Flashaholics Anonymous? :)

Sadly not the first to come up with that topic name, but it's appropiate

Sooo, after counting up all my flashlight expenses, and coming to some nice round 500 euro figure over the last 4 months or so, I realize I might have a problem

I think I -really- need a break of a year or so, atleast, of buying -any- new shinies or related


Soo, how do any of you cut back and keep the habit under control ?
Anyone ever gone cold turkey ?
I guess most here don't, but still

Im tempted to ip block myself from all my favorite sites, CPF, DX, Batteryjunction
But I don't want to loose touch entirely, ofcourse, and I -have- to know about the latest shiny developments What if I'd miss out on some neat upgrade to my MRV's, or ?


Soo, suggestions? ^_^

I suppose the best thing you can do is to split your shopping habits into two components. At the moment, are you impulse buying? What you have to do is 'window shop' followed by 'real shop'. Whenever I see something that I would like (window shopping), I do not get it there and then. I mull it over for perhaps a week, counting the situations where that new product may be useful. After that, I am better placed to decide if I do NEED it or not (real shopping).

Of course, this logic did not apply as soon as I saw the Fenix P1D-CE Q5!

As much as I like new lights and want to get the latest and greatest, I keep my habit under control as follows:

• When I see a new light that looks like something I WANT, not NEED I sit on it for a few days and think long and hard about what practical sense would it make for me to buy this light.
• It is one thing to post on CPF that you have this light and that light and keep up with the others that have the financial backing to get a lot of the lights out there. Basically it is great when someone is talking about the new great thing and you have it and can talk with them about it but are you using that light regularly? Or is it a shelf queen?
• Also do not make up reason that you would need a new light. Example:

a) Like saying to yourself that if the power goes out I would need a light to get from the couch to the kitchen, then one to get the bigger light and then move on to the closet and get the big boy out to light up the room. Then one to take on a Search and Rescue mission to assist your neighbors with there lighting problems.

All in all for me at least I get lights that I will use nightly or by weekly at work or when I workout at parks, schools and so on late at night or early in the morning like 2-3:00am. Yes, I do have a few shelf queens that are all of Surefire's Biggest, Baddest and Brighest but they do get used at least three times a month. I take them on late night bike rides and camping trips.

Good luck and just remember that sometimes you do have enough!

surround yourself with your lights, turn them all on, sit there for 7 hours, dont move even if you get tired of it. (this is akin to one "stop smoking" method, where you sit with a filthy ashtray, and smoke yourself sick).

Get new friends who dont drink, or who cant find anything better to do than drink. or for flashlights, stay away from here :mecry:

Buy a $5000 flashlight, it would be like owning a mazzarati, not many people have 2 mazarattis

Go to a different forum, where you will end up with ONE MORE very expencive hobby with one more endless expendature.

USE em, everytime you think "oh flashlight cool" go out at night and walk around with the one you already got, join a rescue team, or volenteer to stand in for the statue of liberty.

Go long range hiking and carry all of them with you, after a few miles you will want to start leaving them on the trail.

Start giving them away as gifts to friends and family, X-mas is comming up, they get a light, and you saved on presents and can buy more to replace them.

Start a "review" site, ask manufactures to send lights in for review, in very small print at the bottom, say, dont expect them back.

Re-modify them again, keep changing the one light 50 times, that will keep you busy, and costs a bit less than buying new ones.

e-Bay, just like everything used on e-bay, just keep buying more and selling them for 50% off on e-bay, you can do that for ages without going to broke.

Start making them from scratch. Just like buying from a fast food joint, if you had to stand over the greece pit it wouldnt be as fun, and you certannly wouldnt want a lot more if it. It can take years, to "hand make" some new unique design, or to make whatever you were going to buy. ok so sometimes the cook is the fatest of the bunch, but you cant "taste test" flashlights untill they are done.

spend a few extra hours before buying a light, trying to find one FLAW in the design, you cant do this if everyone has not already purchaced it, so you first have to wait 6months, then seek out that single flaw, and reject it because of it .

Become a dealer, even a small dealer, buy up way to many lights, and you will WANT to get rid of them.

Actually, there is some good advice. Go out and use your flashlights, that should provide a sufficient distraction from us and internet retailers. I tryto go on night-hikes as often as possible.

VidPro said:

Go to a different forum, where you will end up with ONE MORE very expencive hobby with one more endless expendature.

USE em, everytime you think "oh flashlight cool" go out at night and walk around with the one you already got, join a rescue team, or volenteer to stand in for the statue of liberty.

Go long range hiking and carry all of them with you, after a few miles you will want to start leaving them on the trail.

Start giving them away as gifts to friends and family, X-mas is comming up, they get a light, and you saved on presents and can buy more to replace them.

