# Just got my first laser pointer from Amazon: 200mW Class IIIb, is it that bright?



## TDKKP

I never had any laser pointer before and last Tuesday Oct 5th I ordered one green 200mW pointer at Amazon for $40.67 after shipping. It came today and I played with it in my back yard before and after dark. It's bright but I don't know it's as bright as 200mW or not, how to check? I pointed at the tip of a power line post about 500' away: my Tiablo A9 with aspheric lens is doing the same but this green laser is much, much, much brighter and smaller spot. I just wonder it's true 200mW or just about 30mW or even 5mW.


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## AnAppleSnail

Be careful with those. You can cause eye damage pretty easily. 200 mW in green is pretty freakin' bright.


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## TDKKP

AnAppleSnail said:


> Be careful with those. You can cause eye damage pretty easily. 200 mW in green is pretty freakin' bright.



I hope it's a 200mW not the 5mW. I don't have any laser to compare to find out.


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## black_ice_pc

Due to the nature of green lasers, they are more dangerous than your typical red pocket laser for a few reasons:

1: Power
Anything over 5mW poses certain risks that REALLY need to be understood. Due to the nature of a laser, all the light (theoretically at least) travels in a straight line, whereas a flashlight beam is scattered light aimed in a certain direction by a reflector. The straight line pattern of a laser makes it much more dangerous, because if it hits your eye, the light will be focused into a very small point and can easily cause permanent damage. You must be VERY careful to not shine it on anything reflective that might cause the beam to bounce back into your eyes. With a laser this bright, even shining it on a wall in your house and looking at the dot can cause damage.

Here's a way to reference the power of your laser. A 5mW green will have a slightly visible beam in the air. Not too bright, but still visible. ~50mW will have a clearly visible beam, even standing say 10' away from the laser. A 200mW is gonna have a very visible beam, and will easily hit low clouds. If this is your first laser, don't be too bummed if it's not actually 200mW. It could be a good thing, since lower power is always safer. 

2. IR. Green lasers emit light in a different way than a red laser does. They use a method called DPSS or Diode Pumped Solid State. Basically, the light starts out as infra-red, and is shined through crystals to halve the lightwave frequency to end up green. 

This poses another risk though, because green lasers can put out IR light. This can be a bit wider than the beam, so you could be shining IR into your eyes and not even know it! Most cheaper lasers like the one you bought do not come with an IR filter to block IR from escaping. If you have a camera with "night vision" you can check to see if your laser is putting out IR. Switch the camera to night vision and shine the laser at it. DO NOT stand behind the camera, or you might accidentally end up hitting yourself. If possible, just record for a moment and then look at the tape. 

Just remember, a laser like this is not a toy to be shined at people or at cars etc. That's a felony, in case you didn't know. I can't stress enough how important it is to not screw around with a high powered laser.

Anyway, I'm done ranting lol . If you want more info, go check out laserpointerforums.com. That's the place for all things lasers.


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## black_ice_pc

One more thing. In all likelihood that laser is probably only putting out 30-50mW of green. The rest might be IR, or just a plain lie. Don't sweat it though, that's not too bad of a price. For future reference, you can get tested true 50mW green lasers here. They're a well known source for cheap but good greens. I have 3 and all are great.


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## TDKKP

Thanks for your replies, black_ice_pc!

I thought it's not permitted to ship into the US any laser more than 5mW like at DX. I think I'll get one from your link to compare and may be blue and red later. Any coupon or promo for CPF members?


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## glockboy

If it's true 200mW you can burn a match easy.


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## hcb

Good summary by black_ice_pc.
I measured a number of laser pointers that were confiscated by the local police, and almost all of them had significant IR emission, in some cases way more than the green. If you have a red filter (preferably glass, but plastic might also work) you can use that to block the green light and look for IR with a night-mode camera.
The IR is typically 1064 nm which is completely invisible to the eye, but will still cause rapid eye damage given enough power. What happens is that the retina is cooked. Double-plus ungood, so be careful.

Disclaimer: I am a laser spectroscopist.


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## black_ice_pc

TDKKP said:


> Thanks for your replies, black_ice_pc!
> 
> I thought it's not permitted to ship into the US any laser more than 5mW like at DX. I think I'll get one from your link to compare and may be blue and red later. Any coupon or promo for CPF members?



You are correct about the legality. If customs finds the laser, they'll keep it. However, they typically get through pretty easy. 

