I’ve been selling my modded lights to make room for new lights. Nearly every sale so far has been breaking even or losing money. If even 1 person has an issue I will be so far in the red it won’t be worth keeping track anymore.
I’m fine with this risk cause I’m not expecting to make money but if you are you will quickly dislike this hobby I would bet. Good luck
Several months ago I built my first triple S2+:
Noctigon mcpcb, TA driver, 219C, Carclo lens, the whole nine yards
I bought all items when they were on sale, saved on postage and put extra effort to create this “masterpiece”. When I switched it on, I didn’t like the tint at all. too yellow. Couldn’t tear down the light, so put it up on ebay.
All in, the parts were roughly 25$, excluding any tools, my time or consumables. Put it up on ebay CA, US and UK. Not one offer or purchase bid for 35$. Even at 29$ the views didn’t go up and I eventually gave up and kept the light.
Without a clear path to distribution to enthusiasts, sales will be tricky any may suffer.
For the average Joe an AA flashlight above a few dollars is considered expensive and unreasonable because they don’t spend their free time on BLF.
Consumers who DO need a real light with specialist batteries can go into higher price ranges with the known brands and they also get warranty.
There’s quite a few of us out here who have done this. I don’t do it regularly, usually just catch some new hotness and ride the wave for a while, but it can definitely be done. When putting triple+fet setups into Convoy hosts was a new and exciting thing, I sold some of them. Then lighted tailcaps were big and another opportunity for some sales (that one was complicated, but fun…). Then the Dragon driver came out and everyone went crazy for secondary emitters (this is still pretty hot…) and I sold a bunch more. Honestly I’ve never done it to “make money”, its really just a way for me to experiment with the newest hot stuff and not wind up with shelves full of flashlights….okay, more shelves full lol, but you can make a bit of money doing it. Yes you do have to kinda “vet” your buyer, or take the time to educate them, but if you spend enough time in a community that becomes pretty easy. Like any “business” venture there is some risk, but honestly that risk is low and the ROI can be quite good if you time it all correctly.
Timing is everything though. Don’t think you can just build anything and it’ll sell. Figure out what folks want to buy right now (not six months ago), build it well, make a reputation for yourself in the community where your buyers are hanging out, and folks will buy.
I’m a huge advocate on following your dreams, self-employment, entrepreneurship, etc., so I hope you are able to pursue this in some capacity. I have found that hunting lights tend to be very popular. Something like a C8 or UF-T20 with red or green LED. The nice thing is that these don’t require a lot of power, so a very simple 7135 based driver with simple modes or even 1 mode works. Plus, you don’t need bypassed springs, heavy gauge wire, and expensive DTP boards. The last one I built was a super simple UF-T20 with red LED for my cousin. He called me a week later saying he had requests from his hunter friends for more. I declined, but found it interesting how popular that simple build was. Build a few for people you know, and have them use them for a while to see if there are any issues or bugs. Good luck, and keep us posted!!
I've discussed this with some people here and almost always discourage people from doing this . Flashlights are a very fringe hobby with most people thinking they know what they want or like . Unless you're doing something very interesting you won't be of any interest from the flashlight community...and nonaholics won't know why they should pay you instead of just buying a name brand light .The margins suck,the market is minimal and the best of the best here on the site struggle . I know how hard it is to even make this hobby just break even . Before I spent too much money or stuff listed for resale I'd talk to every modder here on the forum via PM and have some long discussions about it's feasibility . ask CRX,pinkpanda,RMM,18sixfifty,eric ,Dale ..
The topic is at times so unpopular I've stopped offering my opinion on this because people at times don't care or "can't handle the truth" ...Simply stated it's easier to make money cutting peoples grass and spending the extra cash on flashlights .It would make more sense , be easier and more profitable .
Hah! I love it. Kind of catches the spirit of it. Those who are able to mod flashlights and make a little profit from it are few and far between. It takes a lot of networking, skill, and access to inexpensive suppliers. Someone like Vinh is a good example. But a lot of investment is made up front and takes a long time to recoup. And that’s assuming you’ve gotten great “word of mouth” marketing going on. You have to not only find a desirable light that is ripe for modifications, but you also need to work out buying discount lots. A lot of money up front. And then there’s no guarantee you’ll sell everything. You definitely want to start out small and in a stepwise refinement manner keep assessing as you go forward. If you are really able to streamline techniques for a popular flashlight with desirable modifications for an “approachable” price, then you could at least pay for some flashlight acquisitions. But to make some decent side money from it? Odds are against.
There’s an old saying in auto racing,
“If you want to make a Million dollars, start with 2 Million”
Sad but true.
I’d have to agree. Good ambition, but wrong market. Everyone will expect prices below your cost because of the performance lies they will compare your specs to online.
Let me know when you have something ready. I’ll be your huckleberry. 