But as far as I know no eballasts have even been sold to customers so how could "that stage" be finished as it occurs to me it never started?

I can understand that the bulbs have concluded their introductory to the market, and now going forward are being sold at a regular retail pricing, but why haven't we been offered the $115 pricing on the eballasts?

That is a huge jump from promises of $115 ballasts to $175. Especially considering that regular PFO ballasts can be had for less than $140 and even an HQI ballast can be purchased for $179. Now I know that these are not electronic ballasts, but 250W of light is still 250W of light.

You're not the only one confused here Jamie! :question:

PS... "comparible electronic ballasts" are available RETAIL at J&L for $229 - the Icecap 250W Electronic MH Ballast, or a Blueline E-Ballast through Champion Lighting for $149.90US.

Hmm, I did manage to aquire 2 400w ballasts from Venkiw at a reasonable price several week ago.

I guess that was the introductory phase?

I hate to say it, but I doubt that the price will drop, no matter how much complaining is done on the boards about it. Business is business and these guys gotta make a profit.

HQI ballasts bare can be purchased for way less than 170ish, if I get a few I can get them a fair bit cheeper.. i am looking to buy 1 more so if anyone else is interested I can do a inquirie on them.

as for the electronic ballast on a HQI bulb don't waist your time, they don't power them as high and the savings in electricity isn't realy that much. check the electronic ballast preformance in JB NY bulb/ballast comparason I wasn't impressed with any of the e-ballasts.

Steve

I've tried to contact Venkiw for two months now to purchase 2x250W eballasts and have never received even one reply to either my forum posts or PMs. How is one supposed to take advantage of an introductory offer when there is no salesperson available?

I'm just a little jaded due to the fact a statement was made about "sub-$100" eballasts, then $115 eballasts, and now the same product is being quoted at $175 and it's not like I missed the boat or something.

And considering that Icecap 250W HQI electronic ballasts can be had for $115US, where is the savings here now?

http://oceanencounter.com/Merchant2/...gory_Code=ICMH

Exact pricing on the ballasts is not finalized yet, the ballasts were revamped and now have all electrical code requirment stickers. Cost will be determined shortly, we will probably not know exact costs untill sometime in febuary.

Even if the ballasts sold for as much as $175 retail, you wont get that ice cap ballast in your hands for a penny less than $175 without tax, and its available by mail order, our ballast will be available at retail outlets for that price or less. Im not saying its the best deal on the planet youve ever seen, but we dont know exact cost so you will have to be patient and wait as we have to, we wish we could tell you now, but we cant. I will let you know as soon as I know.

If they didn`t have the proper stickers and ratings on them I don`t think I would use one in my house. You have a fire caused by an unrated appliance your insurance is worthless. mtcw is stick with the icecap for a couple of dollars more, the " savings " on something unproven and this new is not worth the hassle. :rolleyes:

if they didnt have the proper ratings, i wouldnt sell them

Hey Kyle, thanks for the updated info. As soon as we have an idea of the pricing I'll be ready to make a decision. If the pricing is reasonable (at or near the expected $115 mark) then I'll likely be ordering two 250W ballasts as soon as you have stock.

Umm, Kyle have you seen the Canadian dollar lately?

$1US = $1.26919CDN (www.xe.com)

$114.95US + $8.75US (shipping) = $157.00CDN :eek:

Seems that it could be in my hand for a bunch less than $175 without tax.

Only $8.75 for shipping?

I am pretty impressed with that, my amazon.com order (amazon.ca didnt carry waht I wanted) cost more then that for 1 book!

please tell me who you use for shipping, because if I can ship ballasts for $8.75US across the border I would be in heaven!!!!!!!!!! with shipping and duty you are no where close to $8.75US unless you are shipping illegally...........

simple, USPS chhep and only takes 5 business days, it is how i get all my stuff shipped from the us. and if you check up almost all the stuff we get is duity free through the free trade agreement.

Steve

Yup good old USPS... :cool:

I use US post alot too, it still adds up

Damn! Shipping my book from amazon cost almost $50 cad :(

shipping a gift from Cali to port moody cost nearly $60 cad.

I bought some vitamins from a US distributor, the shipping and duty and brokerage cost me nearly $100!!!

US postal was the $60, UPS was the $100 and I forgot who the book was shipped thru.

