Are LED flashlight overpriced (at least in UK and Ireland)?

killbasa2000 · Mar 21, 2015

Hi everybody!
I was always wondering are modern LED flashlights a bit overpriced comparing to other electronics?
Lets take an example: Olight M20SX would cost me about 110 euros buying from UK vendor, and Denon amp would cost me around 200-250 euros. An aluminium tube with LED and electronic chip emitting bright light vs complex electronic device which recreates music and only for the twice the price..How much cutting edge technology is involved to produce a flashlight these days? Are we not paying too much, aye?:thinking:

Tom

KelDG · Mar 21, 2015

US price is usually shown without tax and shipping (which can be substantial), that and varying currency exchange there is rally not much in it. Next time you see it cheap in dollars, add 20% or so onto it plus shipping for a better idea.

Edit i just realised you were talking about the price in general, stuff is worth what people will pay for it simple as that, there is competition in this market so I don't things are inflated too much.

wjv · Mar 22, 2015

KelDG said:
US price is usually shown without tax and shipping (which can be substantial), that and varying currency exchange there is rally not much in it. Next time you see it cheap in dollars, add 20% or so onto it plus shipping for a better idea.

You are correct. Many countries have a VAT (value added tax) embedded right in the price. . . So the "shelf price" can look 15%-20% higher in those countries.

peter yetman · Mar 22, 2015

Actually, I always reckon if I'm buying from the States - take the US Dollar Price and expect to pay the same number in Sterling, before it gets here.
I have to say that first class stuff from the likes of Oveready is well worth the money for the solid workmanship, even for the price I pay to get it here.

Chauncey Gardiner · Mar 22, 2015

killbasa2000 said:
Hi everybody!
I was always wondering are modern LED flashlights a bit overpriced comparing to other electronics?
Lets take an example: Olight M20SX would cost me about 110 euros buying from UK vendor, and Denon amp would cost me around 200-250 euros. An aluminium tube with LED and electronic chip emitting bright light vs complex electronic device which recreates music and only for the twice the price..How much cutting edge technology is involved to produce a flashlight these days? Are we not paying too much, aye?:thinking:

Tom

Hi Tom,

I would have to answer yes. I think the reason is supply and demand. We flashaholics tend to quickly accept the prices once we become addicted to the product.

~ Chance

killbasa2000 · Mar 25, 2015

We flashaholics tend to quickly accept the prices once we become addicted to the product.

I knew it!

Thanks for the input guys!

easilyled · Mar 25, 2015

LED flashlights are much newer than amps and as such they probably still have a premium attached to them. The prices are gradually dropping and will continue to do so in my opinion.

Also, even though an electronic circuit board in an amp may be complex, its still pretty cheap to mass produce. The main expense in an led flashlight is not the electronics or the led, rather its the workmanship that goes into machining the parts. The higher the level of precision regarding the threads and making sure that there is no water ingress possible for example, the more this drives up the price. There are plenty of budget led lights that are far cheaper than the light in your example.

Chicken Drumstick · Mar 25, 2015

killbasa2000 said:
Hi everybody!
I was always wondering are modern LED flashlights a bit overpriced comparing to other electronics?
Lets take an example: Olight M20SX would cost me about 110 euros buying from UK vendor, and Denon amp would cost me around 200-250 euros. An aluminium tube with LED and electronic chip emitting bright light vs complex electronic device which recreates music and only for the twice the price..How much cutting edge technology is involved to produce a flashlight these days? Are we not paying too much, aye?:thinking:

Tom

You are correct. But then think how much people will pay for a "trendy" shirt or handbag.

As for actual pricing. You need to look at other brands.

Quality XinTD C8. $30 and free shipping and a choice of emitters and tints. About £20.
http://intl-outdoor.com/xintd-c8-v5-xml2-u3-multioption-18650-flashlight-p-308.html

Convoy S2+. Again choice of tints and free shipping. $20 (£15)
http://m.banggood.com/Convoy-S2-Red-Cree-XML2-71358-5-Modes-EDC-LED-Flashlight-p-964149.html

killbasa2000 · Mar 30, 2015

Also said:
I'm pretty sure most LED flashlights are mass produced as well and there's very little manual labour involved especially in making of the aluminium body itself. There is a video on youtube, where you can see it is made entirely by computerized CNC machining process (or something like that).Link is below. Manufacturing an amp or a CD player requires more manual assembly, more components, more materials, more designing and tweaking, bigger shipping costs, etc. Perhaps remote control of my amp has more components and more complex electronics than any flashlight.(?) This is why my initial question was, are there so much cutting edge technology involved to make them. Also LED flashlight technology also not a baby anymore,it is more than 10 years old, as far as I know 'modern' LED torch production started around 2002.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xwhTnF86fk

You are correct. But then think how much people will pay for a "trendy" shirt or handbag.

Would sales of flashlights were bigger if they were priced more moderately?I mean they would be more affordable for average person (people without the addiction ) Today I showed my Olight S15 to my friend and told him I've paid around 60 euros for it (with shipping), he was shocked, and I know the feeling...Perhaps sane person would pay for similar torch for 35-40 euros. Perhaps...
P.S. for the past 20 minutes I'm trying to properly quote these guys, for some reason I couldn't, so I highlighted their quotes in orange. Sorry about that. I'll come back latter to fix it.

Chicken Drumstick · Mar 30, 2015

60 Euro's does seem quite a bit for an S15. Just checked and I paid £25.50 for mine (35 euro).

killbasa2000 · Mar 30, 2015

Chicken Drumstick said:
60 Euro's does seem quite a bit for an S15. Just checked and I paid £25.50 for mine (35 euro).

I have paid 40 pounds plus 7 pounds for delivery to ROI, so it worked out for about 63 euros. Where did you get it so cheap? I checked at flashoholics.co.uk, torchdirect.co.uk, taclight.co.uk, they were priced almost identically.

Chicken Drumstick · Mar 30, 2015

Ebay. Although looking now maybe I was just very lucky.

Chicken Drumstick · Mar 30, 2015

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Olight-S15-...440?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d5a06658

Ebay no: 141023012440

$49 USD inc shipping.

~45 euro. Not quite as good, but still cheaper than 60 euro.

killbasa2000 · Mar 30, 2015

Chicken Drumstick said:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Olight-S15-...440?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d5a06658

Ebay no: 141023012440

$49 USD inc shipping.

~45 euro. Not quite as good, but still cheaper than 60 euro.

Ah ok, they do not ship to Ireland :crazy:

. Never thought about ebay though...Thanks mate!

Are LED flashlight overpriced (at least in UK and Ireland)?

killbasa2000

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KelDG

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wjv

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peter yetman

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Chauncey Gardiner

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killbasa2000

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easilyled

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Chicken Drumstick

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killbasa2000

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Chicken Drumstick

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killbasa2000

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Chicken Drumstick

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Chicken Drumstick

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