Your local hydroponics store or do you buy it online?

rmax said:

Yes, you're right. Today many people are skipping American vendors/websites all together and buying direct from manufactures through Ali Baba or other places.

Look at this one at Temu. I can't speak to the quality so do some DD but for $34.00 after every second grow toss the light.

500W LED Full Spectrum Plant Growing Light Professional
$34.47

This item is unavailable - Etsy

Find the perfect handmade gift, vintage & on-trend clothes, unique jewelry, and more… lots more.

shorturl.at

Or go to Temu and search yourself.

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That light might be a reasonable option if it was 2014.

All the more reason to buy from a reputable vendor.

Johnny15 said:

The first time I heard of temu was on a SuperBowl commercial. Sounds like another Chinese site. No thanks. I just did a search for temu and this is what I found.

Is Temu a trustworthy site?


Temu is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and has an average rating of two-and-a-half out of five stars. Many recent complaints about Temu on the BBB website say that items never arrived or, if they did, took weeks or even months to arrive.

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Is HLG Lighting accredited by the BBB?

madvillian420 said:

No thanks lol. Id hack off one of my ears before i shopped on or downloaded temu, or advised anyone else to do so. The risks people will take with their personal info and risk things like a house fire to save a few bucks bewilders me. Ive seen what happens when those $35 lights malfunction and i couldnt imagine risking my home, my life or my families life to save money on growing weed....Im well aware that some of these generic companies use the same components as their more expensive counterparts, but how about the QC on wiring and soldering, etc? Customer service?

I still have the very first grow light i ever purchased, an HLG300. The driver burnt out in around '21, several years after my warranty expired and they sent me a new one, absolutely free of charge, with an APOLOGY note for part of their product failing after almost a decade.

Glad to see all the folks shopping local. Im a buildasoil fan but the shipping charges on their soil is pretty high so i make the trek to one of the few shops by me that carry it, and rarely walk out without a few other things.

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I know what you mean and had a Solistek magnetic ballast go up in flames down in the basement. At the time Solistek magnetic ballasts were the good ones. I didn't get what I paid for, or maybe I did?

rmax said:

Is HLG Lighting accredited by the BBB?

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Not accredited but they have an A rating. Temu is a C+. I don't know the process to get accredited but I know HLG is reliable and has awesome customer service. Not to mention awesome products.

Johnny15 said:

Not accredited but they have an A rating. Temu is a C+. I don't know the process to get accredited but I know HLG is reliable and has awesome customer service. Not to mention awesome products.

Horticulture Lighting Group Corp. | Better Business Bureau® Profile

This organization is not BBB accredited. Lighting Equipment in Westerville, OH. See BBB rating, reviews, complaints, & more.

www.bbb.org

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'clicked the link. I'm not saying you are wrong but we circle back to word of mouth?

BBB accreditation was important until it wasn't so the target moved. Do I know people who've purchased from Temu and didn't have a problem, yes. Can I say you can order from Temu and won't have a problem, no. Similar scenario as complaints about HLG on BBB. We know of three consumers who had problems and posted to the BBB.

Back there I bought the Solistek locally and after 1 year but less than 2 years the ballast fried and the local said for warranty service I'd have to contact Solistek direct so no help. The local shop is long gone now.

So to answer OP my thought is go with the cheapest sources which are usually online because the local vendors may or may not support and may or may not be here tomorrow, just like online.

HLG might be a bad example because they sell direct vs the local shop being a value added reseller. But in my experience I never found a lot of value in the locals. Maybe you have.

When I had questions in the end I ultimately got the most help/value from a few RIU posters. That's not to say your local vendors are bad and your RIU contacts are good..

Later in the future when VR like the Apple Vision Pro become commonplace I'll probably invite RIU posters into my environment and get help that way. Perhaps you would find that to be out of the question or not. I don't think anyone is right or wrong.

I miss our local shop you could get everything they were super helpful as well see to me the mark of a good store is what they tell you what not to buy if they let you buy just any product then they dont care and only want your money if however they tell you nah thats crap dont buy that then your probably on to a good one being honest in my early days i learned alot from the family who ran it im sure some of you can sympathise back when you were to paranoid to join forums and such lol they were a good source of knowledge if you had a good one near you

Local shop here is great (it’s actually around the corner from my kids school funny enough) and I’ll buy stuff like nutes, Dyno etc to give ‘em my dollars. Large scale stuff (soil, EWC) from bigger retailers due to volume discounts. Still something to be said for chatting with staff about a shared love of gardening that is unique to these Mom & Pop stores.