Are eBAY HID Bulbs That Much Different from places like Xenondepot? Price is half
/OT
09-19-08, 06:29 AM
#37
I bought two kits for my mazda 6. one for the low beam, one for the fog lights. I got it on ebay for 120 each including shipping. the vendor's name i think it was YOURHID. Awesome service, great delivery, +1 for them.
I was not expecting much. but these were awesome, they were 6000k and look like nissan, or even lexus hid's.
I recommend, if you go with ebay, make sure you take a look at the vendor, also buy 50 or 55W.
But if i was you, id still get the ones from xenondepot, ive learned when you are going to go aftermarket with your car, specially a lexus, get the best out there. In the end its worth the price.
I was not expecting much. but these were awesome, they were 6000k and look like nissan, or even lexus hid's.
I recommend, if you go with ebay, make sure you take a look at the vendor, also buy 50 or 55W.
But if i was you, id still get the ones from xenondepot, ive learned when you are going to go aftermarket with your car, specially a lexus, get the best out there. In the end its worth the price.
09-19-08, 01:23 PM
#38
I bought a pair from ebay as my fog lights.. thinking everything would be the same. Then after installation and everything, sometimes it would turn on, sometimes it wouldn't.. depending on how the bulbs felt that day I guess. I was tired of the stupid bulbs and decided to go with a CL Vendor and it has been great. I talked to Cliffud from MobileHID and it was great. Unfortunately, the first time he sent me the wrong sizes, but he immediately corrected it and I got the new bulbs within the next business day. I would suggest Cliffud. 
09-20-08, 12:05 PM
#39
Pole Position
Thread Starter
I bought two kits for my mazda 6. one for the low beam, one for the fog lights. I got it on ebay for 120 each including shipping. the vendor's name i think it was YOURHID. Awesome service, great delivery, +1 for them.
I was not expecting much. but these were awesome, they were 6000k and look like nissan, or even lexus hid's.
I recommend, if you go with ebay, make sure you take a look at the vendor, also buy 50 or 55W.
But if i was you, id still get the ones from xenondepot, ive learned when you are going to go aftermarket with your car, specially a lexus, get the best out there. In the end its worth the price.
I was not expecting much. but these were awesome, they were 6000k and look like nissan, or even lexus hid's.
I recommend, if you go with ebay, make sure you take a look at the vendor, also buy 50 or 55W.
But if i was you, id still get the ones from xenondepot, ive learned when you are going to go aftermarket with your car, specially a lexus, get the best out there. In the end its worth the price.
Based on input from ppl on this forum, Xenondepot is not the best. They just provide a good warranty. You can find other companies that also have a solid warranty as well. From what I've ben reading, their bulbs are similar to those sold on Ebay.
09-24-08, 07:24 AM
#41
Hi,
You guys bring up many point in this thread so I will try to address them as best that I can:
1) Warranty: It's very easy to advertise a warranty. I've seen vendors offer 3 year warranties, 5 year warranties, and even life time warranties. However, a warranty is only good so long as the company you purchase from stays in business. You guys have no idea how many emails or phone calls I get from people telling me that they purchased a kit from another company and and require some technical support however they can't get a hold of their vendor. It's funny that when making a purchase they were quick to discount the importance of warranty, technical support (with a phone number) and customer service and simply go for the best price. However, when push comes to shove and they actually need to speak to someone about dealing with a problem all of a sudden the "great deal" they thought they had turns into a nightmare. Remember, buying online is not like buying from a brick and mortar store. You can't drive up and demand your money back.
2) Bulbs and ballasts are not created equally. It is far from it. You can find HID kits that are made in factories that are nothing more than a little room where each component is hand assembled or you can purchase components from high tech facilities that are ISO certified, TUV certified, and work with the OEM industry. You can buy ballasts that will have very low efficiency meaning that they will burn out quicker and produce less light or you can buy ballasts that are E4, E13, and CE certified and are manufactured to the same standards as OEM components. Naturally purchasing from a high tech facility will result in higher costs. You can purchase cheap HID bulbs or you can purchase double layered Philips Quartz glass capsules to ensure you do not damage your vehicle's headlights to to UV. Just because you cant "see" a difference does not mean that there isn't a difference. All our HID bulbs (Xtreme and Philips) use Philips quartz glass to ensure the quality of the product.
