Are these for real?

[Rdizz]

No, that's not what I'm saying.

People now shop exclusively on Amazon, as if the brands they buy don't have their own websites. To stay competitive, those brands must bow to the Amazon gods and sell their stuff on Amazon, paying LOADS of fees. Amazon can crush just about any business, at any time. I know people who have Amazon businesses, where they literally sell things to people that are too lazy to buy them cheaper elsewhere. There are entire business models where people find whats "hot" on Amazon, then list those items in their Amazon store, then when people buy them, the business buys it on Walmart dot come, or some other site, and ships to the Amazon customer, who paid MORE for it than the business did. That's just dumb to me (my opinion).

I try to buy as little as possible from Amazon now (I used to buy daily, terrible). It's easy to jump on there and have your items in a day or two, but bigger picture, it's terrible for us.

I'd rather support the actual brand I'm buying than Amazon. Plus, seems like half the stuff on Amazon now is cheap chinese crap copies... even all the brands on Amazon, so many great brands like: ZZEEEOXX, ZOZOX, WANGTUNG, XOTHILUE, etc... lol...

Hope that clarifies a little...

To be fair...

I hate Amazon I only wanted to use Amazon this time around because I did receive a gift card. However Oracle for example has their own store on amazon and ships from Oracle. Yes there are fees etc etc everyone has to profit. But I am with you. On the flip side to pay $100 more for the same product imo is just dumb. Now when you buy from a 3rd party on amazon for that product sure you are rolling the dice many receive something completely different. I am just trying not to spend over $700 for a pair of LED lights. The oracle lights seem to be priced right up there close to the OEM or "premium" brands. But to be honest I really am not to sure if that price is worth the quality of the Oracles.

I am finding so much conflicting recommendations when it comes to replacing these LED lights.

Like which fuse to run it to? I do have heated seats some say use the heated seat fuse then I see issues with the radio. Some say cigarette lighter... who even knows I rather not have the halo on at ALL TIMES. Would be nice if it was tied to my light swtich on the dash for Auto or On. THen we have beam pattern and cutoff etc etc. I see some pictures of these Kiwis and the beam pattern and cutoff looks WAY better than the oracles and I also see that oracle light for the most part has a green tint to it.

So here we are I am still at the starting line. Do I want to use Amazon na I dont but Do i want to be a cheap bastard... Yes, yes I do.

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[Rdizz]

Well just in the interest of letting everyone know what happened. I said F it for $90 (100$ amazon gift card) against my better judgement I same day delivery these Kiwis. And I have to admit the quality isn't bad. It does have an aluminum back (heat sinks) not plastic The lights are (to my eye) a pure white. installation was very smooth no issues except it just comes with 2 low gauged wires that you have to splice together for DRL. I wound up wiring them to Fuse 46 which is the AUTO HDLP fuse. I did this in the morning, so it was quite bright outside. Using my Garage i was able to see the beam pattern (super straight cutoff) and make some adjustments which DOES SUCK in these lights its just the mounting screws with springs behind them, you will have to remove grill to adjust. When it gets dark tonight I will take some pictures of the light and make some more final adjustments. 25ft away 3ft up. I did mark my door with masking tape of the original height. So after my final adjustments tonight, I guess only time will tell if these are worth the price.

One last observation. There is a MINOR gap of the light housing and the grill with the factory lights. There is a MUCH more noticeable gap with the Kiwi's.

gap with the Kiwi's.

 

[Adobehome.judy]

Thank you so much for keeping us informed. Your considerations towards these lights and your insights upon installation will help many of us with a similar decision.

 

[Rdizz]

Still not really dark enough to see the entire beam yet, however here are some preliminary pics from 25ft the blue tape is 3ft up. 10ft and 4-5ft away from the wall.

25ft

 

[Sweetums]

The cutoff isn't bad, but there are some serious hot spots in the beam pattern.

Looks like a $100 light, but not the worst I've seen.

