did you get the remote and the receiver board.
If its the boards with the brown 4 button control, then the ones i have used like that are programmable to the button functions, 1 on 2 off , 1 on and 1 off, or toggle, etc, they really are a neat cheap little remote.
You also can get extra remotes and they will program to the receiver with a push of a button on the receiver, so the receiver will except several remotes on different frequencys.
If you stretch the antenna wire out on the receiver it will increase the signal distance.
I agree you could not build a remote for the cost of these modules.
Pete.