China Led sellers

So i have been doing a ton of research into leds and it all seems very bloody expensive, so after some mroe searching i found some guys in hong kong who are making aquarium lights themselves with cree leds and they look good and the prices are unbeatable.

this first one at 300 seems too good to be true
2011 New Design 90w Dimmerable Cree LED Aquarium Light products, buy 2011 New Design 90w Dimmerable Cree LED Aquarium Light products from alibaba.com

this second on eis even more powerful and cheaper\
Cree led aquarium light (55x3w chip) products, buy Cree led aquarium light (55x3w chip) products from alibaba.com

another one
3W CREE LED XPE Design Aquarium LED light products, buy 3W CREE LED XPE Design Aquarium LED light products from alibaba.com

Now i know these companies are all using chinese parts, but after looking at the units alot of them are using cree xr-e's and xp-g's they seem like something of the quality i could build plus it looks decent?
what are others thoughts

 

Thoughts? You've gotta pay to play in this hobby, at least to some extent.

YMMV

 

The fact of the matter is, a lot of the LED fixtures you think are made in the USA are really made in China and simply rebranded. There are A LOT Of Chinese LED manufacturers, and they range from horrible to great QC.

 

Products | Smart Lighting + Smarter Thinking

heres affordable LED, made in USA, but I think they only sell in bay area, so they arent too well known except in bay area forum

+ shipping from china will be extra 60 dollar ish

 

Keep me updated, they seem pretty good. I can't fine length width of the first two though.

 

those are wholesalers right? pretty sure there is a minimum order of a palette, so like 15-30 lights

 

checked out those lights, most of them use budget leds only the most expensive one uses a mix of cree and lower end ones.

If you look at the wholesalers they all will send min order of 1

 

These are priced cheap because they are not name brands.

They are as good as the popular brands.

AliBaba is for wholesale though. You'll need a business license even if it's for one piece. These are factories selling directly.

 

All I know about Chinese LEDs is that their employees are downright annoying to moderators. I would say that 50% of the spammers we've had to ban (and delete their posts) are from China.

 

So where are true Cree LEDs being manufactured? Is "Cree" a spec? or is it a brand name coming from a single company?

How bout the Cree DIY kits being sold at that one website that all the reefers are using to make their own Cree fixtures, the place that sells the pre-cut heatsinks and the drivers? Do those Cree LED modules get made in China?

Just wondering. Also, there is an LFS here selling fixtures that look just like the ones on the link about the "Bay Area" shop linked above. They are not Cree LEDs at all. Its kinda like the guy just bought a pallet of them (from china) and sells them for 300. apiece with a "no return or refund policy". He sells the crap out of them BTW.


If true Cree modules are made in China anyway, then honestly I welcome the Chinese clones bring them on. I'll sacrifice the potential time it may take to resolder,reseal and reinforce as opposed to spending 850. locally to some local dude using hype, smoke and mirrors. By simply sticking a logo sticker on an already imported lighting fixture.

Now that said. If some small US company is handcrafting fixtures and putting the best LEDs in the market (whether or not from China) and really putting time into features like smart ventillation, multiple circuits/timers, proper soldering and heatsinks. In-house made reflectors or fixtures with neat waterjet logos blasted into them. Then fine, charge a grand id buy them if I was rich.

But right now at this point in time and after all my own research into the LED market (coming off a Cree LED flashlight hobby also). I've noticed a nauseating level of trickery. All the guys (alot of LFS too) selling these LED modules for 500. + dollars. Then when I ask them what wattage they are running they cannot answer, when I ask them if they are Cree bulbs, I get a "I dont know" followed by a "you need to get them regardless" comment. Half these people dont even know what they are pedaling. And they are taking FULL RETAIL advantage of their customers ignorance in the matter. Very sad.

BTW you can get a true CREE LED flashlight at Sams for 14. bucks. Running on three AAAs, in brightness, throw and distance it will blow away anything Mag lite puts out in all sizes. And yes, they are from China.