Ebay sucks

[Encap]

I ordered a 50mW SLD3232VF and what did I receive? -a tiny 5mW diode!
Then I ordered a 200mW SLD2327VF and got the 50mW one (!!!!!!!), which is the least reliable diode ever!! (my 2 dead violet 303s died)
The ebay sellers are simply lying bustards...

Get your money refunded if possible and return what they sent you per what Seoul_lasers has said in post #13

You have to be vey careful if you use ebay--after all it is just the world's largest garage sale. Most manufactureres will not allow their products to be sold on ebay, although, more do now than several years ago, because the only purpose ebay serves is to cheapen the product.

Misrepresentations run wild on ebay as does fencing of stolen items and totally bogus offers that take your money and ship nothing.

Use extreme caution.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Get your money refunded if possible and return what they sent you per what Seoul_lasers has said in post #13

You have to be vey careful if you use ebay--after all it is just the world's largest garage sale. Most manufactureres will not allow their products to be sold on ebay, although, more do now tan several yearsago,becuase the only putpose ebay serves is to cheapen the product.

Misrepresentations run wild on ebay as does fencing of stolen items and totally bogus offers that take your oey and ship nothing.

Use extreme caution.

Also don't forget ebay store-fronts. Actually bought quite a few things through them. No duds. Again, look at the seller/vendor reputation. Fire off an email to see what the seller can do for you.
BTW... an aside...

Both my pairs of glasses are from ebay storefront vendors. I got 2 pairs of Tag Heuer glasses from an optical store in Toronto back in 2010. I still have them and they still work well. (authentic with reg code from manufacturer) big discount%~!!

Things to not buy off Ebay = Computer parts and HID lighting 30W-55W. There is just far too many fakes in either category.

I'd also like to add that sometimes if the cost of sending the item is too much, then ebay may decide to let you keep the item and charge the vendor while giving back your money. This has happened to me 2x now.

 

[Richie89]

Even with the Thor lasers you need to watch out. Some cost about $10-15 more and have a glass lens, while others are cheaper and come with an acrylic lens which will actually melt over time. There are many pitfalls awaiting the unwary laser buyer on ebay, and a few hidden gems if people know where to look.

IMO the winners are:
-The laser 301/303 models. These cost about $8-10, usually put out 30-100mw, are built well enough for the price, and will last a long time if not abused.
-The triple packs of AAA pointers: These come with 650, 405 and 532nm for about $7 shipped. The pointers I got were built reasonably well(No gross defects such as lack of driver board support), and they were all considerably overspec in the 20-50mw range. I always recommend these triple RGB packs to laser newbs who want a cheap intro to lasers.
-Those tailcap clicky 'military green lasers'. They're basically like a 301/303 with a tailcap clicky(A big plus for me) and they only cost $2-3 more.
-The proper glass lens Thor MII lasers. These are probably the best bang for your buck as far as blue lasers are concerned.

The losers are:
-The red and 405nm laser 303/301 variants. Usually they lack features such as support under the driver board and that leads to inevitable failure. Super cheaply made rubbish.
-These things:Underspec, bad build quality, etc.
Military 1W Powerful 532nm Green Laser Pointer Pen Beam Light+18650+Dual Charger | eBay
-Totally bizarre stuff like this: They don't even show the correct color of the laser.
Focusable Green Burning Laser Pointer 3000mW Free Shipping | eBay
/292014095510?hash=item43fd657c96:g:XysAAOSwH6lXQoiL
-Stuff like this: It's usually underspec, non IR filtered, and for a bit more you can get a quality green laser.
Adjustable Green Laser Pointer Pen Torch 532nm Burning Beam 1*18650 & Charger | eBay

Very true man, and yeah I have looked at some 303s just for fun hoping I would get lucky. I do have to say that is quite a good list and thanks for that raz. I too would rep you but I think I've repped you already and it won't let me lol. Thanks for this thorough list you got there.

 

[paul1598419]

I've purchased over 300 items from eBay over the years and have had problems maybe about 5% of the time. I always photograph the item to show what is wrong and if it came from China, I have never had to send it back as eBay has always refunded my money and I kept the item.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

I've purchased over 300 items from eBay over the years and have had problems maybe about 5% of the time. I always photograph the item to show what is wrong and if it came from China, I have never had to send it back as eBay has always refunded my money and I kept the item.

