Surprise! Chinese seller got me

I got myself into quite the pickle with a Chinese seller on ebay and need some help translating the massacred english language. I know, surprising but its true.
I ordered a supposed 200mW 532 module for $60 and was quickly warned by people here after the fact that this seller wasn't trustworthy and that the module in the pic was not going to give me anywhere near 200mW of 532. I messaged the seller to try to cancel the order within 10 mins but apparently from their late reply the internet was down in China for 20hrs on that fateful day and the order was shipped. Bad router I assume.
I plead my case that I had good reason to believe this module was crap and I would return it if it indeed didn't measure 200mW plus or minus 532nm and not 808 plus 532.

The reply I received is below in which he assured me that his items were top quality and he is a good honest seller and makes modules for the entire world. So I needn't worry.... (sigh)

I agreed to check out the modules when they arrive since I don't really have a choice. They're coming. I may have a Laserbee LPM by then so what IR filtering material would be best to use to LPM these lil gems? Im guessing I could buy IR filters to meter them and then use them to have 100mW 532's modules if I kept them. Yes?

Next question, why are 200mW 532 modules so hard to find for hand held building and where can I find a reliable source. All my web searches either produce labbys or more Chinese "honest" eBay sellers.
Below is the email I received in case anyone can find anything promising about this situation.

dear friend, many tks for your order supports.Sorry for our late reply basis of before 20 hours and the internet no good.
We are professional in laser lighting line near 10 year.we are make laser module by ourselvese.every month had sold much quantity laser module to world.
Please see attachment pictures that we had use high quality LD,Crystal,glass lens etc.,
the laser module working very steady without mistake operate.
basis of the cost i's here,our power it's about 200mW=808nm+532nm,please see testing pictures by our power meter.
we don't knew if both of our and for the testing way it's the same.
Basis of our our power it's about 200mW=808nm+532nm;

About your this order,we hope supports you to testing our laser module that send you 2pcs 532nm about 100mW laser module;(about 150mW=808nm+532nm)
the price keep the same.but we send you 2pcs. We hope both of our deal are happy.
Hope all it's OK and Right for you.
We are no bad supplier,if you have any question or doubt,please don't heisitate to tell our.

Keep in good touch

I wonder if you contact Eitan, if he would have any.

I'm confused about how he talks about 20mW and then 100mW. Did you order a 200mW and 100mW?
Sorry, I have no idea where you can get a legit 200mW 532nm module. I've tried a few times and they were ALWAYS under 150 and one didn't work at all (luckily got my money back for that one though). You would probably have to buy a working laser legit unit and take it apart.

Them Chinese. Every time. It is a really powerful tool to hide behind engrish though!

Pman said:

I'm confused about how he talks about 20mW and then 100mW. Did you order a 200mW and 100mW?
Sorry, I have no idea where you can get a legit 200mW 532nm module. I've tried a few times and they were ALWAYS under 150 and one didn't work at all (luckily got my money back for that one though). You would probably have to buy a working laser legit unit and take it apart.

Click to expand...

I ordered the 200mW but in a later email she told me the 200mW were more like 100mW of actual 532. So I think that's what he means. Again its hard with the language barrier.

If you've got some cheap laser goggles that let IR through you could measure the power through those (green blocked) and then without, subtract one from the other for true green power?

What can he assume the IR component is? I've seen 20-25 percent IR from these types of unfiltered modules.

nwfreefly said:

Next question, why are 200mW 532 modules so hard to find for hand held building and where can I find a reliable source. All my web searches either produce labbys or more Chinese "honest" eBay sellers.

Click to expand...

The answer is that you're low-balling for a high-powered laser, and therefore not You paid $60 for that laser, and $60 doesn't buy a 200mw 532nm green laser unless someone is trying to get rid of it at fire-sale prices. A 200mW DPSS requires a lot of power control, heatsinking, good crystals, and a good quality build. To fit all that in a handheld form factor takes a bit of effort.

