I'd like to get inside their heads!

RBWNY

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I was reading a couple of threads from late last summer regarding those "as seen on TV" flashlights...I'm sure you know the ones I mean!

The point is, that particular style (namely those that "zoom") are all over the place these days with more "brands" slapped on them than you can shake a stick at! I'd say 90% of us here are "flashaholics" and aren't easily fooled by the claims made by these junk products.

I get a kick out of reading many of the Amazon reviews for some of these lights. I've even bought a few...just to see if what I suspected about them was true. Usually my hunch has been correct. I find it interesting that a lot of the time, the buyers only previous flashlight has been a Maglite...and predictably, even when they feed one of these things 3 AAA's...they're blown away. To them, 300 lumens of BLUE light is like seeing their first pot of gold! I read one the other day, where a woman said she gave one to her nephew for Christmas, who was being deployed. :shakehead Poor guy....it probably busted on him after the third use! There are also those from ex-military people who wish they'd had one this bright when THEY were in the service!

Many of course, report that they stopped working after a few days...weeks...or months. The switch seems to go quite easily. Or they drop it and it stops working.

I guess what I'm wondering, is how do they begin their search for a flashlight? If they've bought it on Amazon, then they must've done a search for "led flashlight". They must only look at those that have over 1000 reviews, with 80% being positive. This is like..."the blind leading the blind". I guess I wonder though, don't any Nitecore's, or Jetbeam's, or Klarus, or Sunwayman, or Olight lights appear in their search query? Are they so conditioned to buy everything for the CHEAPEST possible price, that if anything comes up that's over $20, they immediately dismiss it? Somehow I get the feeling they've never even HEARD of Nitecore... let alone Klarus or Lumintop. I'm certain they can afford an extra $30! (given that their current light cost them $15) A couple of people I've spoken to about this claim $50 is just too expensive. They can't justify spending THAT MUCH on a flashlight! Many of them claim they need it for work. Well SURELY from a full-time salary they CAN afford it!!

They rave about these $9 lights feeling so pleased that they found such a terrific bargain! And don't even get me started on those that praise the FREE battery and the FREE charger... and how BRIGHT it is, and how long it lasts on a charge... and that it's the brightest flashlight they've EVER seen or owned! :laughing: And then to make matters worse, they claim that EVERY person who they showed it to, was equally impressed and said they wanted one too! Geez Louise.... the people who I have shown some of my $70 lights to....could care less. I've even used them to light the way in a crowd of spectators leaving a fireworks display....HOPING someone who come up to me and ask about my amazing flashlight...but they NEVER have. I suppose if it had ZOOMED into a tiny square...THEN I'd get a flock of curious folks.
I wish I could be out on a walk some night, and run into someone using one of those $9 "crappers" (while fiddling with the stupid focus-function)... then pop out my Klarus G20, or Lumintop SD26, or even an Olight S2R....and ask..."okay, which one is better...mine or yours"?

Anybody here ever know people like this...or attempted to knock some sense into them?

Will these misguided individuals ever grow up and SEE THE LIGHT? --- or the error of their ways?
I don't ask for much, I just want to get INSIDE THEIR HEADS!
 
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StarHalo

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A quick look through our best sellers will reveal that no one is interested in spending more than ~$10 on a flashlight; it just takes someone affiliated with one of the spaces in the Shenzen industrial park to get a few fake reviews together and you've got an instant hit. Joe Public wants an "ultra bright tactical" light but not priced any higher than a Minimag.

I'm more concerned about these budget lights that include the Li-ion cell and charger..
 

RBWNY

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A quick look through our best sellers will reveal that no one is interested in spending more than ~$10 on a flashlight; it just takes someone affiliated with one of the spaces in the Shenzen industrial park to get a few fake reviews together and you've got an instant hit. Joe Public wants an "ultra bright tactical" light but not priced any higher than a Minimag.

I'm more concerned about these budget lights that include the Li-ion cell and charger..

So you're saying it all starts with a few "faked" reviews? And that nobody WANTS to spend more than $10?
 

StarHalo

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So you're saying it all starts with a few "faked" reviews? And that nobody WANTS to spend more than $10?

Yes, usually a handful of brief and not very descriptive five-star reviews that all come from the same handful of days right around the time the item became available. And if you don't believe the Amazon top sellers list, a quick visit to your local hardware or box store's flashlight section will show you plainly that our flashlights don't even exist for almost all people.

Fun fact: During any major incoming weather emergency when people buy out all the flashlights and batteries, the [overpriced] 123 batteries remain untouched. That's how niche this hobby is.
 

RBWNY

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I wonder if those first few reviews are a "verified purchase"?

Well yes it's very obvious that what's available on the retail level is only for "average Joe". The internet mas made it possible for "Joe" to buy really cheap exploding batteries...and to give them as GIFTS to family and friends! (he's such a nice [blissfully uninformed] caring guy)
 

StarHalo

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The internet mas made it possible for "Joe" to buy really cheap exploding batteries...and to give them as GIFTS to family and friends! (he's such a nice [blissfully uninformed] caring guy)

That's a significant fraction of posts here, somebody asking what light to get grandma and inevitably somebody recommends a li-ion light and charger..
 

RBWNY

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That's a significant fraction of posts here, somebody asking what light to get grandma and inevitably somebody recommends a li-ion light and charger..

