Money lost on flashlights

I counted my lights the other day and hit the number 25. I could probably think of a couple more. Some I do not use anymore and should sell. It's time. Then I realized, how much less should my price be from what the light cost new ? Fifty percent off ? Yesterday's top performer is today's underachiever. Deduct some value again for wear and tear and it's almost not worth the hassle of selling any off. I don't own any handmade or rare lights.
When the postman delivers a new light, it's like driving a new car off the lot, you just lost money you'll never get back.

I don't know what you own, so please don't take this as an attack.

When you buy inexpensive lights that had the latest emitter thrown in, they depreciate quickly.
However if you pay for a quality body that is upgradeable and is of a know and trusted manufacturer, they hold their value very well. Staying the same or even appreciating.

For the lights that still work, however have lost their value, gift them. For most people a flashlight is an afterthought, having a nice light around may be useful to those said people.

If this is your hobby and you get utility (in the economic sense of the word) from you purchases than looking at it as money lost is not very practical. You will not get long term enjoyment in this (or likely any) hobby if you look at your money spent as being lost.

One the other hand, if you have gotten great enjoyment out of your purchases and have spent many hours playing/working with your lights then you have transferred the monetary expense into utility and thus the depreciated value of the lights actually represents their appropriate value.

There is no reason to not try and sell the lights in the MP. You will likely get at least 50% of their value - which means for two lights sold you can buy one new one at no extra cost to you.

You may also want to consider using the MP to buy a lot of your lights. Many lights turn over very quickly and are available at appreciable discounts. I myself have purchased very few "new" lights in the past year.

jamesmtl514 said:

I don't know what you own, so please don't take this as an attack.

When you buy inexpensive lights that had the latest emitter thrown in, they depreciate quickly.
However if you pay for a quality body that is upgradeable and is of a know and trusted manufacturer, they hold their value very well. Staying the same or even appreciating.

For the lights that still work, however have lost their value, gift them. For most people a flashlight is an afterthought, having a nice light around may be useful to those said people.

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Over half of my lights are the higher end mass produced China lights. My U.S. lights are the less popular Inova and Princeton Tec lights. I didn't want to gift the lithium powered lights to my young nephews because of the possible danger of the batteries. I have been on the sidelines at the market place figuring how it works. I don't want to get scammed over there. I just want to sell my lights for a good price to someone who wants them. Then I started thinking, is it worth the hassle or leave them in my closet.

I'd second the idea of using the marketplace to sell your lights, I've bought a lot from there recently and for someone new to the hobby like me it's a great way of trying out different manufacturers, lights, UIs etc.

I've tried selling a Mini 123 on there though so far with no success - I suspect I've priced it slightly too high, plus being based in the UK on a board with a lot of US members is probably counting against me a bit because of international postal costs! Don't let that put you off though, price your lights right and they'll sell. Just make sure you've received cleared payment before sending anything to a buyer.

Let's say you buy a burger or you watch a movie.After eating/watching, you wouldn't say "damn! my burger is gone. I just lost my money." or say right after the movie ends "damn, just lost my money again." Literally, you lost some money but you lost that money because you were hungry or wanted to see a movie.That "lost" money gave you something in return. If you use flashlights for your job, the money you spent for the light was put into use. If you only fancy lights, the money you spent was used for your entertainment.

And if you allow overseas purchases, learn the ins and outs, and be patient. It can take a close to a month for the slower cheaper methods of shipping. Scroll back to see what others have sold for. Price similar and start walking it down if they do not sell every couple of days, if you are willing to anyway.

I almost always buy used so that way you can try out the light and if you do not like it you can pretty much get what you paid for it.

papa_mcb said:

I almost always buy used so that way you can try out the light and if you do not like it you can pretty much get what you paid for it.