These are the ballpark prices you'll have to pay to get any kind of legitimate pricing for a real handheld 200mW 532nm laser. Those are CNI laser, a real "honest" laser manufacturers that use good quality handheld lasers. Instead of some crappy 12mm module made for fitting in a Newwish-style laser pointer host, they're using large heatsinked handheld hosts with the 5-point safety features. Yes, that's right, about $400 for 200mW of green -- and those are prices before markups (like Laserglow's).

Unless you're ready to pony up some real cash, maybe look for something different. Those 532nm DPSS lasers still aren't cheap on a mW/$ basis especially in handhelds. They have to be purposely made, not just bought in trays or harvested from computer parts and projectors. In fact, high powered 532nm handhelds are just harder to get in general because they're bona fide working handheld lasers, not just parts you can make one out of. Maybe look into those 520nm green laser diodes and make your own laser -- though still expect to pay $150 or so to do so.

I agree it sounds too good to be true for 60$ getting a true 200mW output module for that price seems very unlikely.

If you have a broken webcam or broken digital camera you may be able to rip it to pieces and pull the IR filter out of one of these for your LPM tests!

I had an old xbox360 USB camera which i pulled the filter out of, i now have a crappy little camera that can view IR light sources in complete darkness and a IR filter for LPM tests etc

Good feedback thanks people.
@BionicBadger- Yeah I wasn't expecting much. My thought process was this. I own multiple 75-100mW cheap ebay lasers all cost me under 20 bucks with battery and charger so I didn't think a 200mW cheap module would be that off the scope to find. I certainly didn't have high expectations for quality but that was okay for my needs. I bought a couple <$10 green 532's off a Chinese seller I have had decent luck with in the recent past. The hosts are the same ones O-like uses they called the Sharp Highpower. Its a nice host.
Well the module in it was god awful. It took many min to warm up and power was all over the place and pretty darn weak. Maybe 50mW at its brief peak so I took it apart and set out to replace the module with a better cheap one. I found the 100mW from the company I ordered from and they also had 200mW so I rolled the dice. Honestly if I can get 150mW of 532 out of this thing I will be quite content and happy. Considering they are sending me 2 of them for the same price I may just be a glad I did this. Well see.

I don't mind spending the cash for quality that just wasn't my aim here. I bought a $400 520nm diode from DTR a week ago for a build so Im more or less just playing around with other cheap lasers trying to get more comfortable soldering and such. I would like to own a quality 200mW 532 in the future so i will prepare to spend the money for a decent one when the time comes.
Thanks


Update- I bought a 25mm IR filtering glass square that allows 97% 532nm light through with <2% IR.
It was only 8 dollars and will be useful in metering my 532's. Now if only the seller will get back to me about the laserbee LPM I pm'd him about buying 3 days ago.

I think and in my experience that is impossible to get green 200mW with IR filter for $ 60. At least we've found is for a $ 150, ie more than twice as expensive.
As they say in my country what you pay and no free lunch.
Good luck in your search!

We have a similar saying but some sellers in China price things at the right price for what they should be, if they were the real deal, but you still get something half as powerful anyway.

You don't always get what you pay for, they can fool you both ways. There is a seller in S. Korea listing some unique Fresnel lenses for 200 dollars but if you search long enough you can find the exact same lens for 12 dollars from China. It was priced high and at that much, you might assume the value is there, NOT.

Yes, you're right. Many times there are large differences in prices for the same items, but sometimes it is very clear that they will never be able to be a quality product as a green laser 500mW for $ 10 for example.
It is also important to look at the guarantees offered by the stores, I always prefer to pay more for a good warranty and support.
It's best to buy reputable sites =)

Techhood is the only China seller of these items who has been reliable and ethical in their dealings for me.

Poor mens test

I believe a old Floppy disk drive may be able to filter awell.

Tip: To make sure your floppy disk lets IR light through, go to a window and look outside with the plastic held up to your eye. You should be able to see through it.

Old film strips might help aswell ....

Exposed film is also a good material that will block most visible light and pass infrared radiation,

Correct me when i'm wrong..