ArmaDen
11-12-2009, 09:36 PM
Good Day CA,
I'd like to thank the members that were helpful enough to allow this to come to fruition. This has been two years in the making and has been a fun side project for me and the Mada. It seems that everyone is looking for cost effective way to upgrade the Mada's headlights to HID to increase light output or just to get that custom look that you would expect from a $40k+ vehicle.
You can either buy replacement bulbs which advertise to be "HID" bright that can cost anywhere between $40/set to $80+/set and still not get to where HID is in terms of light output, that "look", etc.
You can go "Retro" and retrofit projector beam lenses into the stock housing if you are very mechanically inclined and have some free time on your hands. You could also purchase a pre-manufactured or maybe even custom built sets but these can be pricey although very efficient in their light output.
This leads me to my project over the past two years. Many members have shopped or maybe even bought a set of those "Cheapo kits off Ebay" due to the fact that they are cost effective and serve the purpose of either increasing light output or achieving that "look" they were searching for to set off their ride from the sea of the yellow-y halogen bulb-ed vehicles out there.
I set out to be the guinea pig since I had a little mechanical ability and also had some background in import/export to see if the negative hype was deserved. I pulled up ebay and shopped for a while until I matched up a set that was the same manufacturer as a supplier I had been put in touch from China. Not wanting to buy one kit from a manufacturer and pay twice the shipping cost direct from China as the kit would cost on Ebay I chose the Ebay route and started my project.
Install was a snap as it is usually advertised with these plug and play kits and everything has gone according to plan after two years. Light output has been great in comparison to the stock halogen bulbs that the Mada comes equipped with. I live in a suburb of Denver and there are many areas that are considered "rural" and do not have great numbers of street lights and other ambient light sources to brighten up the night roads. No worries even with snow storms, heavy fog, rain, etc. They performed well in all situations. I have not had any issues with the ballasts or bulbs in this period of time. I will keep everyone updated with how long these sets truly last (I also have a set in my F250 which have been installed for only 18 months). A few of my friends have also served as test cases including a Subaru Forester (9006 Fogs), Toyota Corrola (9006 lows), Toyota 4Runner (9006 fogs). All with no issues to date.
Armed with this experience and wanting to start my path away from the 8 to 5 grind and get on doing something that interests me for a living (at 35 I'm not getting any younger) I decided to start a small venture with a friend of mine. Starting off small we are only serving Club Armada as a Sponsor (CA/CT/TT members can purchase at this price however)at this point as this is what I have experience with and can offer troubelshooting and also utilize CA/CT/TT for the wealth of information. This way I can make sure I don't get overwhelmed and not be able to support potential clients with solid service and customer support. Do I want to grow this thing...Absolutely but not yet. I still have some learning to do along the way. Here's the pitch....
I have spoken with my supplier (the one I spoke about earlier in this book) and have come to some decent terms for my first orders from them.
For my first round of shipments from this supplier I am selling 9006 kits that are 6000k in color temp for $60 (shipping is extra and also customizable depending on the carrier you would like). Bulb color is personal choice but I have found that the 8K has more of the blueish tint. 6K is a cleaner white which I have on my Mada. I have about 10 kits that are ready for shipment and are all with 6000k bulb temp. After that I can get shipments in minimum quanitities of 10. As you have probably seen on Ebay and other sites we can get the handy aluminum cases for a little bit extra, mostly to cover extra shipping. Warranty is set at two years. Others offer more but that is beyond the expected useful life expectancy of these kits(honestly). Anyone that offers any warranty over this period has probably increased the price to the point that it already covers the cost of buying extra sets of bulbs or maybe a complete second set and they are still making money. I didn't want to have a ton of overhead in inventory if what I bought wasn't what the clients wanted. Besides, shipments generally only take about a week to get here and ship immediately after that.
Same terms and pricing apply for CA/CT/TT members that want to purchase other Single Beam kits with different bulb sizes and color temps potentially for their other vehicles and of Christmas is right around the corner. Sorry a little attempt at salesmanship...like I said I am learning. Have to be a member of these groups however.
So that's it. I am selling based on my good experience with these exact kits. Love my Mada so am not planning on leaving the boards in a flash. Look forward to hearing from members here. Feel free to send me questions via PM or Post. Pics are forthcoming and are in my gallery currently.
