Last night I ordered a ITP A3 EOS XP-G from shining beam. The order went through right around midnight and this morning I already have a tracking number for my shipped package. Shiningbeam ships out of New York so US buyers get their orders in a couple of days.
I always refer people to them because regular people are not going to want to deal with the things we do when dealing with china vendors. You know someone is always asking where they should look for a light. If I want to make it quick I send them to shiningbeam and tell them to pick out a Romisen. Cant go wrong. They have a pretty good selection and some are reconfigured for things like better modes or emitters than the same lights available from chinese vendors.
I have ordered a few times from Brian at Shiningbeam. His service is excellent. Orders always seem to ship within 24 hours and I recieve the shipment in just 2-3 days via first class mail. I ordered my first real LED flashlight from him (romisen RV235 XPG-R5, nice little light), and have ordered three ITP A3 Eos lights from him. I had planned to order more lights from him, like the X-thrower and the SST-50 P-rocket, but then i discovered solarforce and the world of P60s
He has some very nice drivers, that are not available anywhere else and shipping is only 6 $ to Germany/Europe. I ordered 3 or 4 times from him, very recommended.
I have only good things to say about Bryan and Shiningbeam. It's probably not the best choice if you're outside of the U.S., but for good service, quick shipping, and accurate info he's the best. Heck, if there's ever a problem he can be reached on his cell phone!
He doesn't send to my address unfortunately. So I had to go to GoingGear for an R5 ITP A3, and now I ordered my third (Jetbeam BA20) flashlight from GG, making $100 already. GG has a %10 discount coupon flying on the Internet and some items may come even cheaper than Chinese sellers.
Great store. I usually get my lights in less then a week which to me is great when you consider how long it takes to get stuff from DX.
The best part though is that he carries either a neutral or warm white option for most of his lights. So to me this is the best store to buy my budget lights.
It's nice, surprisingly bright. BUT, and this is a BIG BUT, if you like your neutral lights to really be neutral you should skip this one. According to his sales thread he had problem to get neutral emitters and had to go with a slighter cooler one. The problem is that to me it's way to cool, not neutral at all. The tint is so cool that I would never consider buying the light. Which is a shame since the shell is great.
Two thumbs up for Shiningbeam, and neutral S-mini also. I like it. It's the only neutral light I have so I have no neutral to compare it with, but side by side with regular Quark Turbo, it's way more neutraler... It's a bit chilly tint, sure. Not any warmth in sight. But it's not very cold either. Only thing I have to complain about it is that low is too bright. But as my Quark goes to sub 1-lumen, it's no biggie.
Don't know what you are accustomed to, but 6$ shipping per international order is not bad. I have ordered two times to Finland, and will be ordering in the future also.