Ah, so it is more the norm than the exception. :beer:
Good to know!


:beer: :beer:

 

[Razako]

A lot comes down to the vendor you buy from. If you're buying from some random China seller with like 97% positive feedback then yeah, you might get jerked around a bit if there's a problem with your order. If you're buying from a major vendor you're generally pretty safe though. They strive to maintain a near perfect feedback rating, and will generally just send you a new item if you provide them with a video showing the problem.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

A lot comes down to the vendor you buy from. If you're buying from some random China seller with like 97% positive feedback then yeah, you might get jerked around a bit if there's a problem with your order. If you're buying from a major vendor you're generally pretty safe though. They strive to maintain a near perfect feedback rating, and will generally just send you a new item if you provide them with a video showing the problem.

Actually my worst experience with a Chinese vendor that was with a 99.8%er who just transferred his business (ebay store) to a new ownership. The new owner also started selling faked DSO Nano v201s and had blatant disregard for customer issues. The DSO nano in the picture was the official product from seed studio but in reality the item being sold was majorly dumbed down copy. I got the item about 2 weeks after ordering it screen smashed, wrapped in a cheap single layer of bubble wrap. This vendor was charged and dealt sternly with by Ebay.
So, it's not only 97%ers and lower that are problems.... Sometimes you just luck out.

 

[AaronT]

I like ebay.

When you can send pics of the spectrograph and LPM readings not meeting seller claims on specs you get a free (though not what you wanted) diode/device.

I see it as a form of micro scale counter economic warfare against the Chinese.

Sometimes what they have is indeed exactly what I want but they just lie about the specs... Actually that is almost every time I buy from a China seller...

 

[RedCowboy]

Well I will add my latest buyers report.

I buy batteries from a couple of high rated sellers and have bought many, they typically arrive at storage charge of 3.5 or so and are all at the same voltage so I'm not blaming the seller, rather this brand.

MXJO are not on par with E-Fest, not even close, they sag a lot more and start to degrade after just a few cycles, I am not impressed with MXJO.

Even my old E-Fest hold up much better.

I even bought a 2nd pair and color coded them so they did not get mixed up and although they charge you a high price they don't perform as well as their competitors, and this is powering just 1 NUBM44 at 4.5A, very disappointed with these.

p.s. These are the 4200 mAh rated cells, yet they charge faster than my E-Fest, another indication that they are lesser capacity, also FYI all these cells are IMR formulation.

 

[Seoul_lasers]

Another reason why I will not touch Ultrafire or Trustfire batteries. Lots of those mAh ratings are fake and so too are the cells themselves. Both companies engage in battery recycling by reselling Li-ion cells from
dead or damaged computer battery packs which is not only highly dangerous, it's also highly fraudulent. If the supply of good cells is diminished then fake cells added to top of cases for distribution.

 

[Razako]

To be fair, the REAL ultrafire and trustfire batteries aren't terrible. It's the counterfeit versions which are the main problem. So go so far as to fill the battery with sand, and they'll have a little tiny battery hidden inside.

 

[Alien Laser]

Ultrafire or Trustfire batteries i used to have like 8/10 and am left with 0 some overheated i had to throw 2+ outside the window in too the snow some stop charging !!!
this time i get all batteries from this website-> Batteries and Chargers <-i get the AW's

 

[Julian95]

i've bought a 50mW 405nm and a 2W 450nm module to aptlightingworld on ebay.. they are very thrustworty for what i've seen

 

[NightExplorer96]

eBay seller "Techood" has been pretty good. I wrote a threat where I ordered a 5mW 635 pointer and it LPM'ed right at 5mW. Price was $8 so a good little 635 pointer if you're looking for one

-Alex

 

[GSS]

Hap, I think you mean a thread:crackup:
You wrote "threat" hahaha!!

 

[RB astro]

eBay seller "Techood" has been pretty good. I wrote a threat where I ordered a 5mW 635 pointer
-Alex

Hap, I think you mean a thread:crackup:
You wrote "threat" hahaha!!

hahahaha, maybe Pete that's the only way to get what you order from ebay sellers.

:crackup: