DiyLightAnimation
Fun => The Porch => Topic started by: lrhorer on February 08, 2015,
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Does anyone have a good source for purchasing moderate numbers of LED light strings at reasonable cost? Regular GE, Philips, or Sylvania strings run around $11, which is very expensive when one is considering buying upwards of 70 strings. The cheapest solution I have found is the Chinese "Fairy" light strings available on ebay. 100 LED strings can be had for about $6 each with shipping, but that is still pretty expensive. What's more, the "Fairy" lights have built-in controllers that are not only unnecessary, but in fact have to be removed, requiring one to employ a fairly significant amount of work (again, when one is talking about modifying 70 strings).
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Welcome to our world. I have bought a lot of LED lights from Big Lots and they seem to work well, but you won't find them until Sept or Oct. Expect to pay at least $8 a box from them. Incans seem cheaper, but the colors are not as bright and the cost of electricity is much higher. This is NOT a cheap hobby, but it is fun, very interesting and a rewarding hobby. When you buy always buy a couple of extra strings so when one breaks you have something that matches the color, number of bulbs, and the lighted string length.
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my first year buying lights from china was with KaxLED: http://en.kaxled.cn/
I found that the quality of the lights from the local stores was poor, I never got enough lights that looked like they "belonged" since they all came from different sources.
The KaxLED lights also were full phase and looked very bright and color rich.
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There are a number of pre-sales going now north country lights or high country lights something like that has a list running.
However, it's not cheap to buy high quality led lights that will last years. Some folks have good luck with box store leds, however I just bit the bullet last year and bought the commercial ones on the pre-sale. There were some supplier issues and they can way too late for comfort.
My 70 count strings were in the $10.50 range each + the shippoing.
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Welcome to our world. I have bought a lot of LED lights from Big Lots and they seem to work well, but you won't find them until Sept or Oct. Expect to pay at least $8 a box
Even a $3 difference represents a savings of around $250. That is quite significant.
This is NOT a cheap hobby, but it is fun, very interesting and a rewarding hobby.
Irrespective of how interesting or rewarding, I don't want to have to pay more than I have to. Looking at it from a different angle, I am definitely on a budget, and the less I have to spend on each string, the more strings I can afford to make part of the show.
When you buy always buy a couple of extra strings so when one breaks you have something that matches the color, number of bulbs, and the lighted string length.
Insurance is always good advice.
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my first year buying lights from china was with KaxLED: http://en.kaxled.cn/
I don't see any prices or even a means to order merchandise.
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Hmm. Something just occurred to me. How about a coop for LED light strings?
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Cheap and LED's don't go together.
Your wish for a coop based experience is granted. Follow this link.
http://www.holiday-light-express.com/preseason-sale-features.php
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I have ordered from Magic in the Sky for the last 3 years on their presale and would order from them again. Their presale runs until Feb 13.
Commercial quality sealed full wave LED strings.
Out of the 500 strings I ordered from them only 3 strings have had problems with lights out, 2 red and 1 blue. I think they were all from the first year (3 years old). I believe they come with a 1 year warranty too.
Presale terms on this page:
http://www.magicintheskylighting.com/aboutus.asp (http://www.magicintheskylighting.com/aboutus.asp)
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Do you need an account to see a pre-sale price? I used your link and after clicking the shopping link, all I'm seeing are in stock items at pretty much standard prices.
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Here's my list I try to keep updated pretty regular.
http://www.highcountrylights.com/christmas-resources/pre-sale-info.html
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Ok, I guess that is the presale price even though they claim to have them in stock. I guess that those remain there. Thanks for the list. It does get a little tuff getting 100 count soft white M5's with white strings.
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Nice list, I think I will refer people to your site now.
The prices listed currently at Magic in the Sky are their presale prices. They sent me a sheet with prices earlier last month and it matches.
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From what I read, Holiday Light Express and Magic In The Sky use the same supplier. Last year and this year HLE ordered a container of commonly sold lights before the presale so they had some inventory to ship when the presale started. I ordered in December and received half my order (common colors) already with the rest expected in March (warm white). Those that order now, regardless of the company or color will probably receive their orders in August/September.
They are more expensive up front, but the quality and consistency have been very good.
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I forgot to mention. The reason why you see inventory available at HLE is that they ship your order when it's "All" in stock. The reason I was able to get my order early this year was I did two orders, one that had everything in stock, and one later where I had to wait.
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Basically, what I want to do this year is replace all of the lights on my wire frames with LED's. I was looking at their 100 count white LED's on white stings. They call the light color "winter white". To me, that indicates a cool white. Not exactly what I was looking for. Has anyone seen these lights?
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Not sure, MIS uses different names for marketing. For wire frames you also might want to checkout www.Christmas-LEDs.com. I think they have the colored caps that work well with mounting to wire frames.
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Colored caps don't really work on LED's (except to some degree on the white ones). I do like their price on the clips which I will also need some of. There LED string prices are a little high so I will not be buying those from them. I am deciding between CLE and Magic in the Sky. CLE is a little less money and declare their light output as "warm white" where the name Magic is using indicates that it is more of a cool white. Since neither is showing a color temp, it really is just a guess as to what they actually look like. Since the one sale is over this Friday, I need to make that decision by then.
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Warm white is all I have from HLE. Both green and white wire. I would call both of them and ask to see which one works best for you.
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The problem with HLE is that they don't carry or are not offering the 100 light strings with white wire and IMHO, putting a green wire string on a white wire frame really looks like crap, especially when some of them are close to the road and can be easily seen from the road during the day.
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Basically, what I want to do this year is replace all of the lights on my wire frames with LED's. I was looking at their 100 count white LED's on white stings. They call the light color "winter white". To me, that indicates a cool white. Not exactly what I was looking for. Has anyone seen these lights?
Tom,
The white LEDs I have are the pure winter white color from MITS. You can see them in my videos. They are the only lights on the arches. They are also on the Palm trees, mini trees and house.
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Those that order now, regardless of the company or color will probably receive their orders in August/September.
Why so long, if we are ordering in-stock items? I need a few strings - about fifteen total, three each of five different colors - in fairly short order for testing purposes. Later I expect to put in an order for a significantly greater quantity. By "short order", I mean a couple of weeks or so. I don't need them overnight.
They are more expensive up front, but the quality and consistency have been very good.
Well, maybe not so much. The prices are running around $13 - $16 plus shipping for 100 light strings. That is a heck of a lot cheaper than $11 plus tax for a 50 light string. Compared to the Chinese "fairy lights" available on e-bay, then yes, I agree these are more expensive, but not after adding in the amount of time it would take to modify the "fairy lights", eliminating the chase controller. I agree the quality looks to be far better then the stuff on ebay.
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As long as you your order from HLE is all in stock you will probably get it shipped within a day. It's when your order is not in stock that you will have to wait. Last year my pre-order didn't arrive until late August. This year I was smart and placed two orders, one in stock and one that was not. This way I was able to get most of it quick.
If what you need is in stock at HLE, I would order it without hesitation.
I agree on the quality. It's time or money. I have hundreds of minis in my stock but I'm limiting their use because I can't stand replacing them every few years.
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Yeah, I realized that after I posted. They mention that as long as the entire order is in stock, they ship immediately. Good to their word, they have shipped my order, and it should be here by Tuesday. It was only 15 strings, and I made sure it was all in stock.