I’ve been away from lights for a while and when I went to look at what was new with Chinese lights I immediately noticed that it seems like the overall pricing has gone up with Chinese lights.
Is it because of all the problems with world economies or is it because of things like the more recent group buys, where specialized “BLF” lights have caused the pricing to skyrocket?
I mean, it’s not a budget light forum any more for sure, but still, the newer lights coming out seem to be more expensive overall and while some seem to be better made, many still seem to have the same old issues but with a higher price tag.
Is it just me, or have any of you seen this progression, where “decent lights” now cost more than many can afford? Are we being led down the garden path of higher prices and bigger profits?
It’s just a question I have been asking myself and possibly because I’ve been away and haven’t been watching the daily progression of things.
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The other thing is, are there too many group buys going on, so that they have flooded the market, so to speak and is it helping us, or hurting us, overall?
I think prices are going up on the “budget” lights, but they seem to be going up for the more expensive lights too. I don’t really think it has to do with the groupbuys, just the global economy, exchange rates, etc.
Even so, most of the lights discussed here are still under $50 or even $30, which can not be said of the other forum. We are still very much the “budget” forum of the two big forums.
Seriously doubt the BLF lights have anything to do with the prices. The world economy (and more specifically, the Chinese one), material costs going up, and changes in currency values is probably the culprit. And with more customers from the US/EU, asking for higher quality and better service, the prices will continue to rise I think.
Maybe I just missed the “good old days” and don’t know how great it was here, but I think the BLF Special lights represent the absolute best bargain in flashlights today. Nowhere else can you get nearly as much flashlight for the money.
Or are you talking about all the group buys that are just discounts on factory lights? Cause I could see a situation where retailers start marking up a bit more so they can mark down and look better. I don’t know if that’s happening or not, but it could I guess.
To they seem the same in general…
But if they did go up in price it would be because a brand is more well known compared to before?
Also advancements in technology and more R&D
I think prices are about the same. The custom stuff can get expensive (X5, X6, Cometa). The BLF A6 was $25, which was a few bucks high but that was due to the neutral LED, clip, custom driver and copper star (and worth it). The AAA A01 is pretty cheap even with new anodizing colors and a nice Nichia LED.
I see what you are saying. Some of the budget lights have gone up in price and down in quality. A good budget light doesn’t stay both good and budget for long. There are two directions a good budget light seems to go. First, a company buys out a good budget light that has been selling well then raises the price and cuts the costs. The light becomes popular and the manufactures continue to do sell them as long as people think it is a “good” light. Or, a top name company buys out a good budget light and makes it a good not so budget light. I guess this is just the way of economics right now. Its not about how to make a product better, its how to make it cheaper while asking the customer to pay more.
I cant speak for most of the blf lights because I don’t own them all, but I will say that I think the blf d80 is one of the best deals for any light under any manufacturer. It has a few issues, but they are minor. $20 and you get a light with excellent build quality, excellent thermal characteristics, and over 1000 lumens. I also own the blf 348 with nichia 219b. I paid $6
Yep, the BLF D80, A6, and 348 are two, err, shining examples of extremely high value lights. Heck, in the case of the 348 at $6 it’s flat out low priced by any standard, to say nothing of the good quality and brightness and tint that comes with it.
Apart from these, I think the main thing that is changing is our tastes. For example, I no longer have a need to chase after the best deal on the 1xAA Powerlight that started the whole thing for me.
I feel like there are less choices for decent lights under $20 now, but some models have been refined and improved over time, and we still have these excellent budget lights in that range: convoy c8, luckysun D80, eagleeye X6, convoy S2+, thorfire/convoy M1.
I have nothing against the GBs, in fact I participate in most of them, but some GB lights are just way too expansive for what they are like the BLF X6, the non SE counterpart is much cheaper and the only major difference is a FET driver with attiny25. At $35 I wouldn’t call it budget anymore, yet people don’t hesitate to recommend it when someone ask for which first light they should buy. And recently there has been an attitude of “it’s just $30 did you expected it to be perfect or what?”, which I feel is hurting the forum.
However, as new brands or models emerges we now have high quality lights touching the price range of “cheapos”, Manker being one of them. Some nitecores have crazy low prices compared to msrp when using a discount code.
Have prices really changed though? Do we have any reference lights to compare this too?
I’m not saying OL is wrong. But I think it might be a more complex picture.
For example, an SK68 isn’t any more expensive these days. Actually I think they are cheaper.
Another example, the Convoy S series lights. A few years back there was nothing in the budget market like them. You had to pay a lot more to get the same quality. But now all of the Convoys are great vfm and high quality.
I think some of the ultra budget lights might not be as common, which I guess were often modders choice of lights and bought as hosts. But I’d rather pay slightly more for a Convoy than get a compromised Ultrafire….
