It’s exactly as you say: you get what you pay for.
But people found errors in manufacturing that could be really bad for the light. Missing O-rings (let in water), LEDs not secured to the shelf/pill (little thermal contact, so overheats and destroys the LED), and so on.
I think the difference which irks people is what’s done about it. Here in the States, something like a flashlight with an easy-to-spot defect, the buyer expects the seller to make good on it. Amazon rose to a huge size because of its “a to z” warranty. People know that if what they get is broken, or doesn’t match the picture or description, they can return it no-questions-asked and that’s done.
Unfortunately, the way most big sellers (BG, GB, KD, etc.) “settle” things is to just frustrate and anger the buyer hoping he goes away. Send back the item at your expense (more than the light costs!) for a replacement… maybe. If they don’t receive it, neither will you get the replacement, which could be just as broken. All it would take is to send a replacement O-ring, driver, etc., and let the person fix it himself, but in general, those sellers don’t.
That business model is “good enough”. “If you buy 20 things and 19 work, what are you complaining about?” That would never work over here.
That’s why Sofirn, Convoy, and some other sellers are near’n’dear to BLF, because all someone needs to do is ask Tracy or Simon for a replacement, and it’s sent.
I even think it was you when you were back at Thorfire, that my TK05 went boom, and you sent a 99%-off code on Amazon for a replacement. Sure, I had to send a video to show what was the problem, but that was nothing. Things happen, and even if they do, it’s nice to have a company stand behind the product.
So, yeah, it’s a cultural thing. When something goes wrong, even if 1-in-20 products goes bad because of little if any quality-control, that’s not a problem IF the company makes good. The Amazon approach is, sure, we’ll send a replacement, refund what you paid, anything’n’everything, just to make you happy. And that’s what people expect here.
But, and you have to admit it based on how some (most?) sellers behave, being frustrated into going away won’t work when something does go bad. That’s what people complain about. Mega big business ships a broken light, and you the little guy have to eat the cost. Or, that’s what they want, until you threaten to tell PayPal, etc.
See this thread: I bought a Chinese Motorcycle :) .
Riding a motorcycle that can lock up a wheel and kill you is not something you want to accept. Missing spacer, cracked bracket, things like that should have to be checked, but they’re not. “Good enough” doesn’t apply to safety. Yet it’s things like that which reinforce the “cheap junk” stereotype, sadly.