Which Is The Best Ebay Buy On A Budget?

Would it be this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/65-Lumens-3-Watt-Luxeon-STAR-LED-Swat-Flashlight-Torch_W0QQitemZ5236628795QQcategoryZ106987QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

Or this one?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5222834556&ssPageName=MERC_VI_RSCC_Pr4_PcY_BIN_Stores_IT

Or is there some other good ebay buy that someone could recommend?

Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

Don't know anything about these lights but looks like one is a 2 stage so thatspretty cool.

On the other hand since you are gambling if these lights are worth anything there is always the logic to risk the least amount of cash. SO if i had to choose i'd go with the cheaper one.

Thats a good point on going with the cheaper one, but would it be worth it to pay a little more an go with the 2 stage one? Or is that just a matter or personal prefrence?

I'd check around a bit before buying a light that must of us here have no idea about. I'd check with www.flashlightreviews.com for information pertaining to many lights, and I would look at what many of the dealers have to offer here. An educated buyer will fare better than one who is told what to buy.

I have been comparing what I find on ebay to those flashlight reviews, and I have been using this site for reviews as well. But being a novice LED flashlight buyer is why I have been posting my findings here.


Believe me, I am trying to find the best for what I can afford right now.

Welcome to CPF, skyclad01!
There are some good prices available from reputable CPF vendors too; check out the Specials thread on my sigline. Also, CPF members such as jsburlys, lighthound, AW, Emilion, and a few others offer good quality products and service. Check out the banneradds too. Good luck.

Are you in the US? There are plenty of decent lights to be had from retail stores and the risk is far less than something on eBay.

The MXDL has mixed reports at best. I bought two of the 1W lights and they were both pretty crappy though neither actually failed. I'm pretty sure there is a review of the 3W MXDL on flashlightreviews.com but some CPF members are happy with them for the price and some report wide failures. You decide who to believe.

My biggest issue is with the shipping... If you live near a Target, you can pick up one of the River Rock 2xAAA lights for under $10... granted, that's a .5W light vs a 3W light but you can be sure it will work... on the off chance it does not, exchange it. If you must order, the ProPolymer 4AA gets rave reviews and would be less than $30 to your door in the US, IIRC.

I'd be cautious about buying those MXDL lights.

Some CPFers have reported problems, others have been satisfied with theirs.

MXDL 3 Watt "Luxeon" 3AAA from eBay

MXDL junk!

3 Watt MXDL

MXDL 3w

Here's Quickbeam's review:

http://www.flashlightreviews.com/reviews/mxdl_3watt.htm

Here's the LED Museum's review (pretty noncommittal):

http://ledmuseum.candlepower.us/third/ebay3w.htm

If you decide to buy one, I'd recommend purchasing it from Emilion. I'd rather deal with a CPFer than some anonymous eBay seller.

http://emilionworkshop.com:3072/osc...21_37&osCsid=71710264de93f7375d9c9f3476b20137

You could probably find a 3AAA Dorcy Metal Gear at Wal-Mart. It's very similar, and if you don't like it or get one with poor build quality you could just return it.

If you want a small, very cool LED flashlight, I'd strongly recommend a Fenix L1P. You can order one in Litemania's thread in the Dealer's Corner.

Oh heck, here's the link:

FS : FENIX L1P v2.5

That Emilion looks like a great site. The downside is any paying I do will be done with money orders as I dont have any credit cards, so I limited on that aspect.

Skyclad01 said:

That Emilion looks like a great site. The downside is any paying I do will be done with money orders as I dont have any credit cards, so I limited on that aspect.

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The thing is if you have 30 bucks to spend on that light then you have money to get a better light. The Fenix is not much more nor is the QIII.

I mean if you are on a limited budget do you want to gamble your $30bucks away or spend $40 and get a sure thing?

Ya, maybe try to save up a little more cash and get a quality light and not a light thats "just good enough" You may be disappointed.

DUQ said:

Ya, maybe try to save up a little more cash and get a quality light and not a light thats "just good enough" You may be disappointed.

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Good idea, but im already plenty happy with my 4 D Maglite w/ a Mag-Num Star Xenon Bulb. So this would be a secondary light, unless my Maglite is outdated?

Skyclad01 said:

Good idea, but im already plenty happy with my 4 D Maglite w/ a Mag-Num Star Xenon Bulb. So this would be a secondary light, unless my Maglite is outdated?

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Now you've done it! You used the "M" word! And you are going to catch some serious flak for saying you're happy with a Maglite! (whoops, M@glite...)