 

[HooliganActual]

 

[Rdizz]

50k is cheap in 2023 tho... When these burn out next month I will get some nice ones lol

 

[Mr._Bill]

No, that's not what I'm saying.

People now shop exclusively on Amazon, as if the brands they buy don't have their own websites. To stay competitive, those brands must bow to the Amazon gods and sell their stuff on Amazon, paying LOADS of fees. Amazon can crush just about any business, at any time. I know people who have Amazon businesses, where they literally sell things to people that are too lazy to buy them cheaper elsewhere. There are entire business models where people find whats "hot" on Amazon, then list those items in their Amazon store, then when people buy them, the business buys it on Walmart dot come, or some other site, and ships to the Amazon customer, who paid MORE for it than the business did. That's just dumb to me (my opinion).

I try to buy as little as possible from Amazon now (I used to buy daily, terrible). It's easy to jump on there and have your items in a day or two, but bigger picture, it's terrible for us.

I'd rather support the actual brand I'm buying than Amazon. Plus, seems like half the stuff on Amazon now is cheap chinese crap copies... even all the brands on Amazon, so many great brands like: ZZEEEOXX, ZOZOX, WANGTUNG, XOTHILUE, etc... lol...

Hope that clarifies a little...

When you buy a product, you're supporting the manufacturer, regardless of where you get it. Yes, the manufacturer gets a bigger cut if you buy direct from them, but that is factored into the distribution model.

I am an Amazon Prime member. On top of all the available streaming content is free shipping, special sales, and reduced pricing on some items. When purchasing from Amazon, returns are simple with no fees. When purchasing through Amazon, you have their backing if the seller becomes a problem.

I price shop every major purchase. I watch Amazon for sales, closeouts, and reduced prices on low stock or low volume items. I have found some great deals from Amazon and from Amazon Warehouse.

I don't like to pay sales tax, so I buy from some trusted sellers, like @AllMoparParts.com that don't have to collect it when shipping to me.

I'm not a fan of all of Amazon's business practices, but I'm not going to deny myself convenience or pay more because of it.

 

[Sweetums]

I'm not a fan of all of Amazon's business practices, but I'm not going to deny myself convenience or pay more because of it.

About that...
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/new...s-amazon-illegally-maintaining-monopoly-power

"Amazon’s ongoing pattern of illegal conduct blocks competition, allowing it to wield monopoly power to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation for consumers and businesses"

 

[Mr._Bill]

About that...
https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/new...s-amazon-illegally-maintaining-monopoly-power

"Amazon’s ongoing pattern of illegal conduct blocks competition, allowing it to wield monopoly power to inflate prices, degrade quality, and stifle innovation for consumers and businesses"

That will probably drag on for years. In the meantime, if Amazon has the lowest price, I'm going to get it from there.

 

[Dick]

Sort of my thinking, But those Oracles at $660..... I have an amazon gift card I wanted to use and Oracle has a store on amazon but their pricing on amazon is about $100 more .... lol?

They know you have a gift card.

 

[Great Offender]

Amazon is evil but we all do it. Any company doing business with Amazon or selling a product on their site has to agree to never sell the product cheaper anywhere else so that explains why they are always the least expensive option. In defense of the people buying budget, affordable lights, not everyone has the disposable income to throw at the most expensive "everything".

 

[Rdizz]

Amazon is evil but we all do it. Any company doing business with Amazon or selling a product on their site has to agree to never sell the product cheaper anywhere else so that explains why they are always the least expensive option. In defense of the people buying budget, affordable lights, not everyone has the disposable income to throw at the most expensive "everything".

ya know... the biggest problem I have is sometimes even the more expensive "higher quality" items are still made in China and shipped over. We as the consumer are in a lose lose situation.

Supporting Amazon is IMO a bad thing but so is spending more money on the same product & more money on Shipping. Dammed if you do dammed if you don't.

I for one Try not to use amazon if I can avoid it, but most of the time you just cannot find what you are looking for and today when I go to the grocery store and leave with 2-3 bags of food for $150 every penny counts. When I spend $100 on a tank of gas every 1-1/2 weeks Amazon starting to look more and more appealing.