Cheap HID kits can have failure rates of around 10% right of the box and could last only months (occasionally 1-2 years). Our kits are at approx a 0.05% failure rate and this is based on statistics from the last several years of selling Xtreme HID kits.
Price: No one does anything for free. There are lots of fees to consider when selling HID products just like any business. There are transactional costs, selling fees, shipping fees, overhead, operating costs, etc.. The manufacturer also has their costs to worry about such as raw materials, labour, etc... When you break it down to how much margin there really is in the product you start to wonder how a $100 HID kit (or even less) being sold on ebay can truly be a quality product and is comprised of quality components. Something has to give so that there is enough margin for people to be satisfied. What usually gives is the quality...
To sum it up, we can purchase complete HID kits from China for less money than what we pay for one of the ballasts that we use in our Xtreme kits. While price may be an issue to some people; quality, reliability, customer support, and a legitimate warranty certainly appeals to others. The latter are the customers that XenonDepot.com caters to.
Steve
You guys bring up many point in this thread so I will try to address them as best that I can:
1) Warranty: It's very easy to advertise a warranty. I've seen vendors offer 3 year warranties, 5 year warranties, and even life time warranties. However, a warranty is only good so long as the company you purchase from stays in business. You guys have no idea how many emails or phone calls I get from people telling me that they purchased a kit from another company and and require some technical support however they can't get a hold of their vendor. It's funny that when making a purchase they were quick to discount the importance of warranty, technical support (with a phone number) and customer service and simply go for the best price. However, when push comes to shove and they actually need to speak to someone about dealing with a problem all of a sudden the "great deal" they thought they had turns into a nightmare. Remember, buying online is not like buying from a brick and mortar store. You can't drive up and demand your money back.
2) Bulbs and ballasts are not created equally. It is far from it. You can find HID kits that are made in factories that are nothing more than a little room where each component is hand assembled or you can purchase components from high tech facilities that are ISO certified, TUV certified, and work with the OEM industry. You can buy ballasts that will have very low efficiency meaning that they will burn out quicker and produce less light or you can buy ballasts that are E4, E13, and CE certified and are manufactured to the same standards as OEM components. Naturally purchasing from a high tech facility will result in higher costs. You can purchase cheap HID bulbs or you can purchase double layered Philips Quartz glass capsules to ensure you do not damage your vehicle's headlights to to UV. Just because you cant "see" a difference does not mean that there isn't a difference. All our HID bulbs (Xtreme and Philips) use Philips quartz glass to ensure the quality of the product.
Cheap HID kits can have failure rates of around 10% right of the box and could last only months (occasionally 1-2 years). Our kits are at approx a 0.05% failure rate and this is based on statistics from the last several years of selling Xtreme HID kits.
Price: No one does anything for free. There are lots of fees to consider when selling HID products just like any business. There are transactional costs, selling fees, shipping fees, overhead, operating costs, etc.. The manufacturer also has their costs to worry about such as raw materials, labour, etc... When you break it down to how much margin there really is in the product you start to wonder how a $100 HID kit (or even less) being sold on ebay can truly be a quality product and is comprised of quality components. Something has to give so that there is enough margin for people to be satisfied. What usually gives is the quality...
To sum it up, we can purchase complete HID kits from China for less money than what we pay for one of the ballasts that we use in our Xtreme kits. While price may be an issue to some people; quality, reliability, customer support, and a legitimate warranty certainly appeals to others. The latter are the customers that XenonDepot.com caters to.
Steve
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6000k, 9600, bulbs, cheap, counterfeit, difference, dont, ebay, german, halogen, hid, mtec, phillips, quality, xenondepot
