtronics drop in bulb rated at 18,000 mcd. You have shipped me one bulb along with the invoice which states that the second bulb is backorderred.

The bulb which you have already shipped me is wrong. It is not an aqua marine bulb. It has got to be the ultra green ledtronics 3 led bulb that you shipped to me. It puts out a very very rich pure green light which is definately not aqua green. Secondly, it is very dim. In fact it isn't any brighter than the two led white bulb that I bought the aqua green bulb to replace. According to ledtronics webpage the 3 led aqua green bulb should be 3 times brighter than my 2 led white bulb it's replacing. Finally, the ultimate green 3 led bulb is 1/2 the price of the aqua green bulb and you billed me for the aqua green bulb.

I have viewed the photos of the beamshots of ledtronics flash led flashlights which use their same leds as these bulbs on http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/tronics.htm and the bulb you sent me in no way even comes faintly close to their aqua green flash led. Craig at the ledmuseum mentions that ledtronics shipped him a bad aqua green which was not a 30,000 mcd unit but a 6,000 mcd unit. When confronted ledtronics shipped out the correct nichia ranked 10,000 mcd aqua green bulbs that they were advertising for testing and it visually performed as expected blowing away even the 6 led white flash led.

The unit you sent me isn't even faintly cyan colorred or aqua green. It is greener than a bright green golf course lawn. That doesn't bother me in itself. But what does bother me is that the dumb bulb is dimmer than anything I've seen to date in my flashlight collection. It ranks down with the infinity which is a dim nitelight.

The color of the bulb you sent me along with the dismal output of the thing leads me to believe only one thing could have happenned. For whatever reason, whether someone in your shipping department screwed up or ledtronics itself screwed up and shipped you the wrong unit like it did to Craig or maybe somebody is trying to increase profits by shipping ultra greens which retail for half the price and calling them aqua greens whether at your store or at ledtronics factory, orfor whatever else, I have been shipped an ultra green unit that retails for $9 when I paid for an aqua green unit that retails for $18.

Can you do me a favor. Can you test the next bulb you are getting for me which is on backorder before you ship the damn thing this time. It's obvious that nobody tested it at your store and just assumed it was what I orderred. Just because it has the bright green tape on the outside of the bulb does not mean it is the correct unit. You need to put it into the flashlight and check the actual beam.

The first wrong bulb you shipped me was the wrong unit. Now that I have told you that the unit you shipped to me was a fraud, PLEASE DOUBLE CHECK THE BACKORDERRED BULB BEFORE YOU SHIP THE DAMN THING. I DON'T MEAN FOR YOU TO LOOK AT THE PAPERWORK OR THE OUTSIDE OF THE BULB. PUT IT INTO A FLASHLIGHT AND TURN IT ON PLEASE. THERE IS A DISTINCT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ULTRA GREEN UNIT AND AQUA GREEN UNIT BOTH IN COLOR AND INTENSITY. THE AQUA GREEN UNIT IS TURQUOISE BORDERRING ON LIGHT BLUE. THE ULTRA GREEN UNIT IS THE COLOR OF GREEN GRASS OF THE TYPE SEEN ON GOLF COURSES. THE AQUA GREEN UNIT IS TWICE AS BRIGHT AS THE COOL WHITE LED. THE ULTRA GREEN UNIT IS LESS THAN HALF AS BRIGHT AS THE WHITE LED ALTHOUGH IT APPEARS BRIGHTER THAN ITS ACTUAL DISMAL OUTPUT BECAUSE THE EYE IS SENSITIVE TO GREEN. EVEN SO THE BULB YOU SENT ME IS ONE DIM BULB.

I bought you bulb to replace the stock bulb in my turtlelights from ledcorp. I have a single white led aluminum ledcorp flashlight and a two led white turtlelite II. The three led so called aqua green bulb you sent me is dimmer than both flashlights. That is inexcusable for a product which is advertising that it is using 10,000 mcd aqua green nichia rank leds, 3 of which together total the 30,000 mcd output advertised on ledtronics and your website.


