I’ll get to the ITP flashlights/torches asap, but first a bit about the ThruNite flashlights.
The ThruNite Ti2 80 Lumen flashlights were only $11 apiece, so I ordered a few. They use an on/off switching arrangement that I haven’t seen before. Once the head is twisted to light at low brightness, tightening it another quarter turn increases the brightness to high. Normally you have to turn the light off for a fraction of a second and back on again to get it to a different light level. These must use a three position switch: off, low and high. The ThruNite uses a single AAA cell and comes in a tin case that looks like an Altoids tin with a plastic window in the lid.
I’m going to a lady’s retirement party tomorrow evening, so a few days ago I bought some flashlights for a present. Amazon did the shipping but the seller was Aimkon Outdoors. I bought 3 so I could get free shipping over 35 dollars.
Today I decided to order 3 more. I got on Amazon and checked, and found that the price was slightly higher. I tried to order 3 more from Aimkon, but it said the seller had only 2 left, so that prevented me from getting free shipping. Well, shipping was almost 1/4 of the price, so I decided to try eBay. I got on eBay, and ordered; I got them for a bit cheaper than Amazon, and with free shipping. Guess who the shipper was? Aimkon!
That leads me to believe that Amazon is pulling a shenanigan: they are limiting the number the consumers can buy to force them to pay for shipping. Also they increased the price at different times. I’m not happy about this. I may continue to use Amazon for books, but I’m going to look for other sources before I buy most things from Amazon.
Also I bought a bunch of flashlights from Goldmine Electronics in Arizona. These use a single AA cell and I see a low power ‘straw hat’ LED in the head. The head and body are made of plastic and that’s the reason they can sell them for a dollar apiece. Most flashlights in this low price range use three AAA cells, which I believe is a waste of money. A cheap flashlight with a single AA cell is something that the consumer needs, because it’s going to save 1/2 or more of the money spent for batteries. Also, the cost is so low that when the battery leaks and corrodes the flashlight inside, the light can be thrown away, with minimal money lost.
While I was looking for the ITP 96 Lumen lights, other flashlights popped up on the display. The Olight company bought ITP, so now the EOS is also called Olight. They started shipping the EOS lights in a plastic gift case, and charge a few dollars more. The ones I bought come in regular cardboard packaging and are cheaper. I don’t see a need for a fancy case; the light is going to be carried around by itself and will never go back in the case again.
Update 2014 Aug 21 – I ordered a few more from a seller on eBay. Again, they were less expensive than Amazon. I also got free shipping.
On Amazon, I have seen some sellers selling items for $.01 and charging a very high price for shipping. The sellers seem to be gaming the system to gain advantage in ranking.