1) Do not buy things you don’t need, just because it is a deal, flash deal or on sale
Yes, there are a million items on sale overseas and they are cheaper than anything I could buy at a local Walmart. However, price discounts may lead to impulse purchases I may regret later because I don’t ever use the product at all. It is very easy to waste money online from Chinese vendors. Prices can be too good to not buy it - resist the urge unless you really need the item.
2) Hobby XYZ may lead to a substantial spend in other areas of life. Example: I found Gearbest when I was looking for cheap FPV parts and cheap tools for woodworking and electronics. In total, I have spent more than 1,000 $US in the last 2 years for all kinds of items I bought from them; most of the items are still in the packaging or were barely used. Yes, I did not buy the item locally after someone else imported it (= I saved a lot!); but I wouldn’t have needed them all in the first place.
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When it comes to flashlights, the purchasing pressure (peer pressure) increases when using reddit, online forums and chat rooms about the hobby. Other buyers make it appear that a deal is too good to pass up on when in reality it isn’t. I am sitting on more than 500 $US in flashlights and I honestly don’t use them. I remember I started looking into flashlights when I wanted a car charger for lithium cells. That was my first ever purchase and all the other lights and products came through online threads, affiliate blogs or similar means. Glad to have resources like BLF, but need to restrain myself a bit more in the future.
4) Additional expenses for hobbies
I bought so many additional tools, parts and equipment for the flashlight hobby to mod lights and improve lights in my house. This is a good learning experience, but the overall “nexus” of this hobby can be very addictive and all-consuming.
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Buying overseas is more work than it seems. there is price research, looking for reviews, comparing products, looking for discount codes, reading threads, then ultimately collecting points, ordering, waiting and also writing down all the purchases. When you get the product you check the quality/function, and read more about it as well.
I understand hobbies do take time, but the overall process of buying from China is not effort-less (and eventually selling locally via ebay also takes time).
I also noticed that the flashlight hobby forces me to spend more time at home, either in front of the screen or in the workshop. This is not a great situation for me personally when I wanted to do more outside, with friends, at the gym or simply with other hobbies.