Thank you very much,

Tanners have screwed up many of my orders in the past. They did make it right but it took a long time.

Uhhhh.... from the link you posted their phone number is: Ph 305-453-5037

I'd say take it a little easy (avoid injecting profanity) until they give you reason to believe that they're not going to help you.. You can always "rip'em a new one later".

Thank you for giving me their telephone number. I didn't see it before since it wasn't on their contact page but was linked to it for price quotes.

I shall call them tomorrow morning since it is 4:40 pm pacific time right now.

I shall post the results of the conversation here when and if I reach anyone.

Also, I shall post what actually ends up being shipped to me.

I bought two 3 white LED pr flange bulbs, rated for 3 volts, from a guy in Cleveland, OH via eBay. It turned out he got these from Ledtronics. These are NOT 3 volt bulbs, unless you count 'barely lit' as 3 volt! I notified him of this and told him I was keeping the bulbs as a "Last Resort" option for use with 2 Lithium AAs only.

I have the suspicion that ledtronics screwing people over.

BTW, I gave the guy technical info and pointed him to CPF.

Well, it is 7:23 am pacific time and I just called tanners, http://www.tannersstorefront.com/ledtronics.htm

The sales lady was very nice and understanding. She was already connected to the internet and so I was able to direct her over to Craig's site at the led museum where I had her look at Craig's page on blue green leds and true green leds. I had her look at the beam shots of all these leds.
Then she understood that I had been shipped the ultra green instead of the aqua green. I'm so happy that Craig has such a convenient and good website.

Anyways, I am sorry for jumping to conclusions about tanners. The people at the store seem very nice and I'd do business again with them.

However, I explained to her that I'm worried because we don't know whether she just ahipped the wrong bulb or if ledtronics is pulling the old switcheroo low ball on me. She's checking into it for me.

We decided that if she made a mistake we'll switch for the aqua green. If ledtronics is messing with me, then the bulb will become the $9 bulb and I'll spend the rest on the blue and yellow bulbs and at least get my money's worth.
I'll post one more time to say if ledtronics actually does make the aqua green or not.

Well I called Ledtronics today and they definately are the problem. Their customer service stinks and almost is nonexistent. They tried to get rid of me because they only want to talk to retailers. But finally I was helped upstairs in their netdisty department. I'm going to offer proofs below after I give the summary upfront to make it easy to read. It turns out that Ledtronics is lying about their aqua green 3 led flange replacement bulb. It is not aqua green at all but is ranked a true green wavelength of 525 nm which the salesman still swears is blue green despite published facts to the contrary. The salesman told me that their spec sheet was in error because the bulb did not put out 30,000 mcd as they advertised. However he told me that each led in the 3 led bulb was a 10,000 mcd ranked led. This is still far brighter than the white led in the turtlelite2. And his 3 led supposed 10,000mcd green X 3 led bulb was still far dimmer than my 2led white turtlelite 2 when I switched bulbs in the same flashlight. Ledtronics lied about the color of this product. Ledtronics lied about the brightness of this bulb in their spec sheet. I'm betting that ledtronics is also lying about the leds being rank 10,000 mcd as well. Folks he's claiming that ledtronics made the 3 led bulb from green 525nm leds each of which are brighter than the 5mm 5600 mcd white leds. Green is a naturally brighter and more easily detected color to the human eye than white even at same intensity levels. Folks, I was replacing a bulb with only 2 white leds with ledtronics bulb which has 3 green (525nm not aqua green as the company claims)leds each of which are ranked as being significantly brighter than each of the white leds in the turtlelite.

Folks, the ledtronics bulb is dimmer and darker than my stock turtlelite. This is after ceiling shots, room shots, walking otside on the lawn, shining trees in the neighborhood with both bulbs at night etc. After considerring the logic that a 3 led green bulb made up of leds each of which are supposed to be far brighter than white leds, and that the bulb it is replacing only has 2 white leds being 1/3 smaller just in led quantity, and that the white bulb is brighter than ledtronics aqua green 3 led bulb, I say that ledtronics is lying about the rank of these supposed aqua green bulbs.