For a nice starter light, try the Streamlight ProPolymer 4AA Luxeon. It's a good quality, durable, compact, and inexpensive LED light. It's available for $22.95 (+ about $6 shipping) from Fox International. They will accept money orders as payment for mail orders.

http://www.fox-intl.com/searchresult.asp?id=3034

While the SL ProPoly Lux is a great utility light, it's not all that sexy. It's a bit big for pocket carry, and it doesn't have that "gee whiz" factor.

If you do Paypal, I would strongly recommend ordering a Fenix from Litemania's thread. It's a small, very cool, relatively inexpensive ($40) LED light that you can feed with standard AA batteries.

The Q-III is also small and very cool. It is a bit brighter than the Fenix, and a bit cheaper ($25-30). However, it requires CR123 lithium batteries. While these are available retail, they are quite expensive ($5-7). They are available online from Surefire, Battery Station, or Amondotech for about $1 each, but unless you are ready to complicate your battery inventory, why not just go with the Fenix, since you probably already have a stash of AA batteries?

Poke around the LED and Reviews forums and check out the Fenix threads.

That first flashlight can be found on ebay for much less. The body is much better than the MXDL line and the reflector is deeper than it looks.
The deep reflector actually provides some nice throw and is fully focusable. You can get a nice tight hotspot of light if you want it. The heatsinking is above average and a L-III Star/Emitter would be fine as there's good heat transfer to the flashlight body. The reverse clickie on the tail is OK but does protrude past the bottom of the tail cap somewhat.
It will tail-stand if you have a level surface to put it down on.
Don't be fooled by the picture, the head on this light is not the same as the original MXDL head. It's longer and shows better machining.
Makes a great host if you want to run a 18500 cell.

As it stands from the factory, It's better than a MXDL but you will have to shop for the best price if you want to get the best deal.

For a second flashlight, I'd want something that I could trust to work when it counted. For just a bit more than the cost of the flashlights you listed, I'd buy a Stream Light Pro Poly Luxeon that runs on 4 AA batteries.
If you need smaller then a Q3 or Fenix just can't be beat. They are both nice and bright for their size.

Skyclad01: Now that your a CPF member, you qualify for some nice special offers and discounts at quite a few flashlight shops. You should check out the deals here .
That first sticky thread by greenLED is a must read if your into getting a great pricing.

For the moment, as a newbie, I just got the bid for this one http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=8713366898&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D8713366898%26fvi%3D1

I know its an amatuer move, but hey, I am an amatuer. (plus it was cheap, even with shipping costs) I will post in this thread again as soon as it arrives, and I will let you know how good it actually is (as Ive read that its almost like striking gold to get a good one).

But by all means, please keep your suggestions coming. I've been finding them very, very helpful and am learning a lot.

I apologize for my Maglite comment, and i'll be sure to duck twice ever few mins (once for the M@g, and once for getting this little bid).

You know, 17 dineros delivered ain't bad for that light. It has one of the better MXDL body styles that are available. It uses easy to find batteries and will be plenty bright for more tasks than you think.
The only problem is...you will soon start thinking about how for just a few dollars, you can make it better.
At first, you will resist this simple temptation. You will continue to read all the posts here on CPF and evenually you will sucumb to the itch to mod that MXDL.
"I can do this", you will think, and with cheers from the sidelines, you will improve that flashlight by 100%.

Once the bug has bitten, ...well, you know the rest.

No need for an apology! I couldn't resist the opportunity for a little newbie hazing, that's all.

Mags tend to get jeered here on CPF, because the unenlightened masses perceive them as high-end flashlights, whereas CPFers see them as mod host material.

In other words, Maglites are good quality lights for the average flashlight consumer, but they require modification to live up to their full potential. There are a lot of great mods that use a Maglite as a host body.

Good luck with the MXDL light. I hope you get a good one. Some CPFers have been quite happy with theirs. It takes an exceptional flashlight to satisfy CPFers, so the MXDL might suit your present needs quite well.

Check out the shipping charges for the second light:

Shipping costs: US $15.00 - US Postal Service First Class Mail® (within United States )

Why don't you just bend me over for that outrageous fee? And it's not even Priority or Express...just first class. SSSHHHHHEEEESSSHHHH....

tb2776 said:

Check out the shipping charges for the second light:

Shipping costs: US $15.00 - US Postal Service First Class Mail® (within United States )

Why don't you just bend me over for that outrageous fee? And it's not even Priority or Express...just first class. SSSHHHHHEEEESSSHHHH....

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You think thats bad? Check out the shipping charges for 128/256mb MP3 players that are no bigger than a AA battery. Or just the same for any SD Memory card.

I know, I wasnt too pleased with the S+H charges, but theres not much I can do. Plus its still cheaper all around, as the same quality lite would be starting at least that price in the store. So it has its good and its bad's.. just gotta take it with a grain of salt.