The introduction of cloned emitters and skimping elsewhere on some budget lights means I’m more happy looking at the mid range lights.
I do agree there are a few too many old issues still about. Like the dreadful PWM present on the otherwise brilliant BLF D80.
But from my perspective I think things have generally gotten better with budget lights and I rarely if ever use any of my ‘old’ budget lights these days. But I do still use all of my older premium and middle range lights.
Well, before I joined I was on a quest to find decent real budgetlights.
And, well I bought a lot of non real budget lights, but continue on the road to a affordable flashlight
And WOW ths is a looker.
The product page does not do it justice.
The design is the most elegant of all the lghts I have the color is stunning
rather large plastic lens, very clear.
And yes a XML LED
The pill is very easy to remove
springs are thin and pil is light, but well this is a flashlight for modding, it deserves it.
What could be happening is that with the groupbuys, people get good deals, yet the lights themself are not the cheapest.
As in all threads where people get advise on what light to choose, it is alwas easy to decide for others what to do with their money right, that $10 more expensive light is better so why not get that and wait, when you think about spending $10 extra, look at that $20 hgher pricepoint, this one only $30 over budget s a good deal!
Having taken a 6 year sabbatical from this hobby, my reaction upon returning was just the opposite of the OP’s.
I was surprised by the variety and inexpensive choices currently available. Back in 2009, you would be paying $50+ for a flashlight with a P7 emitter, putting out 300 lumens, and you’d be lucky to have a choice of tints.
Well said. With the excellent BLF reviews and discounts it is possible to get good deals on great lights. I am always amazed at the amount of technology one can get for a few dollars.
I’d like to see a timeline charting the price and quality of the SK68 and its clones.
Last time I checked I could get a typically crappy hollow-pill SK68 clone for $2 postpaid on eBay, and cheaper by the dozen.
We are the one to be blamed ! Just kidding but the truth is that we are raising standards for Chinese lights. It’s obvious that manufacturers are watching these threads,and trying to met our demands. For example HA III, AR lens, latest Led`s, and some exotic materials are almost a standard now days. Just watch mobile phone market, 10 years ago Chinese phones ware just a trash, and now you have Xiaomi, Meizu, and other’s that bring us Samsung or even better quality for a third of a price….
I think the problem is me, not just me, but the consumers in general. We have gotten used to a certain build quality and have learned what is best for our practical applications, so we neglect the budget lights we used to think were good, expecting a better built light at an ultra budget price. I know the sk68’s and sk98’s haven’t changed much but I can’t even recommend one to a friend without some one else saying it’s a cheap pos and not worth buying. My opinion, it’s still a cool budget chinese special! Convoys are still the same price as they were when I got started on this site but there have been a lot of revisions. As technology advances I think we can expect for prices to rise, if there was no profit for improvements we would still be in the stone ages. Luckily you can still pick up 2 sk68’s for $10 if you want a decent budget light.
I am not afraid to admit that I am not looking at budget lights much anymore. I like my convoys but at the same time I carry a $500 light and just ordered one for over $700…because that is what I am accustomed to anymore. 3 years ago I would have called myself ignorant for spending a dime more than $40 on a flashlight, now I own dozens worth twice that…maybe I am.
The SK-68s haven’t changed much? True, they are still cheap, but now, they all have counterfeit emitters. Cheap press-fit switches that get flaky.
My first light was a budget XR-E 501b. It was a great host, great anodizing, and good threads. Now, all of the 501b lights are still cheap, but they are junk hosts, bad threads, bad anodizing, etc…
When I first got into the BLF game, you had options around and under the $10 mark for lights that were vastly superior to anything you could buy at Lowe’s, Wal-Mart, etc, for much higher prices. These lights were better than anyone had seen before. Now, you can buy XM-L lights at any brick-and-mortar store. Anything in the original budget price range is now going to be a shoddy, poorly machined, piece of trash. Anything I purchase now is expected to be used solely for host duty, and is lackluster until I’ve invested as much in the upgrades as the light itself.
Some of the prices I see on name brand Chinese lights are really pushing it. I’ll even go so far as to make the assertion that is entirely possible to produce and sell flashlights in the USA for the prices that the Chinese name brands charge, even in moderate quantities.
I see a lot of comments about how it is cost prohibitive to manufacture things in the USA. What I’ll say about that is that the average person does not seem to understand manufacturing. I imagine it is the SAME in China as it is in the USA, and it’s like this: it is all about who you know, what you know, and what you are willing to do and can do yourself.
I remember buying lights that were below 8 bucks i considered budget, some were good lights, but now most lights below 8 bucks are considered “junk” or disposable. Good lights i still consider budget are now in the 20 to 50 dollar range, (the price of most Maglites now.) with upper end budget lights closer to the 80 to 140 dollar range.