Anything over 5mW is in a different class of laser, either 3B or 4. For a 3B laser to be legal, it has to have certain safety features and have certification from the feds as legal. The safety features are:
A shutter over the aperture that must be opened to use the laser.
A key switch that must be turned on.
A momentary delay main switch, that delays 1 seconds after pressing for the laser to fire.
An LED to show when the laser is on.
That's all I can remember, but the point is the common pen style lasers have none of these. 
So while they are illegal, most companies will still ship them. It's just rolling the dice to see if it makes it through customs or not, but typically it does with no problems. 

As for coupons, AFP004 will get you 15% off $60+, or YABEPG will get you 10% off any order. I should also point out that, if I recall correctly, their greens do come with an IR filter, so there's none of that nasty IR to deal with, it's 50mW of straight green photon goodness .


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## hcb

>Anything over 5mW is in a different class of laser

I think classification is (also) done according to the possibility of the laser beam to exit the enclosure, that is, a 100 W laser could technically still be class II or whatever as long it is in a light-tight enclosure (and has all the safeties you mention). Take blue-ray burners for example----high laser output but still not class IV.


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## TDKKP

About testing IR leaking: are you talking about using a camcorder or a camera? If it's a camcorder more details how to test: record a moment with the laser beam directly on the lens or slightly off? What's the distance bettween them? How long is good enough to check the recording and what I need to see it's leaking or not?

I check mine in house last night from wall to wall and I can see easily the beam at 25' in my lighted room. I guess mine is much more than 5mW just don't know how powerfull it is. I also ordered the 50mW at LED Shoppee to compare when it arrives, how long will it take to the US?


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## derangboy

If you want to check the power of a laser, the only accurate way is to use a meter for the purpose. Kenom and Laserbee are the most prevalent for the non-professional. If you are in southern Alberta, you may borrow mine. 

For reference, my <200mW O-Like actually measures 132mW total output with 12mW of that in the infrared. When focused, it will light a blackened match and burn through electrical tape quite easily.


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## TDKKP

I just did a little test at work. I change the batteries with 2 new AAA Duracell Alkaline at Costco, put 2 books about one foot apart connected with electrical tape, hold the laser about one inch above the tape with support of my left hand to make it steady as much as I can. Close my eyes, push the button and count to one hundred and stop. All I can see is a little smoke and some smell of it, that's it, no hole or burnt area of anything I can notice.

So I guess mine is no where <200mW but how much: 10mW, 20mW, 30mW, ...???


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## black_ice_pc

hcb is correct about classification. I was talking about pointer classification, but there are definitely other things to take into account in a different application. TDKKP, I was talking about a camcorder. It has to have a "night vision" mode to use in the dark. The night mode means it doesn't have an IR filter in the camera. Set the camera to record and shine the laser slightly off axis at the camera, so the dot isn't shining in the lense, just right past it. IR looks white with a little pink in it on a camera. If you see any color besides green from the laser on the recording, it's IR. 

Based on the smoking tape but no cutting, I'd say it's probably around 100mW. The thing about pen style pointers is the focus is fixed(unless you open it up), so you can't get the dot super small. The smaller the dot, the better the burning etc. But I'd guess it's in the 100mW range. Try popping a black balloon or a balloon with a black dot sharpied on it.


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## Mjolnir

If you use something as a diffraction grating, like a CD, the IR component of the beam will be diffracted differently than the green because of its longer wavelength. 

Here is an article about how to do it:
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/08/laser-pointer-hazard/


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## Astroscanner

TDKKP said:


> About testing IR leaking: are you talking about using a camcorder or a camera? If it's a camcorder more details how to test: record a moment with the laser beam directly on the lens or slightly off? What's the distance bettween them? How long is good enough to check the recording and what I need to see it's leaking or not?
> 
> I check mine in house last night from wall to wall and I can see easily the beam at 25' in my lighted room. I guess mine is much more than 5mW just don't know how powerfull it is. I also ordered the 50mW at LED Shoppee to compare when it arrives, how long will it take to the US?


 
When did you order from Ledshoppe ?

Did they give you a tracker number yet ?

If so does the tracker number say if it has left China yet ?