I'd like to thank the members that were helpful enough to allow this to come to fruition. This has been two years in the making and has been a fun side project for me and the Mada. It seems that everyone is looking for cost effective way to upgrade the Mada's headlights to HID to increase light output or just to get that custom look that you would expect from a $40k+ vehicle.
You can either buy replacement bulbs which advertise to be "HID" bright that can cost anywhere between $40/set to $80+/set and still not get to where HID is in terms of light output, that "look", etc.
You can go "Retro" and retrofit projector beam lenses into the stock housing if you are very mechanically inclined and have some free time on your hands. You could also purchase a pre-manufactured or maybe even custom built sets but these can be pricey although very efficient in their light output.
This leads me to my project over the past two years. Many members have shopped or maybe even bought a set of those "Cheapo kits off Ebay" due to the fact that they are cost effective and serve the purpose of either increasing light output or achieving that "look" they were searching for to set off their ride from the sea of the yellow-y halogen bulb-ed vehicles out there.
I set out to be the guinea pig since I had a little mechanical ability and also had some background in import/export to see if the negative hype was deserved. I pulled up ebay and shopped for a while until I matched up a set that was the same manufacturer as a supplier I had been put in touch from China. Not wanting to buy one kit from a manufacturer and pay twice the shipping cost direct from China as the kit would cost on Ebay I chose the Ebay route and started my project.
Install was a snap as it is usually advertised with these plug and play kits and everything has gone according to plan after two years. Light output has been great in comparison to the stock halogen bulbs that the Mada comes equipped with. I live in a suburb of Denver and there are many areas that are considered "rural" and do not have great numbers of street lights and other ambient light sources to brighten up the night roads. No worries even with snow storms, heavy fog, rain, etc. They performed well in all situations. I have not had any issues with the ballasts or bulbs in this period of time. I will keep everyone updated with how long these sets truly last (I also have a set in my F250 which have been installed for only 18 months). A few of my friends have also served as test cases including a Subaru Forester (9006 Fogs), Toyota Corrola (9006 lows), Toyota 4Runner (9006 fogs). All with no issues to date.
Armed with this experience and wanting to start my path away from the 8 to 5 grind and get on doing something that interests me for a living (at 35 I'm not getting any younger) I decided to start a small venture with a friend of mine. Starting off small we are only serving Club Armada as a Sponsor (CA/CT/TT members can purchase at this price however)at this point as this is what I have experience with and can offer troubelshooting and also utilize CA/CT/TT for the wealth of information. This way I can make sure I don't get overwhelmed and not be able to support potential clients with solid service and customer support. Do I want to grow this thing...Absolutely but not yet. I still have some learning to do along the way. Here's the pitch....
I have spoken with my supplier (the one I spoke about earlier in this book) and have come to some decent terms for my first orders from them.
For my first round of shipments from this supplier I am selling 9006 kits that are 6000k in color temp for $60 (shipping is extra and also customizable depending on the carrier you would like). Bulb color is personal choice but I have found that the 8K has more of the blueish tint. 6K is a cleaner white which I have on my Mada. I have about 10 kits that are ready for shipment and are all with 6000k bulb temp. After that I can get shipments in minimum quanitities of 10. As you have probably seen on Ebay and other sites we can get the handy aluminum cases for a little bit extra, mostly to cover extra shipping. Warranty is set at two years. Others offer more but that is beyond the expected useful life expectancy of these kits(honestly). Anyone that offers any warranty over this period has probably increased the price to the point that it already covers the cost of buying extra sets of bulbs or maybe a complete second set and they are still making money. I didn't want to have a ton of overhead in inventory if what I bought wasn't what the clients wanted. Besides, shipments generally only take about a week to get here and ship immediately after that.
Same terms and pricing apply for CA/CT/TT members that want to purchase other Single Beam kits with different bulb sizes and color temps potentially for their other vehicles and of Christmas is right around the corner. Sorry a little attempt at salesmanship...like I said I am learning. Have to be a member of these groups however.
So that's it. I am selling based on my good experience with these exact kits. Love my Mada so am not planning on leaving the boards in a flash. Look forward to hearing from members here. Feel free to send me questions via PM or Post. Pics are forthcoming and are in my gallery currently.