Well at least these days it can be USB rechargeable! Lots of choices there.
 

RBWNY

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LOL -- in that case grandma just needs a billy club or a baseball bat!
 

xxo

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These things, along with most of the other seen on TV cr@p sells because advertising works.
 

RBWNY

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These things, along with most of the other seen on TV cr@p sells because advertising works.
Yes, it absolutely does...but the stuff that's invaded the internet, and appears in the form of unsolicited "pop-ups" never sees the "light" of day on TV! The thing is, people see the TV ads...then see the other ones on eBay, Amazon etc... for less money, and naturally assume they're getting a terrific bargain.
 

xxo

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Yes, it absolutely does...but the stuff that's invaded the internet, and appears in the form of unsolicited "pop-ups" never sees the "light" of day on TV! The thing is, people see the TV ads...then see the other ones on eBay, Amazon etc... for less money, and naturally assume they're getting a terrific bargain.


You are seeing those ads because they are tracking you and saw that you were on a flashlight site or were shopping for flashlights (you can block this with an ad blocker/anti tracking ad ons). but yeah the ads are from people selling knock offs of cheap seen on TV lights and are trying to cash in on the TV ads (which cost much more than it does to make the product itself).


Fake reviews on amazon is another way for cheap advertising, since so many people use amazon reviews to base their purchases on, but lately amazon is been going after fake reviewers. There are also real reviews from people who are impressed coming from old cheapo incandescents or "free" LED's from harbor freight and the like.
 

SoCalTiger

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I wonder if those first few reviews are a "verified purchase"?

Well yes it's very obvious that what's available on the retail level is only for "average Joe". The internet mas made it possible for "Joe" to buy really cheap exploding batteries...and to give them as GIFTS to family and friends! (he's such a nice [blissfully uninformed] caring guy)

A lot of the sellers on Amazon realized that they could setup a "promo code" to give their products away for free to shills (well meaning or not). So, those reviews will show up as "verified purchase" even though they paid nothing. This is a large part of how a lot of those products build up their ratings.
 

Thom2022

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I nearly got sucked into these light. I bought a cheap set ages back that was a zoomie a AAA pen light and a head torch for £10. The zoomie was great for my delivery job at the time as when fully zoomed in I could illuminate house numbers without shining into people houses, I nearly fell for the marketing and hype of other zoomies available but joined here and saw sense. I now have 4 budget (£25-50) lights for various purposes. I've also gifted a convoy C8 to a friend for walking duty when we gave him a dog.
 

RBWNY

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A lot of the sellers on Amazon realized that they could setup a "promo code" to give their products away for free to shills (well meaning or not)
There are also real reviews from people who are impressed coming from old cheapo incandescents or "free" LED's from harbor freight and the like.

It seems that the "promo code" days of giving them away for free have basically ended. And with regards to your second comment -- I think that's what makes up a larger portion of them these days.
 
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parametrek

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I guess what I'm wondering, is how do they begin their search for a flashlight? If they've bought it on Amazon, then they must've done a search for "led flashlight". They must only look at those that have over 1000 reviews, with 80% being positive. This is like..."the blind leading the blind" .....

Anybody here ever know people like this...or attempted to knock some sense into them?

We run into that regularly at reddit. Usually showing them the same light for $3-$6 on Aliexpress does the trick. People are typically receptive to the recommendations for the best value for their budget. And while some people stick to their original budget, often people seem willing to overlook the cost of shipping/batteries/charger in order to get a much nicer light the "same budget."
 

LED_Power_Forums

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I suppose if it had ZOOMED into a tiny square...THEN I'd get a flock of curious folks.
I wish I could be out on a walk some night, and run into someone using one of those $9 "crappers" (while fiddling with the stupid focus-function)... then pop out my Klarus G20, or Lumintop SD26, or even an Olight S2R....and ask..."okay, which one is better...mine or yours"?

"Of course mine! See, mine can shape shifting into led shape to reach the Andromeda at the edge of the universe if need be, pretty cool isn't it? Contract the mini bugger and I have a field of daylight up front. Yours? Nay. Your reflector light is fixed, no zooming flexibility and like...what?! More than $50?! More than 5x of mine and cannot zoom?! Pass. Mine has better value for the money." :D

Well, the above is one of example I can think of. For average joe, as long as there is light coming out from the front to illuminate whatever they shine at, they are satisfied enough since it gets the job done, irregardless of the tint and beam profile. High brightness might wow them for the first time, but otherwise, their interest ...just stop there.

For me I have interest in single AA light with single emitter since kid, but at the time 2xAA incans is the norm around. Until I try out my first such light Ultrafire C3 back then, which then started my journey as a...lite flashaholic. Not hardcore enough for a true flashaholic, so a lite version suits me. At that time, I'm reluctant as well to spend on branded flashlights, since those cheaper lights is good enough quality and bright enough for me. For the same amount of money, I can get like 4x of the cheaper brand, so that's it. Not until my paypal was frozen and was "forced" to buy branded lights from my local dealer. After trying out Fenix, EagleTac, ZebraLight etc, never went back to those cheaper lights since then, well, generally at least. The obvious being the difference in quality, where the branded lights can be used outta box while cheap lights might need tweaking of the sort to get it flicker free. Well, that basically sums up average joe I guess. Not until they gone through what we went through.
 
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