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## TDKKP

Astroscanner said:


> TDKKP said:
> 
> 
> 
> I just did a little test at work. I change the batteries with 2 new AAA Duracell Alkaline at Costco, put 2 books about one foot apart connected with electrical tape, hold the laser about one inch above the tape with support of my left hand to make it steady as much as I can. Close my eyes, push the button and count to one hundred and stop. All I can see is a little smoke and some smell of it, that's it, no hole or burnt area of anything I can notice.
> 
> So I guess mine is no where <200mW but how much: 10mW, 20mW, 30mW, ...???
> 
> 
> 
> When did you order from Ledshoppe ?
> 
> Did they give you a tracker number yet ?
> 
> If so does the tracker number say if it has left China yet ?
Click to expand...




I ordered last week Oct 14th. Five days later Oct 19th they emailed me order has been ship but no tracking number so may be another two weeks I'll receive it.


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## Astroscanner

TDKKP said:


> I ordered last week Oct 14th. Five days later Oct 19th they emailed me order has been ship but no tracking number so may be another two weeks I'll receive it.


 
I placed an order on Oct 11 and got an email on Oct 13 saying it was shipped registered air mail Oct 12, but when I input the tracking number it would not give any results.

I had heard that Hong Kong post office can be slow in processing so I kept trying the tracking number for several more days.

Well after emailing the company on Monday October 18th to check if my tracking number was accurate I received a reply today where they said:

"Thanks for your contact. You package was returned from the post office by some reason. Please confirm the following shipping address and we will send it to you again. Thanks for your patience and understanding"

So if when you get a tracking number it just does not show up in the system after several days it might be good to have them check and see if your tracking number was correct and if so why it is not showing up in the postal tracking system.

This is my first order with them but I have read several positive comments about them from others on forums so I am feeling like things should be resolved ok.

(I'll see about posting how it turns out)


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## spaceman

I keep looking at the green lasers on amazon, they seem to be very inexpensive compared to some other places. But I worry about the quality? I don't seem something especially great to just point at my powerpoint/keynote slides, but it'd be a pain if my pointer dies in the middle of a large conference! Are the lasers on amazon usually regarded as being OK, or should I go to a specialist store?
Thanks!


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## black_ice_pc

Wherever you buy from, don't get anything over say 15mW for presentations, 5mW would probably be better. Bouncing lasers off a white surface and staring at it calls for a low power laser so as to not fry your eyeballz .


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## Mjolnir

I would advise against cheap laser pointers from amazon. If you want a laser to work consistently every time you press it then you are going to have to put down a modest amount of money. I got a 5MW Wicked Lasers Core (apparently one of their only non underrated and overpriced models) on ebay for a little over $40, but the seller doesn't seem to be selling them anymore. It lights up every time, has regulation circuitry, and a 1 year warranty.

A friend of mine purchased a "5mw" green laser from Amazon, and it went about a day before it quit working properly.

Most importantly, cheap green laser pointers often don't have IR folters; stick with something that you know has one.


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## wyager

Amazon lasers suck in my experience... I have to re-solder mine every few weeks, LOL. Plus, take whatever mW rating they tell you and divide it by 4.


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## Astroscanner

Astroscanner said:


> I placed an order on Oct 11 and got an email on Oct 13 saying it was shipped registered air mail Oct 12, but when I input the tracking number it would not give any results.
> 
> I had heard that Hong Kong post office can be slow in processing so I kept trying the tracking number for several more days.
> 
> Well after emailing the company on Monday October 18th to check if my tracking number was accurate I received a reply today where they said:
> 
> "Thanks for your contact. You package was returned from the post office by some reason. Please confirm the following shipping address and we will send it to you again. Thanks for your patience and understanding"
> 
> So if when you get a tracking number it just does not show up in the system after several days it might be good to have them check and see if your tracking number was correct and if so why it is not showing up in the postal tracking system.
> 
> This is my first order with them but I have read several positive comments about them from others on forums so I am feeling like things should be resolved ok.
> 
> (I'll see about posting how it turns out)


 
Ok, I am still waiting for an email reply from them from my reply to their email on Oct. 21st where they asked me to confirm my shipping address after explaining that the HK Post Office returned my package to them for some reason which they did not seem to know.

Anyhow, while I still had not yet got a reply from my response to their email from Oct 21st, I decided to recheck the old tracking number from before just to see if it actually showed up in the system now (I wasn't really expecting it to since it never did before, and I thought they would have a new tracking number from whenever they would reship it which I didn't think they did yet since I was still hadn't gotten a reply from my last email) 

.....well, Lo and behold, the old tracking number now shows up in both the HK and U.S. tracking pages ! 

