Recommended LED suppliers on Alibaba.com?

[ZeroPoint]

As much as I still love lasers I have been doing a lot of toying around with RGB LEDs lately and have started looking for some suppliers. In small quantities I have had plenty of luck with eBay purchases but now that the ideas are flooding in I'm starting to think I will be needing thousands of LEDs. The best prices I have found come from Chinese companies on Alibaba.com. Now, I'm sure someone will chime in about the quality issue and recommend their preferred source (which is fine and I will certainly consider it) but I am fairly confident that even low quality diodes will suit my DIY needs just fine and at the right price I will take the gamble. My real concern is with all the horror stories of Alibaba.com and fraudulent Chinese companies doing business through the site. I've done enough research to know that Alibaba isn't all bad and some great deals can be found there so I'm willing to give it a try. My problem is trying to do research into some of the companies that I've come across on the website. None of them seem to have left much of an impression on the global market as far as reviews are concerned (neither good nor bad). Google searches turn up company contact information but little else aside from their own website. So far the most promising company is Shenzhen Yucy Lighting Co. which was used as a reference in a university students Thesis that popped up in a google search. I guess what I'm asking is; has anyone dealt successfully with any LED suppliers from China that they would recommend I look into, or even the opposite, that they would caution me against. I'm sure I'm bound to get burned sooner or later but if I can find even one satisfied LED customer I will be happy. I know there are good Chinese companies but hunting down the legitimate ones seems to be a bit harder than expected. Thanks for any advices.

[badger1666]

try ray wu's store on aliexpress . i get rgb led strips from him , so far great service, not sure if he does rgb led singles or not

[swamidog]

send a pm to forum member csshih. he runs a high end LED store and will be able to make good recommendations if he doesn't carry what you need.

As much as I still love lasers I have been doing a lot of toying around with RGB LEDs lately and have started looking for some suppliers. In small quantities I have had plenty of luck with eBay purchases but now that the ideas are flooding in I'm starting to think I will be needing thousands of LEDs. The best prices I have found come from Chinese companies on Alibaba.com. Now, I'm sure someone will chime in about the quality issue and recommend their preferred source (which is fine and I will certainly consider it) but I am fairly confident that even low quality diodes will suit my DIY needs just fine and at the right price I will take the gamble. My real concern is with all the horror stories of Alibaba.com and fraudulent Chinese companies doing business through the site. I've done enough research to know that Alibaba isn't all bad and some great deals can be found there so I'm willing to give it a try. My problem is trying to do research into some of the companies that I've come across on the website. None of them seem to have left much of an impression on the global market as far as reviews are concerned (neither good nor bad). Google searches turn up company contact information but little else aside from their own website. So far the most promising company is Shenzhen Yucy Lighting Co. which was used as a reference in a university students Thesis that popped up in a google search. I guess what I'm asking is; has anyone dealt successfully with any LED suppliers from China that they would recommend I look into, or even the opposite, that they would caution me against. I'm sure I'm bound to get burned sooner or later but if I can find even one satisfied LED customer I will be happy. I know there are good Chinese companies but hunting down the legitimate ones seems to be a bit harder than expected. Thanks for any advices.

[badger1666]

Also with aliexpress its safer than alibaba , the seller does not get the money you pay for goods untill you recieve them

[Stiffler]

Also with aliexpress its safer than alibaba , the seller does not get the money you pay for goods untill you recieve them

I do not believe it works this way, at least that's not how it worked when I made purchases from Aliexpress. The difference is the quantities involved; Alibaba is intended for those organizations purchasing in volume, whereas Aliexpress is marketed towards the end user. In either case, I have had very pleasant experiences. My primary business is LED lighting, and many of my suppliers were found on Alibaba. PM me with what you need, and I'll try to help.

[-bart-]

Contact hobbybob he ordered large quantities of leds, strips and modules for the OHM2013 event.

[hobbybob]

Hi there,

I ordered all my stuff for the OHM2013 event from Ray Wu's store on Aliexpress.com ., very reliable seller.
I have ordered strips (150 leds, 5 meterlong) , pixels (4x 0,36W) on a long string and like it alot.

Kind regards,
Dimitri

[sugeek]

send a pm to forum member csshih. he runs a high end LED store and will be able to make good recommendations if he doesn't carry what you need.

I agree with Swami on this one Craig has helped other members here get custom led runs done, and get us flashlights at cost for NWLEM (yes we had them laser engraved thanks to laserman532). csshih's site https://illuminationsupply.com/ you can also find him on PL chat quite often if you want to bounce your ideas/specs past him.

-Adam

[ZeroPoint]

Awesome!! Thanks a lot guys. I will check out both Ray Wu and csshih. now all i need is a better supplier of cash....