Green laser pointers - price drop??

[Graham]

Well, looks like prices of green laser pointers are dropping - Z-Bolt appear to have cut $10 off his prices, and the Laser guy slashed his price from $250 to $175..

For $169 from Z-Bolt, I'm tempted to get another one. If one green laser is this much fun, imagine what 2 would be like..

Graham

 

[Darell]

Ya know...

If some guy I trusted (like Graham or Craig or any other green-laser-wielding CPFer), would just tell me what the best green laser for the buck is, I'd have to buy one too.

But I'm lazy, and don't understand lasers at all. I just know they're cool, and that no light collector should feel satisfied until he has one.

Just point the way...

 

[Graham]

Well, I ordered my first one from The Laser Guy, and the service was fine, but price was high.

I've also ordered one from Z-Bolt, and should have it soon. However, service from there is also good, and pricing is better than The Laser Guy.
Z-Bolt have the same one which I got from Laser Guy, but for only $169.

So, my recommendation for price and service would probably go to Z-Bolt and the $169 one that he has..

The one I ordered recently from Z-Bolt is the more expensive one, and I'm probaly going to order *another* one from Z-Bolt (the $169 one), as a friend of mine really wanted one..

Graham

 

[Darell]

Thanks Graham -

Hmm. Discounts of five or more. Anybody else interested?

Do you have any clue what gives the more expensive one longer reach? The specs seem to be identical except for the model number, the price, and the reach of the beam.

 

[Graham]

I didn't notice that there was a discount for 5 or more. Hmm. Would be interested in knowing how much it is..

On another thread someone actually mailed him regarding the difference between the cheaper one and the expensive one, and he said that he couldn't actually tell the difference, visibly. Apparently they are actually from different manufacturers..

Graham

 

[Alexis]

Yeah, a group buy through CPF? Let's see what we can do!

 

[Darell]

On this page it says:

"All pricing negotiable on orders of five (5) units or more."

That's all I know.

 

[Graham]

Just noticed that Z-Bolt now has the price for the BTS-6 listed on his site as $159 for quantities of 2-9..

Not bad..

Graham

 

[Darell]

Hmmm. Now that IS interesting. I wonder what is causing the sudden drop in price for green lasers? It was bound to happen, of course, but I wonder if there is some underlying reason that I could put my finger on. I guess what I'm really interested in knowing is if the prices will continue dropping at this rate for a while, or if this is a fluke.

Mr. Bell, you have mail!

 

[Darell]

Well, I've just been chatting with John from z-bolt (yes, at 11:40pm local time) and I've set up my deal. So far these guys have been great to deal with. Can't wait for my first green laser!

(Thanks Graham!)

 

[Darell]

Oooh! Mine showed up at my door just minutes before I had to take off. Scared the bajeezers out of my wife when I lit up the stainless microwave just as she opened it. This thing is BRIGHT. I mean, you can't even look at the dot on the ceiling without everything shimmering.

These came with a free little red pointer as well. Nice freebie, and nice to compare how insanely bright the green laser is. Oooh, this is gonna be fun.

 

[Graham]

Yep, they're fun all right. Even more fun waving it around outside at night, and seeing that green beam in the air..

Graham

 

[Plinko]

Darell,

What kind of deal did you end up getting from z-bolt? I'm looking to pick one up as well. My big green laser runs off a 5vdc power supply, which means if I wanna terrorize the neighbourhood cats, I have to drag an extension cord everywhere I go...severly limiting the fun factor.

It would be great to have soemthing that is bright AND portable.

Cheers!

 

[Daniel Ramsey]

Now I am interested, are these just pointers or are there some affordable line lasers? I mean a visible line in any color but cheaper than the $500 laser line levels at the hardware store.

 

[Graham]

Z-Bolt mainly have laser pointers, not sure about anything else..

The ones Darrel and I got were $159 - that is his price for quantities of 2 or more, since we sort of combined our orders.

Price for one is $169, which is still about the cheapest you can get a green laser for anywhere, I'd say..and he includes a little red laser pointer free, too.

Graham

 

[Darell]

What Graham said....

And I'll repeat what Graham said before about their service since I can now speak from experience. Z-bolt (John) was very helpful, and speedy to ship. He allowed me to combine my CA order with Graham's Japan order to save the $10, so I thought that was pretty generous. Throwing in the little red pointer is just icing on the cake. Can you believe that these are now my first two lasers ever? Even the cheap little red one intertains me. But soon that one will be for company. The green one is MINE!

Graham - I never did really figure out an earlier post of yours... does this mean you now own one of the more expensive Z-bolt ones from an earlier order and now you have the same one I bought? How do they compare? The end cap on mine seems a bit cheesy, but the beam is so great, I don't really care. As long as it doesn't fall apart on me, I'm happy.

Thanks!

 

[Graham]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by darell:
What Graham said....
Graham - I never did really figure out an earlier post of yours... does this mean you now own one of the more expensive Z-bolt ones from an earlier order and now you have the same one I bought? How do they compare? The end cap on mine seems a bit cheesy, but the beam is so great, I don't really care. As long as it doesn't fall apart on me, I'm happy.

Thanks!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ok, I'll confess. I have, in order of purchase:

1 Green laser pointer, ER17, from the Laser Guy, which appears to be the same as the BTS-6 from Z-Bolt
1 Green laser pointer, BTS-8, from Z-Bolt
2 BTS-6s from Z-Bolt on the way..

I was very happy with the first one I got, but when I saw the one at Z-Bolt, it kept nagging at me and I gave in to temptation..the last 2 are for friends who were extremely impressed with mine.

Now, regarding comparisons - first impression of the BTS-8 was that it is much brighter than the other one, but I'll check tonight after putting fresh batteries in the other one.

Graham

 

[GJW]

Just wanted to share my Z-Bolt experience.

I ordered the BTS-6 in silver but received the black which died in about a week.
I contacted Z-Bolt and they were very friendly and told me to send it back - no problem.
I returned the defective black and again asked for the silver.
Z-Bolt contacted me to tell me that the silver was backordered which was why they sent the black originally.
The silver was expected in about a week and would ship as soon as it was available.
After a week Z-Bolt contacted me again to tell me that the silver was delayed but would ship as soon as it was available.
Another week and another e-mail from Z-Bolt telling me that my BTS-6 was finally on its way.
The package arrived and inside was another black BTS-6.
Friendliness aside, Z-Bolt has a few bugs to iron out in their inventory system.

 

[Graham]

Sorry to hear that you had some problems..

I just got the 2 BTS-6 green laser pointers I ordered, and can now say that the BTS-8 is definitely brighter - the output is appears considerably stronger to the naked eye.

Not that the BTS-6 is any slouch - still miles ahead of any typical red laser pointer. In fact, if I hadn't gotten the 8 I never would have thought about it.
My only concern with the '8' is that the button is a bit stiff. But overall the '8' gives the impression of a stronger, better build quality than the '6'.

So for those who are keen on having the brightest, baddest laser pointer around (short of paying $$$$ for a blue one..), the BTS-8 seems the way to go, if you have the extra $50 or so to spare..

Graham

 

[Badbeams3]

Are the beams from any of these portable lazers visable in the air at night? I have a red one that can be seen a short distance if there is enough moister in the air. I would love a portable one the would work like the lazers at Epcot.

Ken