So, based on the tracking info below, how much longer do y'all think I might still have to wait before it actually arrives ?

The Hong Kong Post Office tracking page currently shows this:

Outward Registered Letter 
Destination - United States of America
The item (RT*********HK) left Hong Kong for its destination on 22-Oct-2010

The U.S. Post Office tracking page currently has this:

Label/Receipt Number: RT** **** ***H K
Service(s): Registered Mail™
Status: Foreign International Dispatch
Your item left HONG KONG AIR MAIL CENTRE, HONG KONG on October 22, 2010. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later. 
Detailed Results
Foreign International Dispatch, October 22, 2010, 8:40 am, HONG KONG AIR MAIL CENTRE, HONG KONG 
Origin Post is Preparing Shipment 
Foreign Acceptance, October 15, 2010, 4:03 pm, HONG KONG


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## Notsure Fire

Sounds like it is 200mw. Those ones on amazon are pretty popular.


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## TDKKP

Notsure Fire said:


> Sounds like it is 200mw. Those ones on amazon are pretty popular.




Can I use a light meter for flashlight to test? The spot is so strong and bright so I guess I can put them apart 15 meter to check???


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## wyager

TDKKP said:


> Can I use a light meter for flashlight to test? The spot is so strong and bright so I guess I can put them apart 15 meter to check???



No. And if this is a pen running off 2AAA, it is NOT 200mW. Guaranteed.


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## TDKKP

wyager said:


> TDKKP said:
> 
> 
> 
> Can I use a light meter for flashlight to test? The spot is so strong and bright so I guess I can put them apart 15 meter to check???
> 
> 
> 
> No. And if this is a pen running off 2AAA, it is NOT 200mW. Guaranteed.
Click to expand...


Well, what's the cheapest price for the meter? Do I need to use rechargeable AAA batteries? Alkaline has higher voltage though.

BTW, price went up more than double now. From $35 + shipping to now $80 + shipping. I waited to long to get a second one because it's so bright to me. I ordered one 50mW from LEDShoppee as suggested by black_ice_pc it's a true 50mW or more. Can't wait to compare them.


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## wyager

A <200mW meter can be had for around 50 bucks... but again, this thing is NOT 200mW if it uses AAA batteries. I use rechargeables in mine and it works just fine (although I've had to replace parts a few times).


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## Astroscanner

Astroscanner said:


> Ok, I am still waiting for an email reply from them from my reply to their email on Oct. 21st where they asked me to confirm my shipping address after explaining that the HK Post Office returned my package to them for some reason which they did not seem to know.
> 
> Anyhow, while I still had not yet got a reply from my response to their email from Oct 21st, I decided to recheck the old tracking number from before just to see if it actually showed up in the system now (I wasn't really expecting it to since it never did before, and I thought they would have a new tracking number from whenever they would reship it which I didn't think they did yet since I was still hadn't gotten a reply from my last email)
> 
> .....well, Lo and behold, the old tracking number now shows up in both the HK and U.S. tracking pages !
> 
> So, based on the tracking info below, how much longer do y'all think I might still have to wait before it actually arrives ?
> 
> The Hong Kong Post Office tracking page currently shows this:
> 
> Outward Registered Letter
> Destination - United States of America
> The item (RT*********HK) left Hong Kong for its destination on 22-Oct-2010
> 
> The U.S. Post Office tracking page currently has this:
> 
> Label/Receipt Number: RT** **** ***H K
> Service(s): Registered Mail™
> Status: Foreign International Dispatch
> Your item left HONG KONG AIR MAIL CENTRE, HONG KONG on October 22, 2010. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.
> Detailed Results
> Foreign International Dispatch, October 22, 2010, 8:40 am, HONG KONG AIR MAIL CENTRE, HONG KONG
> Origin Post is Preparing Shipment
> Foreign Acceptance, October 15, 2010, 4:03 pm, HONG KONG


 

Well, I finally got my order today after they had it reshipped after they said the HK Post Office returned it for some reason, and after all that waiting I was VERY disappointed, because even with fresh batteries it did not even shine as bright as a cheap 5mw I bought from Ebay. :ironic:

I emailed them to let them know their 50mw was dimmer than my 5mw and asked for a replacement so hopefully they have good customer service and will send a replacement, and one that is at least close to spec.

They seem like a good company to order from so hopefully I will be able to give a positive report about them later after I see if they will replace the dim pointer with a good one or not.

