This is not true according to Leo at Lumintop. Here is what he replied today when I inquired about when my caps and straps would be shipping:
This makes no sense because on 08/13, I asked Lumintop about shipping the items together and was told:
And then on 08/17 when I had order issues with their site, I inquired and was told:
I paid for the accessories nearly two weeks before the light shipped. The irony is $28 was $6 more than my total which I assume was to cover shipping costs. I don’t see where I can get 4 caps and 2 straps on Banggood for $28 shipped. I realize these are accessories, but I am still making a purchase from Lumintop. Is there any BLF pull that can help get this straightened out? I don’t mind paying for shipping, but there is clearly a considerable difference in price on accessories between our BLF/Lumintop buy price and Banggood. I feel really uneasy now spending another $220 for the NW version with such fluid transactions.
If you want the cool white version I can send you the code right now. If you want the neutral white version they will be available in the next two weeks and everyone will get a PM with the purchasing details when they are ready to go.
I’m interested in the cool white version, I just filled out the form. Glad I didn’t miss out on this group buy like I have the last two, the BLF Q8 and the BLF GT. Love my BLF Q8.
I assume each one of those messages was on a different date. So maybe the situation has changed over time. Let’s let TA look over the info tomorrow.
I personally don’t know enough details on the bag stuff. I know Lumintop does not make bags, caps and straps so they have to source them from outside. Maybe it’s from Neal? It’s possible the stock at Lumintop ran out and they are waiting for another shipment. I don’t really know. TA probably has the current details.
My uneasiness is not due to the light itself (although I had to fix the 360 rotating cap that was jammed with metal shavings), but with Lumintop backing out of their own commitment. I asked prior to buying the accessories if they would be shipped with the light and was told twice that yes they would be. When they did not arrive with my light I asked when they will ship and am told that they never intended to ship them in the first place. Not a relationship I look for when I am spending $440 for lights. Maybe the Lumintop direct thing was more than they could handle. Don’t get me wrong. This is an amazing, milestone light that the GT70 team did a tremendous job on. I certainly could not have pulled it off. As with most BLF projects, things are not always perfect when you push cost vs state-of-the-art. But it is such a shame that something as simple as the cap and strap orders going through is such a hurdle. I’ll have to find some solution to protect such an expensive light, which is not a big deal; but it’s unfortunate that something unrelated to the quality of their lights has tarnished my opinion of Lumintop.
To be fair though, this is by far the smoothest Group Buy I have ever seen.
Edit: I would think that if Lumintop ran out of inventory, they would set up a deal with Banggoid for the customers to order the same items for the same price. I don’t think they would try to force a higher price on somebody just because they may not have it in stock right now.
That is pretty much what comes in the stock light.
I noticed the new emitter info was not in post #4. I updated it.
CW is 6500K P2 1A.
NW is 5000k P2 3C
TA says he would go with the CW for slicing the dome off over the NW. It’s the better looking of the two choices. If you can reflow leds then it might be best to shop around and get something that better suits you. If you like NW, maybe a 2A or 2D would be better?