Actually it's not their fault, shipping from the USA to Canada is very expensive and required different paperwork for customs than for most other countries. For most countries we just use the little green form, for Canada it's the large several parts white form; much more time consuming and cost.
I've shipped there myself a few times and the paperwork for Canada from the USPS is a real pain compared to other Countries and it cost ~x3 more in postage.
I know it takes much longer from China Post, but it is much more cost effective for DX; in-fact they would have to raise theirs rate considerably if they shipped from the USA to Canada rather than China.
Blame the USPS, not DX, it really is not their fault on this; they would loose money on each and every item shipped.
i wonder if rmas will be quick too. im sure they still use the same process. every flashlight ive ordered from DX have been either defective or doa. ordered a 502b with a bad led. an mte sf15 p7 where one of the dies flickers. tf1200 5*q5 that did'nt get full power. so far ive been happy with solarforce/manafont. i told my brother in law about dx months ago and he just received a fandyfire that died on him after a week. hopefully their service and qc will improve. i wanted to get the aurora sh034 but didnt see it on that site.
DX's returns warehouse has been located in Miami FL for years now, I wonder IF that is where they have put their USA product warehouse now. Wow! I could actually get items in one day then.........
I actually did ride my bike over there out of sheer boredom one day back when I was living in Miami a couple of years ago. And it's really just another, non-descript warehouse, right next to a bunch of other warehouses that look pretty much the same.
And truth be told, I'm not sure how I am supposed to feel about this. I've been a DX customer for just about 5 million years now and my impression these last few years was that they were growing too fast. So, on the one hand, this could be great for those of us in the continental US, but then again, if they can't handle their logistics in HK with, what amounts to essentially, unlimited skilled, free labor, I can't help but wonder how they expect to manage a warehouse from the other side of the planet.
QC is a huge issue in this business because it costs money in more ways than one: there's the obvious upfront cost because having bodies stuff items into envelopes costs money and it costs quite a bit more here than it does in HK, but then again, DOA items cost money as well.
The Germans learned this the hard way when the German-built and assembled Passats that were the very definition of rock-solid turned out to be crap when assembled in Mexico. Attempting to fix it cost them pretty dime, too. Yes, I know there's the tax issue and it's more complicated than that; well, it always is, really. But my point is, this could really go either way.
I think they do have a "warehouse" to store things just before shipping, or stock popular items, even if it means just a place for packing. For example, they usually ship from HK, even though the production base is across the border in Guangzhou. As for need for US warehouse, I think that rather explains itself since the suppliers aren't local.
I really want to order this light to see if it the older version with the good Nanjg driver, but I don't want to end up with another XML pill I have to change the driver on if it isn't. Anyone else need a 501B XML possibly 1.4 amps max or possibly direct drive?
That is another one of those that I wondered about, do we get the good version or the garbage one? This is going to be interesting to follow what they actually sent us.
Well, it's got the $26 drop in (right next to it on the last page now), with the 25mm driver instead of the 19mm one that came with the 5*cree ones. So, at least you can get the replacement driver on dx that fits. $9 more for the 3x18650 host isn't bad either.
Two days and still packaging. Looks like they operate the same no matter where they are located. I’m sure it will still be a lot faster. Is there a better way to search for this stuff than the link with the pictures?
I ordered that Trustfire 1200 5 x Q5 on the 3rd and got it today (the 8th). I can't say their operating efficiently though, because I paid for one of them and got two instead. LOL
I think that the USA warehouse idea is pretty cool. That is one thing nice about TMart, stuff gets to San Diego in about 3 or 4 days. I'll have to order something and see how long it takes...
OK, nevermind. Every item I tried to click on I got a "This page is not available" warning.
Now I found some stuff that it lets you order... THey have a Trustfire Z1 cheaper than what I paid for mine, might have to get another.