Are Cutter's Efficiency Bins the Real Deal?

LEDAdd1ct

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My interest in portable lighting waxes in October, November, December, and January, and wanes the rest of the year.

As I approach my own personal flashlight "high season," I keep coming back to the fact that Cutter has some extraordinary bins which I can find nowhere else. The reply I received from others was that Cutter does such high volume that they will, every now and again, have some extraordinary samples, or, that Cree will only publish bins as being widely available if they can sell them to everyone, and Cutter, therefore, may get their hands on some uncommon goodies.

During last year's personal high season and in the months after, I sent two separate emails to Cutter from two different email accounts, writing to inquire as to the authenticity of their rarer tints/bins, and never heard back.

I figured I would ask to see if anyone here has purchased some uncommon tints/efficiency bins and what their experience was.

I'm willing to foot the bill to get them shipped here but would like some additional reassurance before doing so.

EDIT: I am going to take a shot at this. Will report back once the package arrives!
 
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LEDAdd1ct

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I am throwing in the towel here.

I had intermittent communication with Riley but that finally evaporated to nothing.

A company that cannot communicate effectively with customers, potential or otherwise, is not deserving of my business. :thumbsdow
 

F89

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I am throwing in the towel here.

I had intermittent communication with Riley but that finally evaporated to nothing.

A company that cannot communicate effectively with customers, potential or otherwise, is not deserving of my business. :thumbsdow

You say these guys are turning over a lot of LEDs so they are probably more focused on the people making large orders for good, bad or indifferent.
That said I (possibly like you?) make small orders here and there and have found their communication excellent even when dealing with a couple of LEDs and or PCBs. I've sourced some great LEDs from them.
 

ssanasisredna

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During last year's personal high season and in the months after, I sent two separate emails to Cutter from two different email accounts, writing to inquire as to the authenticity of their rarer tints/bins, and never heard back.

Basically you asked them if they are lying or not. How many businesses do you know that would admit to being deceitful ... if they were being deceitful? The answer would be none. One thing I learned early in sales is that while every customer may be "right", not every customer is a good return on investment.
 

LEDAdd1ct

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You say these guys are turning over a lot of LEDs so they are probably more focused on the people making large orders for good, bad or indifferent.
That said I (possibly like you?) make small orders here and there and have found their communication excellent even when dealing with a couple of LEDs and or PCBs. I've sourced some great LEDs from them.

I have no doubt that larger groups are their focus; however, that argument could be made for Dell, Apple, Samsung, Cree, IBM, etc. The size of a company should not dictate their ability to answer an email. *shrugs* I've bought things from there before and they arrived okay, and if they were in North America I would pick up the telephone and call them. Since I cannot do that and email remains the de facto standard for communication, I have no other way to confirm things. I am sure they are good people; however, not hearing back killed it for me.

Basically you asked them if they are lying or not. How many businesses do you know that would admit to being deceitful ... if they were being deceitful? The answer would be none. One thing I learned early in sales is that while every customer may be "right", not every customer is a good return on investment.

Respectfully, when attempting to ascertain the veracity of a claim, one possible reason for error is prevarication; however, it was not then nor is it now the case that I ever thought anyone was being deceitful: A company which processes such large orders can and does make mistakes, and I wanted to find out if that was the reason for a very high flux bin for a given high-CRI LED.
 

F89

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I have no doubt that larger groups are their focus; however, that argument could be made for Dell, Apple, Samsung, Cree, IBM, etc. The size of a company should not dictate their ability to answer an email. *shrugs* I've bought things from there before and they arrived okay, and if they were in North America I would pick up the telephone and call them. Since I cannot do that and email remains the de facto standard for communication, I have no other way to confirm things. I am sure they are good people; however, not hearing back killed it for me.



Respectfully, when attempting to ascertain the veracity of a claim, one possible reason for error is prevarication; however, it was not then nor is it now the case that I ever thought anyone was being deceitful: A company which processes such large orders can and does make mistakes, and I wanted to find out if that was the reason for a very high flux bin for a given high-CRI LED.

Not sure how helpful this input is but I once made a very small order (a couple of LEDs and MCPCBs) they could only supply one of the particular LEDs and emailed me promptly saying that it may take a while and invited me to choose what I'd like to do so I simply selected some other LEDs which came in a touch more expensive at no extra cost. I also got an email from Ben I think it was? Inviting me to email him directly if I had anything I particularly wanted (i.e. not on the menu) and he'd sort out my order personally. He clearly knew I was small time and just a hobbyist who would seldom buy in small quantities for my projects.
I say perhaps it's worth politely emailing them again with your requests and you may be surprised?
For me they have been more than accommodating.
 

LEDAdd1ct

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Thank you for the suggestion.

When I didn't hear back from Mark, Ben stepped in with several responses until he disappeared, too.

*shrugs*

I've moved on. :)
 
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