Hi from Shenzhen, China

Hi everyone, I haven’t made a forum account in years but I suppose now is the time. No one else around me appreciates this hobby so here I am.

I’m a Chinese American living in Shenzhen and I’m somewhat obsessed with getting a good deal. It’s probably because I grew up poor despite being decently well off now. I’m an avid Taobao shopper and I’ve investigated many of the popular brands that sell in China. From my observation, there is still a lack of information on this site about some of the Chinese brands that only sell in China (third party AliExpress sellers notwithstanding). Typically, Taobao chat is very close to the manufacturer and I can often directly speak with the owner of the enthusiast flashlight store. I hope to learn from y’all as well as to maybe provide some helpful information.

My collection has grown to 20 or so flashlights in the last 2 months:




I recently bought the Lumintop FW3A, Mateminco MT04, Emisar D4v2 but haven’t taken pictures of them yet.

Welcome to the BLF.
Nice collection you have started.
All the Best,
Jeff

Welcome to the BLF, fogofwar.

Since you are in Shenzhen, let me ask you: Do you expect any big sale of flashlights on 1 October —the Chinese National Day —or on 11/11 —the Super Single Sale?

Very nice sea view from your apartment.

Welcome. I like that last picture.

The sales are usually not too extreme on 11/11 for smaller or specialty stores - typically 10% or so. The regular prices for Taobao stores are usually very competitive already and you can always ask them to give a discount if you make a large purchase.

looks like you like budget lites!

you’re in the right place then.

I’m no fan of budget lights or modding but to each his own!

Welcome to BLF!!! :sunglasses:

Welcome!

You are in the eye of the storm...

Welcome, fogofwar. :slight_smile: Nice collection, I recognize the JKK90 with the SBT90 led.

I sometimes order from Taobao through a Taobao agent because they have certain flashlights and accessoires that you don’t find on Aliexpress.

Welcome, we need someone like you on our site. Great lights at cheap prices. Used to buy from Ali but for the 20% tax for U.K buyers.

How do you buy from Taobao ?

Welcome aboard, BLF fogofwar!

You’re off to a great start. Nice choices in flashlights. Will be very interesting to hear your perspective of flashlight buying opportunities there. I imagine some models we see available here are export only, but then some only made domestically.

Don’t overlook the small EDC. There are some wonderful 14500, AA, and AAA lights to be had. Also, consider the BLF LT1, which is the best lantern on the market.

Welcome aboard, your collection is a nice start. Give it few more years and you’ll have to buy some more tables. Since you have the Mateminco MT04, it’s time to get you on the 26800 bandwagon.

It's a pleasure to have you onboard, fogofwar!

Came to this thread just to see which Milla we would get. Haven’t seen this one before :smiley:

Welcome. I like the views in your pictures. Is that from where you live? (I will be jealous then).

Yes, I have an apartment facing the South China Sea about 80 km from downtown Shenzhen. I’m a huge fan by the way – I learned all my info about emitters from you and a few others on this site.

Welcome Fogofwar, if you love flashlights you’re in the right place, here in the BLF and in China, it will be awesome to have your point of view and to know about the brands sold in China.
Hope you enjoy the BLF

The two budget brands that I highly recommend if you can buy directly from Taobao are Starfish (海星) and Jin Heng (劲衡).

I guess you can call Starfish a “Convoy clone” but they offer some interesting options such as C8s with 21700 tubes and XHP 50.2 in a S2+ sized body. The C8s start at 80 yuan for an Osram CSLNM1 emitter and the XHP 50.2 costs 70 yuan. The driver is only 5 amp regulated but it is the most sustainable small light I’ve seen given the efficiency of the XHP 50.2.

Jin Heng is ran by a guy nearing retirement - I’ve chatted with him several times and encouraged him to sell internationally. He says his children don’t want to take up the family business though and he doesn’t seem to want to learn how to sell on AliExpress. The JKK90 sold by his shop is probably the cheapest Luminus SBT 90.2 flashlight available - I got mine for 342 yuan with the standard free shipping in China. Although, Starfish has the S8 and S9 for almost the same price.

Interesting insights, fogofwar

Do we have to join Tao Bao as a member before we can place orders? And will the sellers ship their flashlights overseas?

Thanks! I don’t really EDC - I usually only have a phone in my pocket and don’t even carry a wallet in China.

My original motivation to get into flashlights was to light up people who set off fireworks too late at night at the beach. I also like small pocket rockets that can light up the beach when walking the dog at night.