Start a "review" site, ask manufactures to send lights in for review, in very small print at the bottom, say, dont expect them back.

Re-modify them again, keep changing the one light 50 times, that will keep you busy, and costs a bit less than buying new ones.

e-Bay, just like everything used on e-bay, just keep buying more and selling them for 50% off on e-bay, you can do that for ages without going to broke.

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Very good points gave me a good laugh but it is very true what your saying .

I have felt that I needed to stop spending money on this hobby, at least now when I got most of the lights that I NEED!
I have tried to stop cold turkey, even sold some stuff, but falled right back and bought a couple of new ones...
I have bought some stuff I dont need, and now finally after having bought a SF L1 I I got buyers remorse real bad! I still havent lost that feeling! Even though I bought a few more right after... I dont think its easy to get rid of this habbed, I really think It would require some kind of twelve step to do that...

MikeSalt said:

Actually, there is some good advice. Go out and use your flashlights, that should provide a sufficient distraction from us and internet retailers. I tryto go on night-hikes as often as possible.

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I second that... what use is having them if you don't get to use them?
Myself I generally do buying binges. I'll spend a couple hundred then ease off for a few months (and recover) at specific times of the year where I know I will have less financial obligations. I'm generally not very prone to big impulse buying, so I plan out months in advance how much I have to throw into lights, knives, swords, outdoor equipment, computer hardware, etc. I take a look at what I want, list things by priority then figure out how long I'll have to save up or hold other purchases to get the top priority items.
I've over the years found a system that works for me. Mine won't work for everyone, and mine doesn't work well in some instances. For example, I've wanted a McGizmo ever since I started browsing CPF. For awhile I actually had a piece of cash set aside for trying to buy a Mule. But after a couple failed attempts to actually get one, and then later finding availability after I no longer had the money set aside (due to vacation time where I know I need backup money in case something goes bad away from home), I gave up. Top notch lights but not worth the crap required to get one. So the McGizmo Mule dropped off of my priority list; not because I don't want one, but because trying to get one would force me out of my system. It is my safety net that I don't overspend and leave myself in a bad financial situation.

I also find my interests cycle around a bit. So after I've gotten a couple new lights in my hands I usually go looking for something in another of my interest categories. I don't impulse buy much (yes I said it again because it's important). I research, compare, sit for weeks with many Firefox tabs open with all my wants, find the best prices, and eventually come to a decision. This process generally takes me 3 weeks or more. That keeps my pace reasonable, gives me time to wait for a review on a new product, etc.

Responsibility sucks in the short term but pays off in the long.

Start selling them on ebay and keep the ones that you really need

cranphin said:

Soo, how do any of you cut back and keep the habit under control ?
Anyone ever gone cold turkey ?

Click to expand...

Not really, but after getting a few pretty nice lights, I found the urge to buy more fading away. Not completely, of course, I still buy a light or two occasionally, but basically, I have "enough" lights. The same thing happened to me before with knives. I used to lust after all sorts of knives, but then I got a few good ones and found that I didn't really need any more. I still buy the occasional used Spyderco when someone decides to get rid of one at a good price, but I'm not actively going after them.

Others have already given very good advice to you. Instead of lusting after new ones, use and appreciate the ones you already have.

Or, if that doesn't work, get an A2. :laughing:

Valolammas said:

Or, if that doesn't work, get an A2. :laughing:

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That is just wrong, so wrong , get an A2! But it might be the cure all in this case.

Actually, with my Electolumens Tristar Phaser and a pocket light like the Fenix L1D, I don't NEED any more lights. The Fenix can handle anything indoors and most things outdoors. If I need more light, the Phaser is pretty much a huge wall of light that has lit more than one accident scene completely. And because of it's sheer output, it has pretty decent throw. Need another light? No. WANT another one? Heck yeah, and I have to step back from the cool reviews and stuff sometimes.

I mean, why exactly do I need to carry four lights?

Don't EVER add up what it all costs !


I fool myself by thinking . . . .


-- This is just Thirty Bucks --


-- or Fifty Bucks --


-- or Sixty Bucks --



I certainly don't wanna' know the Total expenditure !


:eeksign:


(remember, if you can't fool yourself, then who can you fool ?)


_

I keep a running tab of my light expenses. It scares me into slowing down and selling things at times. I know the tab does keep growing (sometimes pretty fast), it prevents really bad binges.

The other way, is find something you consider close to the ultimate, usually it will be more than you thought you would ever spend, then get one.

Mine was a Novatac. Now I'm no longer very impressed by the cheaper CR123 lights. You can get some other good value lights, but the Nova does verything I want and does it well so I don't feel the burning need to get another $30-55 light.

Just hope to never lose it!