Flashlights.
There are big flashlights. Small flashlights. Red flashlights. Blue flashlights.
It’s almost something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Yet when you start collecting them, you discover that it becomes difficult to stop. With new features introduced on a regular basis, unusual designs offered with limited numbers, and technologies that can offer more than 10,000 lumens, the life of a flashlight collector involves always looking for that new flashlight you don’t have.
There are certain routines that you’ll find many flashlight collectors fall into and this can drive their family nuts.
- Setting up eBay notifications to alert whenever a new flashlight listing goes live based on search criteria.
- Stopping at Walmart to look at the flashlights that are for sale every time you go there to shop, even though you’re 99.9% guaranteed not to be buying any flashlights there.
- Looking for trade shows, swap meets, and similar events when you go on vacation so you can snag an unusual flashlight from a fellow collector.
- Having an entire room dedicated to all of the flashlights that have been collected over the years.
- Offering family and friends a Christmas list that only has one item on it: flashlights.
Some of this is in jest, for sure, but for a serious collector, it can also be reality without them ever knowing it. Unlike other collections that people have, a flashlight collector can become quickly obsessed thanks to the low prices and multiple designs that every flashlight manufacturer offers today to some extent.
If you can grab something to add to your collection for $10, then why not do it?
Custom Branded Flashlights and the Collectors Who Chase Them
Here at Flashlight Pro, one of our team members has a flashlight collector in their family. And this is what he had to say about what happened when he received an X-Files branded flashlight as part of a subscription plan.
My stepfather came to visit during the summer, as has become his habit. He immediately noticed that on my desk sat a new flashlight. His eyes lit up. “Can I take a look at it?” he asked. Then he grabbed it before I could give him an answer. He then proceeded to tell me the exact specs of that flashlight, it’s overall quality, and that it was a pretty lousy purchase.
Then he noticed the X-Files branding on it. “Oh my god,” he said. “This is the best flashlight ever.”
Custom branding has changed the collection market for flashlights. Now it isn’t good enough to just collect a certain type of flashlight. You also need to collect the various brands and gimmicks to complete your collection. That is not always easy or cheap to do.
In the world of a flashlight collector, the urge to find the next flashlight is difficult to ignore. The events described here might be a little “over the top,” but there is no denying the fact that the modern flashlight, in its sturdy, waterproof, and impact-resistant glory, can be fun to collect.
Do you live with a flashlight collector? What are your stories about flashlight collecting?