Do you guys get it shipped to a bellingham or point roberts address and then smuggle it across the line? I seriously would like to know, I HATE paying so much for shipping.....

Holey cow man you are getting ripped off! I bought two books off Amazon.com last year and I think the shipping was like $15US max. They were hardcovered textbooks to boot and weighed a ton.

Christy :)

Lostmind, you must be getting it shipped overnight or something. Either that or the guy you are buying stuff from is pocketing a bunch of fees for handling. I buy a lot of things from the US. I had an ISDN modem complete with manuals and box shipped to me for $15US just a few weeks ago. An entire lighting system that I bought last year with ballast and pendant and bulb was about $22US. I get stuff shipped straight to my address here, not Bellingham.

yup the only time I have paied more than 10 bucks shipping from the US is when they sent it USP by mistake.. 6 bucks worth of LED's and USP wanted 35.00 in brokerage :rolleyes: they took them back that time free (returned to sender.)

Steve

Oh yeah and I almost forgot... I live only 10 minutes from the Canada/USA border. Hmmm... Why don't I just use my mailing address in Blaine, WA. Hey, that's a good idea. Now shipping is even cheaper!

Don't bring shipping into the equation, as the bottom line is a few more $$$ still doesn't dent the fact that a quality Icecap MH ballast can be found for $115US.

Ill let everyone know what the prices are when the time comes...

Yah, one order was on a speedier delivery, but not overnight (at least, I didnt get it for 3 days). And yes, I did have to pay a heavy brokerage fee on all shipments - $35 is a familiar number for some reason, I think its ups?

When I ship a server down to san jose, it costs me $300 or so. Sure, a server is 80-100lbs...

I would buy a lot more over the net from down south (especially with our dollar now! Altho I lose a lot of money as my revenue is in US$ funds...).

I am currently having some vitamins shipped from NYC. 36 bucks for 5 day ground (the cheapest option) and that $36 USD doesnt include brokerage or duty. By the time the 4 bottles get here, it will be up to $60 at least....

Anyways, sorry for thread jackin!

The original ballast I introduced was a scaled down version with wiring required, and I found DIY wiring as not the best option.

Just a clarification on the ballast. This is not a bare ballast anymore. It comes with moulded plugs and 6' of power supply chord. It also has 8 feet of output chord (105 deg C rated) and the sockets for these will be priced at undet 7$ (even for the double ended). Only thing you need will be a reflector (we are working on that as well)

They also come with 1/2" extruded aluminium fins for a cool operation below 50 dec C, with protective circuits against overload. Will extend bulb life by 50%. These will be the best ballast that money can buy, you'll see the benefit only when using them.

Cheers

Venki Worathur

The original ballast I introduced was a scaled down version with wiring required, and I found DIY wiring as not the best option.

Just a clarification on the ballast. This is not a bare ballast anymore. It comes with moulded plugs and 6' of power supply chord. It also has 8 feet of output chord (105 deg C rated) and the sockets for these will be priced at undet 7$ (even for the double ended). Only thing you need will be a reflector (we are working on that as well)

They also come with 1/2" extruded aluminium fins for a cool operation below 50 dec C, with protective circuits against overload. Will extend bulb life by 50%. These will be the best ballast that money can buy, you'll see the benefit only when using them.

Cheers

Venki Worathur

What's the price on the new ballasts going to be?

Walter

Hey Steve,

I was intrigued that most of the items we buy are duty free. Out of my own curiosity would this also save on brokerage?

For what it's worth, UPS generally charges $30 to use their customs brokerage when shipping from the states. If I were to buy something that is covered under the Free Trade agreement, would I simply tell them on the phone that brokerage is not necessary?

Thanks!

Rob

I would just steer clear of UPS period. See if you can get your items shipped via USPS as they include the brokerage fees in the shipping price. UPS is a total rip-off when shipping to or from Canada. I've also had far more bad experiences with shipping damage with UPS than any other carrier.

Just my $0.02 :biggrin:

You know, you can always go and claim it yourself at customs.. I do it all the time.. Then UPS has to waive the brokerage fee.. One time they even came to deliever it.. I denied it.. they took it back to the office.. I called and had them return it to customs.. then I just went down and cliamed it myself.. volia..

that works good if you are in vancouver but if you are on the island it would cost me 120.00 to do that myself. I just don't use UPS and I don't have to worry about it.

Steve