This really is a major problem for a majority. And in all reality the only way to stop this is to spend more money.

I just wanted to use a gift card.... lol and to be fair $90 vs $700 is a hard thing to pass up. Now I am sure these "Chinese" lights will burn out or start flickering and I will wind up spending $790 at that point to buy a better high quality option. BuUuUuUUt that none of this is what this thread is about.

I am going to say these $190 set of Chinese LED's were extremely simple to install, had a better feel to them then the factory Plastic halogens, they Light up the road with a very bright white light, double the visibility, Other than removing the grill easy to adjust and they don't look bad either. and a bonus is they didn't cost me $700. The beam cutoff is nice and sharp, yes there are some hotspots but you cannot see or notice them on the road.

To be honest I was skeptical I thought for sure this was going to be a return for me. As it turns out this does exactly what I wanted them to do which is actually give me some light at night. When I bought my Jeep a few years ago yes the price tag was about 56k (today on Jeep the exact same setup and options in the builder is about 67k... wtf?) and putting 100$ lights on them well.. The halogens when you think about it that came with the jeep shouldn't be worth any more than 50$ as is. It is a piece of molded plastic with a lightbulb and a wire. But what i didn't want to do is put an LED bulb in a reflector housing.

On a side note my 1989 Jeep Wrangler YJ that I drove throughout my highschool years and beyond the halogen headlights lit up the road way more than the factory halogens today.

So now I am in the market for Fog lights and side markers/blinkers any recommendations on these? I do not plan on cheaping out on them and I have no more giftcards.

 

[RacerAV]

When you buy a product, you're supporting the manufacturer, regardless of where you get it. Yes, the manufacturer gets a bigger cut if you buy direct from them, but that is factored into the distribution model.

I am an Amazon Prime member. On top of all the available streaming content is free shipping, special sales, and reduced pricing on some items. When purchasing from Amazon, returns are simple with no fees. When purchasing through Amazon, you have their backing if the seller becomes a problem.

I price shop every major purchase. I watch Amazon for sales, closeouts, and reduced prices on low stock or low volume items. I have found some great deals from Amazon and from Amazon Warehouse.

I don't like to pay sales tax, so I buy from some trusted sellers, like @AllMoparParts.com that don't have to collect it when shipping to me.

I'm not a fan of all of Amazon's business practices, but I'm not going to deny myself convenience or pay more because of it.

True about supporting a manufacturer/brand regardless of where you purchase, but I make a conscious effort to NOT support Amazon. Now am I willing to pay a LOT more for an item outside of Amazon, no, I'm not rich. The whole amazon thing isn't a good reality in my eyes... bigger picture, it'll be a problem in the future, with limited options. When businesses and consumers can ONLY sell and buy on Amazon, it won't be good. We can argue that another time though.

I price shop as well, but I don't always buy the max low price... I take into account WHO I want to support. You should too.

Your last line hurts... and eventually convenience will mean a chip in your hand that you buy all your allowances at the Amazon virtual grocery store who then sends it to your pod where you stay 24/7. A future of convenience won't be healthy for our kids or their kids...

 

[RacerAV]

Amazon is evil but we all do it. Any company doing business with Amazon or selling a product on their site has to agree to never sell the product cheaper anywhere else so that explains why they are always the least expensive option. In defense of the people buying budget, affordable lights, not everyone has the disposable income to throw at the most expensive "everything".

Thats the problem right there. BUT.

If we all can agree, Amazon bad... why can't we all ALSO say, "Amazon bad, SO I try to limit my use there..." or at least even have that mindset.

Buying budget anything is always fine... I've had Rigid, AND Rugged Ridge, lol... ya know what? Sometimes one is better, sometimes not... Spend your money how you see fit though... One could argue chinese lights versus USA made lights is the same as Amazon versus NON Amazon...

What a time to be alive lol...

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