To summarize ledtronics is lying about their 3 led aqua green flange bulbs:
They're not aqua green (495-505nm) but are true green (520-540nm)see the ledmuseum on the left side under discrete leds http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledleft.htm
here are beamshots of real aqua greens:
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledtur.htm
here are beamshots of true green ranked leds and is what my beam looks like and this is a 525nm led:
http://ledmuseum.home.att.net/ledgrn.htm
Here is ledtronics homepage. Notice their flash led picture link and that the center flashlight is turquoise; they know what aqua green is; they're just boldfaced lying in labelling this led aqua green.
http://www.safetyled.com/safetyled/

Ledtronics admitted that they lied about the bulb being 30,000mcd but they still claim each led on the bulb is 10,000 mcd but I bet they're lying about this as well:
Here's ledtronics fraudulent spec sheet:
http://www.safetyled.com/safetyled/ds/9&15mm_flashlight_&_task_light_led_lamps/112.htm

I'll never buy another ledtronics product for the rest of my life.

On the other hand I just orderred an ARC AAA turquoise from texas tactical supply. Their prices were excellent. Their customer service to me was also excellent. They goofed and sent the wrong color white but they absorbed all the shipping charges and corrected the mistake quickly. It only was a $20 item so shipping becomes a large portion of profits on such a small thing. Unlike ledtronics which is the type of company to skewer me in my but to save itself in this type of situation, texas tactical supply took care of me. Also, the salesman said that ARC's turquoise AAA is really a blue green and that it really is brighter than the whit arc just as promised.
http://www1.ecxmall.com/stores/texastacticalsupply/Search.bok?category=Led+Lights

I own an elite xray eternalite, lightwave headlamp and 2100 and 4000, ledcorp aluminum focusable 1led flashlight and turtlelite2 and beltlite, 3 4dmags with ledcorp luxeon star drop in, infinity and infinity ultra, and reactor, princeton tec impact, innova x5 tactical, a excursion pro 19led, and 3 arc ls hybrid seconds one of which is always hanging by rubber coated electic wire around my neck. I am disappointed in the dimness of the infinity and reactor but I like the infinity ultra a lot except for its poor beam centerring. But I'm not upset with them because I knew what I was buying was dim and made for that purpose.

I am mad with ledtronics. They boldfaced lied. I love all my other flashlights and would buy products from any of them again. I'll never buy a ledtronics or netdisty product ever again.

I'm thinking about ordering some l.e.d.'s from Ledtronics. Has anyone had any problems or difficulties with them?

Sorry.....couldn't resist.

I'll put my hat on and go stand in the corner.

That stinks that you've had such a bad time with them. Anyone else have similar experiences with them?

I would say that it would be easier to make your own LED bulbs instead of buying them!
Unfortunately, LEDtronics are not only letting themselves down by selling torchaholics duff product; what about the non-torchaholic Mr Public who's very dissappointed in his new bulb. He'll probably never buy another solid state torch again! LEDTronics are jeopardising the LED lighting industry by selling a product that isn't what it claims to be.
Is it an underhand plot to keep us buying edison bulbs?

Now you tell me. I purchased one of these just two days before your first post . Guess what, it is green. I bought mine direct from Ledtronics. Just sent an email to them so let's see if they respond differently .

24 hours later and no reply.
I hooked my "3 volt" unit up to a meter and got a measley 7 ma total for 3 bulbs? All the paper work and printing on bulb indicates 3 volt. Thought I ordered a six volter. I can't find the recipt I printed to be sure and they don't email a response back confirming the order. I did try it in a 3 cell light and gee it was brighter but still not blue-green. Now wait for darkness to test some more.
I initially thought I would save some time and buy a ready made unit. Next time it a perfectly good bulb must donate it's shell (out of blown bulbs )

Bummer.

For background, see my previous post on this thread.

Looks like my suspicion is correct.