I'm resonably impressed with BuyInCoins so far, I'll write more later. But one thing I wanted to note is while their support is fast, you don't seem to get any notifcation via e-mail so you have to keep checking the site. Same thing with your order, you don't seem to get a notification when it's shipped you have to check your account.
Just thought I’d update the thread as my entire order has now been delivered.
The Sky Ray 1JC8 was dispatched from a different supplier from the rest of my order so came separately and a bit later.
I blame phlowcus for me ordering the Sky Ray though I should really thank you as I can see it becoming one of my most used flashlights.
Both packages had separate tracking numbers and were dispatched direct from China, not through HK.
I also did not get any dispatch notification emails, only the initial order confirmation email.
I used the internal message system to ask a small question and it was answered reasonably quickly.
All of my items were ok so can’t comment on how they handle problems with faulty or missing items.
Especially happy with the Sky Ray and the matching Ultrafire 119 mid size holster in hard to find black instead of camo.
Also bought one of these simply because I liked the look of it though not sure why......probably a phallic thing, these things usually are.
Timeline;
Order placed on the 19th
First package dispatched to UK on the 20th (left China 23rd)
Second package dispatched to UK on the 22nd (left China 25th)
First package arrived on the 31st
Second package arrived on the 4th
Cheers,
Gary
Of the three following smallsun c9 does your Sky Ray look like:
http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=6909968202
Sweet, thanks for the info, preparing an order just now.
They even seem to have the REAL MRV :)
http://www.buyincoins.com/lumapower-mrv-sk-18650-4-m-camping-led-torch-flashlight-product-1719.html
Holy how cow, how did you find these? I take it you are from China?
They all look pretty much the same from the outside but none of them is totally identical with mine under the hood. The one of the 3rd link is the most similar. The SkyRay has the same white plastic layer on top of the led and a similar tailcap, but that Small Sun has anodized tailcap threads which the SkyRay doesn't.
Hi phlowcus
London is my home town.
The third one looks the best quality,but not that many threads on the head. The first one looks to have more threads on the head.
Is your reflector metal?
Yup, and the lens is glass.
I may get one but not to sure if I can get 15% off. $12.31 is a better price tahn $14.49.
How2, if you've already used the coupon before, either create a new account, or just don't bother to create one and I think it should work. And remember a referrer/recommender for the full 15%. It's possible you'll need to clear cookies but I didn't have to when I tried. Note that since you'll likely be using the same PayPal account it's possible BIC will cancel your order or something, I didn't actually try ordering anything a second time. Also this may make it harder to track your orders and you either wont collect 'coins' or they'll be in different account.
Good to see I'm not the only one to know of taobao :-)
seems like a good place, will try them out next!
First order from them arrived in 12 days from ordering - with the various discounts the item was incredibly cheap even by HK standards. http://www.buyincoins.com/3-socket-car-cigarette-lighter-charger-usb-port-adapter-product-748.html
Looks good to me.
I just ordered
http://www.buyincoins.com/zoom-focus-18650-cree-q3-led-flashlight-camping-torch-product-2077.html
I think it could be an internal sliding type like the SmallSun ZY-A4.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.42517
The head diameter is stated to be 40mm, this would mean the lens should have a bigger diameter than the ~22mm most average 18650 zoomies have. My guess is around 28mm. If the lens has the same shape as usual, this should result in a smaller die image in the zoomed position. I will see if this is true or just wishfull thinking, when it arrives.
Hey everybody,
long-time lurker, first time poster here (old habit from back when Usenet was actually useful ;)).
I don't want to bore you with a lengthy introduction, but since I recognize some of our DX forum regulars - I go by 'lowrider' over there. (I realize that it's a tad bit weird to be posting a review as a first post, and with the semi-recent influx of spammers, I thought it couldn't hurt to mention that.)
Anyway, I ordered a Skyray 1JC8 on 9/3, mostly as a test purchase. Both, the coupon and the referal, worked (thanks! :)). Just like Nil Einne, I received no status updates which came as a bit of a surprise since I order quite a bit of stuff from China/HK-based retailers and, well, they're generally not shy about sending email updates (and signing your email address up for whatever they feel like). The light was dispatched from mainland China on 9/9. They also updated the order page with a picture of the package, clearly showing the address label. That's a feature I rather like and I'm not aware of any other retailers that do this.