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+1 You'll also notice that many of the US lights on the MP are high end lights, so you can try out lights at a reasonable price you might not otherwise afford.

i don't regret the money that was spent on my flashlights even though i know it can be a bit pricey at times.. worth every penny for me

If you collect anything then it's worth remembering that it's value will seldom increase until the majority of similar items have been obsolete or unserviceable. Most things that are collectable are so simply because they are so scarce. To expect an item (whatever it is) that was made within the last 20 years or so to have held or increased it's value is unrealistic. However, simply because a flashlight (or any other item) has become superseded by a technological gain or improvement doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be disposed of or that it's value is demeaned? If you buy a flashlight then you are either buying it to be used, in which case cosmetic and other wear and tear will rapidly reduce it's collectable value or you make it a shelf queen and accept that you might have to hand it over to your descendants if you are to see it realise a collectable value. The real value of collecting flashlights now is for the enjoyment factor that they bring YOU! Unless you can live with the knowledge that by collecting things now you are most certainly going to see a financial loss then there is little point collecting anything made in the past few years!

dougie said:

If you collect anything then it's worth remembering that it's value will seldom increase until the majority of similar items have been obsolete or unserviceable. Most things that are collectable are so simply because they are so scarce. To expect an item (whatever it is) that was made within the last 20 years or so to have held or increased it's value is unrealistic. However, simply because a flashlight (or any other item) has become superseded by a technological gain or improvement doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be disposed of or that it's value is demeaned? If you buy a flashlight then you are either buying it to be used, in which case cosmetic and other wear and tear will rapidly reduce it's collectable value or you make it a shelf queen and accept that you might have to hand it over to your descendants if you are to see it realise a collectable value. The real value of collecting flashlights now is for the enjoyment factor that they bring YOU! Unless you can live with the knowledge that by collecting things now you are most certainly going to see a financial loss then there is little point collecting anything made in the past few years!

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+1.. IMO, you hit the bullseye with such a concise oration dougie. Well said.

dougie said:

If you collect anything then it's worth remembering that it's value will seldom increase until the majority of similar items have been obsolete or unserviceable. Most things that are collectable are so simply because they are so scarce. To expect an item (whatever it is) that was made within the last 20 years or so to have held or increased it's value is unrealistic. However, simply because a flashlight (or any other item) has become superseded by a technological gain or improvement doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be disposed of or that it's value is demeaned? If you buy a flashlight then you are either buying it to be used, in which case cosmetic and other wear and tear will rapidly reduce it's collectable value or you make it a shelf queen and accept that you might have to hand it over to your descendants if you are to see it realise a collectable value. The real value of collecting flashlights now is for the enjoyment factor that they bring YOU! Unless you can live with the knowledge that by collecting things now you are most certainly going to see a financial loss then there is little point collecting anything made in the past few years!

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Well put. I have been looking to get rid of some my stuff lately. Not just flashlights. I will look at something I own and say to myself " this thing is still good, but I haven't used it in 10 years". My flashlights probably take up the least amount of space. I keep all the packaging my lights came with in case of warranty and for collecting.
Flashlights are probably like a car, you need to buy a unique one in the first place. Then wait until it is an antique (25 years) and the value will go up again. Buy a Z28 Camaro and wait 25 years, people want it. Buy a Chevette :sick2: and no one ever wants it.

Moving this to the Cafe.

Bill

Lou,
Once you get into Marketplace everything will change for you. It is a constantly changing candy store of lights sold by people just like you. I have bought and sold waaaaaaayyyyy too many lights there and only had one problem which was eventually resolved. (mixup in shipping, took a couple weeks but we all got our lights). I don't worry about warranties too much as I usually end up voiding them anyway so it's a great place to get the lights that I don't want to buy new.
I have seen other forums set up with a discussion forum and a sales forum, but never any with the level of activity, quality of information, member enthusiasm, and buyer/seller honesty that I've seen here.

BTW, the Chevette was a masterpiece. I used to carry a half-stack, (head and cabinet), guitar, plus other musical gear in the back of mine, you could carry as much gear as a small truck. That little beauty ran forever. Mine was the basic model, they went too far when they tried to fancy it up though. ugh. Easy to work on, roomy, good mileage, and very forgiving of cosmetic neglect as it wasn't much to look at anyway.
:sigh: Good times...

Is there even a modern equivalent?

