Brightfire Lighter is aggressively advertised on YouTube as a rechargeable dual lighter and torch that doesn’t use fuel or butane gas. Thousands of online shoppers have come across Ads for this product online and are wondering if it’s indeed fuel-free. Well, the short answer is NO!
Sold on buybrightfire.com and numerous other websites, this lighter is labelled an electric lighter that is 20 times more powerful than regular lighters. The websites claim it is rechargeable, windproof and waterproof. The lighter is also sold under different names; Stormfire Lighter, Plasma Lighter, Rechargeble Arc Lighter, InstaFire Lighter, etc.
To use, buyers are instructed to use USB cord to charge it to capacity, nothing more.
Other features advertised are;
- soft adjustable flame
- safety lock
- 300+ uses on first charge
- military grade material
What is The Brightfire Lighter Scam?
The Brightfire lighter scam uses false claims of being a rechargeable electric lighter to make people buy a cheap butane lighter. This scam falls into the category of deceptive marketing. Fake invention story, 50% discount and 100% guarantee is used as a bait to attract buyers.
Brightfire or Stormfire lighter doesn’t use new plasma torch technology as claimed. Plasma lighters don’t have a flame, they have a node which shoots from one end to another.
The USB port for charging doesn’t work, and the instruction manual explicitly warns ‘don’t overfill with butane’.
Who Invented This Lighter?
There are lots of weird invention stories passed around by different commercials promoting this lighter. For different geography, there’s a different invention story;
- In French, they say it was developed by the French army and remained secret for years before being distributed to civilians.
- In New Zealand, it is advertised as Tesla coil technology (with USB recharger) originally from “New Zealand Special Forces” (SAS).
- In Canada it is advertised as Dragon’s breath cloning spliced with Greek Fire technology.
- In Australia, it is said to be invented by the Aust Army and mentions fully electric no gas required
Brightfire is a refillable butane lighter with a piezo ignitor, it’s not newly invented and certainly not military grade material. This exact lighter is sold for $5-$6 on Alibaba.com (see image below)
Brightfire Lighter Complaints
The Brightfire and Stormfire lighter is sold with a promise of 30 days money-back guarantee, however customers have been unable to get a full refund even after sending numerous mails to customer support. The company claimed they were out of rechargeable lighters and only have butane refills. They also offer to return half of the money $20, which isn’t a good bargain as refillable butane lighters cost between $4- $5 each.
The 5 star reviews on buybrightfire.com are fake and not from real verified buyers. Genuine reviews from real buyers labels the lighter a ‘Scam’.
Pros:
- It looks like a torch
Cons:
- It is sold with deceptive advertising
- Manufactured in China, not US.
- overpriced
- It isn’t rechargeable
- Only uses butane
How To Get Refund & Stop This Deceptive Marketing
If you’ve already fallen for this scam, contact the store via email [email protected] or call 1 (888) 863-4529 and request for a 70% refund stating ‘deceptive marketing’.
To help stop spread this deceptive marketing scam, please share this post and also report the fraudulent advertising to –
Report the scam to relevant authorities and organizations. This includes:
- Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3): If you are in the United States, you can file a complaint with the IC3 at https://www.ic3.gov/.
- Your Local Consumer Protection Agency: Contact your local consumer protection agency or the equivalent regulatory body in your country.
- Better Business Bureau (BBB)
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