The light arrived on 9/21 (continential United States), after customs opened and inspected the package which happens rarely. Just to put that into perspective: I have several hundered orders with DX (1888 orders), over 100 with FP, a ton of overseas eBay orders with the odd order from KD, LT and all the other DX clones thrown in for good measure and I'd estimate that customs takes an interest in less than 10% of my orders. With a dataset of n=1 as for as BIC orders go, I'm not going to jump to any conclusions but I thought I should mention it. It's obviously no biggie but it does slow things down.
In my case, BIC didn't send the light in an envelope but rather in a black bag. I don't know about about other parts of the world, but a black bag with no markings whatsoever (except for the label and the handwritten, illegible customs declaration) tends to scream "porn" or "sex toys" around here. Now, I'm a proud flashaholic and my wife fully supports my addiction, as long as I get her some cute AAA/10440 lights every once in a while. ;) My point being, I'm a very lucky guy. If your lady is the jaelous type, you might want to explain the black bag.
The flashlight itself was wrapped in two layers of bubble wrap. Unfortunately, there is a rather noticeable ding, about half an inch long, with bare metal visible. I am pretty sure the light wasn't damaged in transit because there's absolutely no damage whatsoever to the bubble wrap. I am guessing (and I should probably stress that I'm really guessing here) that BIC is selling QC rejects with cosmetic defects, much like DX does. To tell you the truth, I'm just not that bothered by it. I used to hang out over at the other place years ago so I'm quite familiar with the "shelfqueen mentality", as I like to call it. I have some ridiculously expensive lights myself and, well, those usually double as my duty lights and they tend to get abused rather thoroughly. This would have been a good opportunity to test DIC's customer service and if this had been a $50 purchase, I might have bothered but, well, it's a $12 light. It doesn't really bother me and in any case, I'm just not going to haggle over a couple of bucks. Just be aware that you might be getting a QC reject. That isn't necessarily a negative if you know what you're getting and price it in accordingly. DX and most (if not all) competitors work the same way. That's why it's a lottery. Your particular reject may have a ding, a scratch, rough threads or it may be unreliable. And then there's the emitter lottery, but I digress. But, hey, that's all part of the fun, isn't it?
As for the 1JC8, I don't really have a whole lot to say yet -- sorry. (Oh, and by the way, Don, thanks for your excellent reviews! I've bought flashlights more than once on your recommendation and I've never been disappointed.) I've just been too busy with work lately and it's likely to stay that way for the foreseeable future. Like I said over on the DX forums, it has a glass lens and aluminum reflector. All threads were completely dry, GITD O-ring up front, GITD tailcap, won't tailstand, reverse clicky, single mode, o-rings in all the usual places. The beam is ringy and less than pretty. I haven't really had the time to test it, let alone really use it for more than half an hour but side-by-side with a WF-008 ($16.99 at the moment over at FP, btw), it performs pretty well as far as throw goes. I can't say anything about reliability - sorry.
Welcome lowrider Oxy Moron. :-)
WF-008 fp linky please? Can't find it.
EDIT: Ah, I guess you are referring to the C74? It's labeled "Torch Light", but otherwise it does indeed look exactly the same as the WF-008.
Welcome!
Good to have you here OxyMoron. Enjoy your time here.
Glad someone thinks my comments useful
Hey there OxyMoron, welcome to the show! Please enjoy your time here, and feel free to post links to flashlight products.
Thanks for the warm welcome, guys. :)
Phlowcus, yep, that's the one. Sorry, I didn't include a link. The WF-008 is one of my personal favorites. I ordered one from FP about two weeks ago (my fifth - I'm told, admitting you have a problem is the first step or something :D). I'll let you guys know how it stacks up when it gets here.
wf-008 quality is supposedly not great lately. the new batch doesn't have that green dot on the front and part fitment is off.
The thing that's kinda annoying about the FP specs is that it says 18650, but shows a AAA holder. There's also the black model for a dollar more. No price reduction. Chinese retailers <-- no frickin clue.
black one http://www.focalprice.com/detail_LF494B.html
btw, for recoil thrower, last day for dx sale on 008 recoil thrower.
Just wanted to thank everyone on this forum
for all their hard work and kindness in helping others to make an informed purchase.
Thanks to this particular thread I made a purchase of the SkyRay 1JC8 and I am well pleased.
Here are some pictures.
I bought it with the suggested case and it arrived safely as it was packaged inside the case.
Here are some more pix of the flashlight.
Also for those interested here are the parts that make up the light.
The white spots on the led are from my lighting.
Hope you enjoyed and if you have any suggestions or questions let me know.