(I will also let you know how they reply to my email in the meantime after they reply, then also later if they ship me a replacement and if the replacement is up to spec or not)


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## wyager

LOL, big surprise... good luck getting an on-spec model. I've never had such luck with cheap-o lasers.


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## Astroscanner

wyager said:


> LOL, big surprise... good luck getting an on-spec model. I've never had such luck with cheap-o lasers.


 
Well, I am hopeful because I have heard that others have gotten ones from them that were on-spec or even over-spec.

I'd be happy if it was at least close to spec within 20%, but the one I got was way under-spec. :ironic:


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## TDKKP

Astroscanner said:


> wyager said:
> 
> 
> 
> LOL, big surprise... good luck getting an on-spec model. I've never had such luck with cheap-o lasers.
> 
> 
> 
> Well, I am hopeful because I have heard that others have gotten ones from them that were on-spec or even over-spec.
> 
> I'd be happy if it was at least close to spec within 20%, but the one I got was way under-spec. :ironic:
Click to expand...


Which one did you order 10mW, 25mW, 50mW?


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## Astroscanner

TDKKP said:


> Which one did you order 10mW, 25mW, 50mW?


 
The 50mw, and it was noticeably dimmer than a 5mw I already owned.

I am hopeful the company will make it right with a good up to spec replacement, but I'll let y'all know what happens.


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## wyager

IMO, best case they send you a pot modded 5mW... not necessarily bad, but never good. Also, how much did you pay?


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## Astroscanner

wyager said:


> IMO, best case they send you a pot modded 5mW... not necessarily bad, but never good. Also, how much did you pay?


 
Well, they advertise it as an actual 50mw and it cost $24.99

http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP1076.htm

Their 50mw was dimmer than a 5mw I already owned, and so I paid 3 times as much for something dimmer.

Hopefully they will make it right with a good replacement, I'll let y'all know if they do !


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## wyager

Yes, of course it's advertised as a 50mW... what else do you expect from a cheap chinese seller? I hate to tell you, most product descriptions from low-tier chinese websites are utter lies. However, to be fair, I think most LPFers have had decent experiences with ledshoppe and it's possible you actually got a bad unit.

Also, it's VERY possible your "5mW" is actually putting out more like 20 or 30mW, that happens all the time; The reason being, it's actually not any cheaper nowadays to get a low powered pump diode.


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## Astroscanner

wyager said:


> Yes, of course it's advertised as a 50mW... what else do you expect from a cheap chinese seller? I hate to tell you, most product descriptions from low-tier chinese websites are utter lies. However, to be fair, I think most LPFers have had decent experiences with ledshoppe and it's possible you actually got a bad unit.
> 
> Also, it's VERY possible your "5mW" is actually putting out more like 20 or 30mW, that happens all the time; The reason being, it's actually not any cheaper nowadays to get a low powered pump diode.


 
Yep, I have heard positive reviews about LED Shoppe having good customer service that is why I am hopeful they will replace the way under-spec defective one.

I understand what you're saying, but you would still expect something you buy as a 50mw to not be noticeably dimmer than something you bought as a 5mw






(I could have bought 3 of the 5mw for what I paid for that one dimmer so-called "50mw", and that is frustrating)


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## Astroscanner

Astroscanner said:


> Well, I finally got my order today after they had it reshipped after they said the HK Post Office returned it for some reason, and after all that waiting I was VERY disappointed, because even with fresh batteries it did not even shine as bright as a cheap 5mw I bought from Ebay.
> 
> I emailed them to let them know their 50mw was dimmer than my 5mw and asked for a replacement so hopefully they have good customer service and will send a replacement, and one that is at least close to spec.
> 
> They seem like a good company to order from so hopefully I will be able to give a positive report about them later after I see if they will replace the dim pointer with a good one or not.
> 
> (I will also let you know how they reply to my email in the meantime after they reply, then also later if they ship me a replacement and if the replacement is up to spec or not)


 
This is the fastest I ever got a reply from them, here is what they wrote:

Thanks for your contact. Sorry for the defective item. Please return the defective units to the following address by air mail(no tracking number need):

LED Shoppe
Flat 45, 12/F, Blk F,
Wah Lok Ind Ctr,
31-35 Shan Mei St, 
Fo Tan, N.T. 
Hong Kong

Please send us an email with a copy of the return shipping receipt and we will pay for the postage, then we will send you replacement. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

Yours,
LED Shoppe

.......good news is that they are willing to replace it, bad news is that I have to pay for return shipping up front and hope that 1.) I get reimbursed 2.) the laser makes it back to them 3.) they send a good up-to-spec replacement 4.) even if all that works out I will still have waited a very long time from my original order date to finally get a laser that works as advertised :-/

At least I have the safety net that if I don't get a good one back before the PayPal time limit for disputes which I think is 45 days I can always make a PayPal claim that what they sent was not as advertised.