I have to say . . . It does help a great deal knowing that flashlight collecting can be one of the least expensive collecting hobbies that one can engage in. And I don't mean just getting the cheap stuff. My SureFire M6 cost me $450 brand new. Try spending $450 on a brand new, high-end, other item specific collecting hobby. You're honestly not going to get very far.

So yeah, you lose some money with this hobby. But in comparison to others, it's not going to be nearly as bad.

dougie said:

If you collect anything then it's worth remembering that it's value will seldom increase until the majority of similar items have been obsolete or unserviceable. Most things that are collectable are so simply because they are so scarce. To expect an item (whatever it is) that was made within the last 20 years or so to have held or increased it's value is unrealistic. However, simply because a flashlight (or any other item) has become superseded by a technological gain or improvement doesn't necessarily mean that it needs to be disposed of or that it's value is demeaned? If you buy a flashlight then you are either buying it to be used, in which case cosmetic and other wear and tear will rapidly reduce it's collectable value or you make it a shelf queen and accept that you might have to hand it over to your descendants if you are to see it realise a collectable value. The real value of collecting flashlights now is for the enjoyment factor that they bring YOU! Unless you can live with the knowledge that by collecting things now you are most certainly going to see a financial loss then there is little point collecting anything made in the past few years!

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I think that is just about a perfect answer. I would add that in reality, with so many variables such as recessions and changes in values from generation to generation, that collectibles are really only of value to the owner and must be collected for sentimental value only. Way too many people have lost their money holding on to "valuable collections" only to see the market drop from under them and it doesn't come back in their lifetime. I think flashlights in particular should be collected only for the fun of owning them or for giving them to others for gifts.

My main regret is I own a LOT of lights that I hardly ever even turn on. Some really good ones that just never really moved me.

My main problem is I can't even expect to get 50% back.

So I feel your pain.

bansuri said:

Lou,
Once you get into Marketplace everything will change for you. It is a constantly changing candy store of lights sold by people just like you. I have bought and sold waaaaaaayyyyy too many lights there and only had one problem which was eventually resolved. (mixup in shipping, took a couple weeks but we all got our lights). I don't worry about warranties too much as I usually end up voiding them anyway so it's a great place to get the lights that I don't want to buy new.
I have seen other forums set up with a discussion forum and a sales forum, but never any with the level of activity, quality of information, member enthusiasm, and buyer/seller honesty that I've seen here.

BTW, the Chevette was a masterpiece. I used to carry a half-stack, (head and cabinet), guitar, plus other musical gear in the back of mine, you could carry as much gear as a small truck. That little beauty ran forever. Mine was the basic model, they went too far when they tried to fancy it up though. ugh. Easy to work on, roomy, good mileage, and very forgiving of cosmetic neglect as it wasn't much to look at anyway.
:sigh: Good times...

Is there even a modern equivalent?

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I think I have discovered CPF has more to offer than just facts about flashlights. It offers opinions from other people. A light that I have lost interest in may be someone else's long term favorite. I have been browsing the market place and found lots of lights out there. I still need to read up on Paypal and how it works. I'm getting there slowly.

Your Chevette was better off being the basic model. The ones that had A/C and P/S were very hard to work on. Changing the starter meant taking down the steering column to get at it. The A/C was in the way.

If you want to make money on flashlights, buy multiples of limited edition lights from highly regarded custom light makers. A light like the Steve Ku Gavina instantly increases in value when the run is sold out. Similarly accessories that were limited editions are are no longer available command top dollar prices. I've sold clips and tailcaps for 4x what I paid for them just months ago. Some I've just given away to other collectors too.

Having said that if what you're here for is to make money from investing in flashlights I'd say you're wasting your time. There are many better investment grade opportunities to be found. I buy lights because they please me. I fancy them. I don't expect a Quark Turbo-X to resell for anything frankly. So if I can get $50-75 for mine in reasonably good condition, why not? Or maybe just keep it unless I really need the money.

On the other hand there is my ten trit JHanko EX10 (Thank you Ramon!), Gavina collection, Luce de Notté and other valuable items. Those I'll never sell unless the decline of my health and the need for money requires it. But, if necessary I know I can get out of them what I spent pretty easily. That helps justify the cost.