Smart balance board, Segway thingy, Hoverboard

I have a lot to say and didn't know where to post, and since some are calling this new device a "balance scooter," I figured I may as well post it here in my scooter blog. 

I just spent forever (a few days ago) putting something together for my uncle who’s going to buy a hoverboard for his kid, so I figured with all that time spent, I may as well share my research with the masses. In case you’re considering buying one of these.

The most comprehensive information regarding hover boards never existed until just now and you have one of the first copies. Have fun.

WHY I BOUGHT IT ASAP:

Mark Cuban bought the license for it and is sending cease and desist letters to companies. RadioShack got scared. So did Best Buy, Target and Walmart who originally wanted to sell this hot item as a Christmas thing, but they all chickened out. Bed Bath and Beyond is selling it though. Go figure. I’m worried that eventually some overseas factories/sellers may get scared too and either stop selling or it’ll be a lot tougher to get (e.g. getting held up at customs, etc). I just didn’t want to risk not being able to get one, so I ordered one. 

WHERE I GOT MINE: 

I did hours upon hours of research and at the end of it, I purchased from: 

• An Alibaba vendor (not Aliexpress) but bought it privately outside of the website/app. Paypalled them directly.
• Company name is Shenzhen Leyixing Electronic Co. 
• Sale’s rep is Linda Liu: Linda@chinae-health.com. She responds via text from the Alibaba website. 
• http://chinaehealth.en.alibaba.com/, but I found them through Alibaba. 
• $277 shipped from China, but UPS was holding it and there was a delay, so they shipped me another one (different color) from NJ in the USA which they normally sell for $291 shipped. 

A BIT ABOUT THE HOVERBOARDS:

• Inventist was the original inventor. Japanese guy. Selling price when I saw these things years ago was over $2,000. Segway is suing him for using his technology. Phunkyduck is the first hottest reseller and sold these for $1,800. Other people came into the scene and sold it for $700-800. Went down to $400-500 from some sellers and now they’re sold on Craigslist/Ebay/Malls for less than $400. Direct from China is $250-300 shipped. 
• How it got so popular: http://www.wired.com/2015/06/the-weird-story-of-the-viral-chinese-scooter-phunkeeduck-io-hawk/
• Yes, they’re all pretty much made from the same 5-7 factories from what I understand. 
• Some indeed claim LG or Samsung branded batteries which are supposed to be more reliable. 
• They come in differences wheel sizes: 
• kid’s size which is below 6” all the way up to 10” diameter. The larger, the easier to go over bumps. But also heavier. 

• There are various models: Click link for photo of each.
• The standard one you see everywhere. 
• 2nd Generation (Transformer): Sharp edges. Triangular 
• 3rd Generation (I don’t know the name): Swoopy, Curvy. 
• 4th Generation (Batman): The one I got. Mine is 6.5”. I can’t say for the others, but this one I’m expecting to have a standard, intermediate and advanced sport mode which adjust the speed and sensitivity. Don’t know if this feature is really on it nor do I know if the earlier models have it. I suspect not. 
• SUV: 
• Childrens sizes: 
• The boards sell either as a base model or with a bluetooth remote lock, bluetooth speakers, and bag options. 

• Don’t bother looking up the specs. I think they’re all crap. They claim various degrees of angles that it can climb and all have various motor wattage specs that have discrepancies within their own listing. 
• The pricing will be different for the exact same thing from the same vendors. That gets annoying fast. 

HOW DO YOU PICK A VENDOR? it was tough. 

• Is there really a difference in quality of the ones available? Yes, I believe there are, but it’s tough to tell who has what. I you literally will just have to buy one and open it up. A youtube seller of Phunkyduck did just that, but there’s no way I’m paying $1,800 of a “better quality” one vs a $300. The quality’s not going to be that much better. I’d rather buy the $300 one and buy another 5 and take my chances.
• Amazon is attractive b/c it comes in a few days and Amazon backs you for returns supposedly but they’re a bit pricier in the 350-400 dollar range. 
• Ebay some people just straight up don’t trust because there are from what I’ve seen, at least 52 resellers everywhere. Hard to know who to trust. 
• There are a about 4 US companies that sell these in a physical store at a mall. Don’t for a second believe that they manufacture them in the US no matter what they say. UCruze is one of the companies.  I don’t trust them b/c what the kiosk dealer told me at the mall is different from what their website says as far as manufacturing and their so-called warranty. Also Uscoot.co which advertises at college campuses in the Bay Area.
• If you type in hoverboard or smart board or smart balance board or smart balance scooter review on google, you get a bunch of websites that are just promoting their own brand but appear to be legit review sites. I don’t believe it for a second. 
• Youtube buyers reference dealers they used and trusted. But I haven’t found a common dealer that many Youtubers back. 
• Aliexpress may be preferable over Alibaba b/c at Aliexpress, you can buy in eaches rather than in bulk, but the secret is that some Alibaba sellers will still sell retail to you in single units if you ask. 

MY VENDORS OF CHOICE: 

Some updates since my last post. New content in green text: 

1. Landbirdboard.com They sell  UL charger which works. Doesn't melt and no fires yet. They address the fire concern directly rather than ignoring it. 

2. Swagtron. In response to the fires, Swagway developed a new model called the Swagtron. It has all the features the original one should have had. 

1. http://chinaehealth.en.alibaba.com/ As mentioned above, this is where I got it. The price was good. They have the LG battery model. They have the Batman style I wanted. Correspondence is great. Via text, Linda responds in minutes and sometimes seconds if she’s awake in China. My original purchase came with a free bag, but since I ultimately got a delivery from the US, it does NOT come with a bag. I bought one separately from Aliexpress (backpack version as opposed to the more popular duffle bag version). Correspondence for me is very important in case I have trouble later. They also claim to have a factory and manufacture these themselves as opposed to being a reseller. I did get a Fedex tracking number. No signature though. It’s going to my dad’s office so it doesn’t get swiped off my doorstep.
2. http://smart-balancewheel.com/ This guy I found from Youtube. He admits he’s new to the scene and claims to have bought a factory and improved the product. Not sure I believe him, but he genuinely seems excited about the product and isn’t just trying to make a buck. Totally subjective reading of him. I noticed just now, for some reason they’re not selling the boards for the next two weeks. This company also makes LED lights unrelated to the hoverboard.
3. http://sunvgo.en.alibaba.com/product/60364456235-802183178/New_Design_self_balancing_electric_scooter_2_wheels_Hover_board_hoverboard_smart_balance_wheel.html These guys replied to my email inquiry and their prices are good. The price you see on the website does NOT include shipping so don’t get excited about the $170 you see there. These guys are one of the few that sell the Batman style.