This is a definite turn-off for ever wanting to order from overseas again.

Has anyone else ever had to return a defective laser to LED Shoppe get a replacement and if so did they make sure the replacement actually worked up to spec ?

Added note: 
I just checked and it would cost me $27.25 postage to return the defective one to LED Shoppe, and even though they said they would reimburse my return shipping costs I don't know I want to risk it (and really can't afford to pay that up front not having any guarantee I would get it back anytime soon) since this was my first experience with them and I have no guarantee they will indeed reimburse $27.25 and if they don't then I would be out that plus still have no guarantee of getting an up-to-spec replacement. I'm on a fairly tight budget and can't simply afford to risk not getting reimbursed all my return shipping cost.

Has anyone else had to return a defective laser to LED Shoppe and if so did they reimburse your full cost for return shipping, and if so, was it reimbursed very fast, and how, via PayPal or just a store credit ?


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## TDKKP

Astroscanner said:


> This is the fastest I ever got a reply from them, here is what they wrote:
> 
> Thanks for your contact. Sorry for the defective item. Please return the defective units to the following address by air mail(no tracking number need):
> 
> LED Shoppe
> Flat 45, 12/F, Blk F,
> Wah Lok Ind Ctr,
> 31-35 Shan Mei St,
> Fo Tan, N.T.
> Hong Kong
> 
> Please send us an email with a copy of the return shipping receipt and we will pay for the postage, then we will send you replacement. Thanks for your patience and understanding.
> 
> Yours,
> LED Shoppe
> 
> .......good news is that they are willing to replace it, bad news is that I have to pay for return shipping up front and hope that 1.) I get reimbursed 2.) the laser makes it back to them 3.) they send a good up-to-spec replacement 4.) even if all that works out I will still have waited a very long time from my original order date to finally get a laser that works as advertised :-/
> 
> At least I have the safety net that if I don't get a good one back before the PayPal time limit for disputes which I think is 45 days I can always make a PayPal claim that what they sent was not as advertised.
> 
> This is a definite turn-off for ever wanting to order from overseas again.
> 
> Has anyone else ever had to return a defective laser to LED Shoppe get a replacement and if so did they make sure the replacement actually worked up to spec ?
> 
> Added note:
> I just checked and it would cost me $27.25 postage to return the defective one to LED Shoppe, and even though they said they would reimburse my return shipping costs I don't know I want to risk it (and really can't afford to pay that up front not having any guarantee I would get it back anytime soon) since this was my first experience with them and I have no guarantee they will indeed reimburse $27.25 and if they don't then I would be out that plus still have no guarantee of getting an up-to-spec replacement. I'm on a fairly tight budget and can't simply afford to risk not getting reimbursed all my return shipping cost.
> 
> Has anyone else had to return a defective laser to LED Shoppe and if so did they reimburse your full cost for return shipping, and if so, was it reimbursed very fast, and how, via PayPal or just a store credit ?



I just got my 50mW today with no tracking ever from them. And it's not that bright. Compared to my 200mW it's like 1/10 of the power.

While waiting for this to come to the US I ordered one more from Amazon (different vendor from my 200mW) rated only 25mW and it came last Friday: guess what? It's brighter than the 50mW from LEDShoppee.

So I guess you're not alone. They're shipping underrated product and we're here in the US don't want to ship it back for a replacement because of the cost. I think I'll eat it, lesson learned.



And back to my topic I think mine is about 200mW compared to the ones I've bought after it. Too bad they've raised the price and now it's OOS. I ordered another 200mW from Focalprice (I've bought from them before) so I'll wait and see how bright it is to my "possible 200mW". I noticed my 200mW is much more heavier than the others.


