Cheap white LEDs

N

nachoman

Here is a helpful hint/tip...

I piked up a small clip on light at Walgreens the other day. Inside are 5 miniature white LEDs with about a 1/8" casing diameter. Also inside is a micro pushbutton, probably SPST and normally open, and 3 watch/hearing aid size batteries. There is also one more switch, but I have to crack the housing to get at it and see what kind it is. The total price was 2.99$.

I have no interest in the clip on light. What I did get was 5 LEDs that I can use for headlights, two switches that I may use for something, and 3 perfectly good batteries for 2.99. Any one of those items bought individually would have cost me that much!

Kevin
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
You wonder how they can do that. You're right, batteries are usually about three to five bucks each, white LEDs at least a buck-fifty each. Good find, I'm headed to Walgreen's....
 

jleslie48

Member
Here is a helpful hint/tip...

I piked up a small clip on light at Walgreens the other day. Inside are 5 miniature white LEDs with about a 1/8" casing diameter. Also inside is a micro pushbutton, probably SPST and normally open, and 3 watch/hearing aid size batteries. There is also one more switch, but I have to crack the housing to get at it and see what kind it is. The total price was 2.99$.

I have no interest in the clip on light. What I did get was 5 LEDs that I can use for headlights, two switches that I may use for something, and 3 perfectly good batteries for 2.99. Any one of those items bought individually would have cost me that much!

Kevin

but take a look at the Dollar tree store. similar clip light with only 3 leds, but its on $1, and still with the batteries/spst switch.
 
N

nachoman

cha-ching!

It's not so much the cost... the electonics store is a 20 minute drive. And the LHS is a 20 minute drive. But home depot, walgreens, a dollar store, and walmart are a 5 minute bike ride. If I can get materials I need at any of the closer places, I can save gas, and money, and time...

Kevin
 

ezdays

Out AZ way
Well, first you have to commit to buying 5 million LEDs... ;) :D

Andrew
Right on! When we had our business, I would order maybe 10,000 LEDs to be delivered over a few months, and my price was probably a few pennies each lower than someone buying 100 from Mouser. Five million might get the price down to where it's reasonable.
 

beamish

HO & Steam Engineer
The company I work for commonly purchases resistors by the hundreds of thousands, for a 1 k ohm resistor the cost per piece range for us is .11 to .22 cents each, depending on size. In most cases if I drop a resistor on the floor it is not worth my time to pick it up.

LEDs have a much larger price range as they vary significantly by color, size, shape, luminescence, and angle of viewing. but after a quick check of our stock I see a range of 5 cents for a simple through-hole 3mm yellow to about 5$ for some large super bright ones.

And remember that we don't purchase in as large of quantities as those who produce millions of tiny circuits, we only produce thousands or hundreds of large complex circuits.
 
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