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## Astroscanner

TDKKP said:


> I just got my 50mW today with no tracking ever from them. And it's not that bright. Compared to my 200mW it's like 1/10 of the power.
> 
> While waiting for this to come to the US I ordered one more from Amazon (different vendor from my 200mW) rated only 25mW and it came last Friday: guess what? It's brighter than the 50mW from LEDShoppee.
> 
> So I guess you're not alone. They're shipping underrated product and we're here in the US don't want to ship it back for a replacement because of the cost. I think I'll eat it, lesson learned.
> 
> 
> 
> And back to my topic I think mine is about 200mW compared to the ones I've bought after it. Too bad they've raised the price and now it's OOS. I ordered another 200mW from Focalprice (I've bought from them before) so I'll wait and see how bright it is to my "possible 200mW". I noticed my 200mW is much more heavier than the others.


 
That's seems to be a trend lately with LED Shoppe as I had heard that 2 other people also recently got way under-spec lasers from them also.

I had ordered from them because some people said they had gotten near or even over-spec lasers from them but that seems to have changed in recent weeks or months, and the thing is that LED Shoppe is really hurting themselves in the long run because they are likely going to lose a lot of potential customers from bad reviews.

If they hope to not have this happen they need to stop selling way under-spec lasers and also send good replacements to those of us who got bad ones (and send us a pre-paid postage label to return the defective one instead of expecting us to pay in advance to return a bad product they sent)

*IF* they were to send me a good replacement I would give them a very good review for customer service in making things right.


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## TDKKP

Astroscanner said:


> That's seems to be a trend lately with LED Shoppe as I had heard that 2 other people also recently got way under-spec lasers from them also.
> 
> I had ordered from them because some people said they had gotten near or even over-spec lasers from them but that seems to have changed in recent weeks or months, and the thing is that LED Shoppe is really hurting themselves in the long run because they are likely going to lose a lot of potential customers from bad reviews.
> 
> If they hope to not have this happen they need to stop selling way under-spec lasers and also send good replacements to those of us who got bad ones (and send us a pre-paid postage label to return the defective one instead of expecting us to pay in advance to return a bad product they sent)
> 
> *IF* they were to send me a good replacement I would give them a very good review for customer service in making things right.



Do you think it's worth it to contact them for the exchange? Based on your experience and few others I think I'll get the same email to pay shipping it back first and wait for reimbursement after they got it: the cost of shipping is more than we pay for the laser. I got the laser in a very poor package: just the yellow envelope with the laser in two pieces and two batteries in a bubble plastic wrap and no case at all.

BTW, the 25mW I ordered from Amazon took lest than a week to get to CA with higher output costs only $8.95.


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## Astroscanner

TDKKP said:


> Do you think it's worth it to contact them for the exchange? Based on your experience and few others I think I'll get the same email to pay shipping it back first and wait for reimbursement after they got it: the cost of shipping is more than we pay for the laser. I got the laser in a very poor package: just the yellow envelope with the laser in two pieces and two batteries in a bubble plastic wrap and no case at all.
> 
> BTW, the 25mW I ordered from Amazon took lest than a week to get to CA with higher output costs only $8.95.


 
I am waiting for a reply from them to see if they will send a pre-paid postage label to return the defective one or not, (I am hoping to hear back from them by tomorrow) I'll let you know how they respond after I get their reply. My laser came packaged the same way.

I had previously gotten a 5mw laser from ebay for just $8.20 (free shipping) and the one I later got from LED Shoppe (advertised as 50mw) shines only about 1/2 as bright as the 5mw from ebay !


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## black_ice_pc

Wow I feel sorry for recommending them now! I hadn't been following this thread anymore and I just came back to see how things went. I'm sorry astroscanner for your bad experience. I wonder if they're QC has slipped. When I got mine, all were great and far brighter than the other greens I had. Apparently that's not the case now. I'm sorry you had to deal with that experience. I certainly wouldn't have recommended them if I'd known they were shipping bad products.


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## Astroscanner

black_ice_pc said:


> Wow I feel sorry for recommending them now! I hadn't been following this thread anymore and I just came back to see how things went. I'm sorry astroscanner for your bad experience. I wonder if they're QC has slipped. When I got mine, all were great and far brighter than the other greens I had. Apparently that's not the case now. I'm sorry you had to deal with that experience. I certainly wouldn't have recommended them if I'd known they were shipping bad products.


 
Don't feel bad, you could only go by past experience, and I had read positive reviews from others before ordering so it seems that they used to send out good lasers until recently because I am now aware of 4 people (including me) who recently received way under-spec lasers from them.


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