Cree led Light Bulbs Doubled In Price- Problems !!

[crazyoildude]

i bought 7 cree LED light bulbs 8 months ago for $4.97 but one of them stopped working and i had to bring it back to the big box store. Lots of drama trying to get a replacement so i figured i will just buy another one, that was until i saw the price went from $4.97 to $9.97 so i just walked out.
When i was talking to the exchange desk person someone on line said to me that those bulbs quality went way down fast and that he also had problems with two bulbs that lasted under 9 months they say on the box they should last over 10 years.

 

[Warstud]

Just seen this>>>

http://www.homedepot.com/SpecialBuy/Spec...1116-_-10402417

 

[Rand]

That's because at 4.97 your local energy company was subsidizing the price. 9.97 is the regular price.

Usually the ones that die are in enclosed fixtures.. this kills them crazy fast if you leave them on a long time they overheat and shorten the life drastically

Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
i bought 7 cree LED light bulbs 8 months ago for $4.97 but one of them stopped working and i had to bring it back to the big box store. Lots of drama trying to get a replacement so i figured i will just buy another one, that was until i saw the price went from $4.97 to $9.97 so i just walked out.
When i was talking to the exchange desk person someone on line said to me that those bulbs quality went way down fast and that he also had problems with two bulbs that lasted under 9 months they say on the box they should last over 10 years.

 

[yvon_la]

Might have bden badly handled by transport or warehouse.dont sweat it led should last a long time .dismantle the broken one .check if you like the build if you dont change bran .like everything some are better built then other

 

[daves87rs]

My Leds are doing okay so far...

 

[Quest]

My Cree LED bulbs been holding up fairly well so far.

Q.

 

[JHZR2]

Mine are all doing well, but there was a change in design of the heat sink on their bulbs from a blockier one to something a little more streamlined. At that point they started feeling more loose, and I did have one that buzzed.

But I haven't needed to replace any, knock on wood, so hopefully it was just some growing pains.

 

[Doog]

I have some out door LED bulbs that I leave on 24/7/365. Two are Crees that have been on for 2 years. I replaced cfl bulbs that were on for 11 years. I hope they last.

 

[ARCOgraphite]

Who make the hose brand walmart 60W-eq ? I bought a couple a month ago and they work well, though the base gets hot though the bulb cover never more than warm in an open fixture. The light output (lumens) and colour temp seems same as the 60W incandescent it replaced. I would be pleased if they would last at least 3-5 years

 

[Pop_Rivit]

As was stated before, your local electric company subsidy is no longer available, so you're now paying regular retail price. Given the amount of savings, especially in a high use fixture.

I switched our entire house over to LED bulbs last January and so far I haven't seen any failures. I'm completely happy with the quality of light as well as the reduction of the electric bill over last year. I am on track for a 3-4 year payback of the initial investment.

 

[mikefxu]

http://www.creebulb.com/Home/Warranty

 

[Rand]

Cree did do some changes.. they were mostly positive but fairly small.

you can youtube it.. there is a guy on there that does led bulb teardowns.

he also tears down a several year old cree and a newer cree
(and there maybe an even newer model too)



AFAIK totally work safe and no bad language. I didnt read all the comment pages.. but seems very tame.

 

[Cutehumor]

interesting about the CREE LED bulb. This is why I'm waiting on the early adopters/updates to be made and the price to come down before I switch from CFL. my 2 cents.

 

[HTSS_TR]

Cree Warranty: "Return the bulb with proof of purchase, register receipt and your name and address to Cree, Inc. (Consumer Warranty), 4600 Silicon Drive, Durham, NC 27703 - See more at: http://www.creebulb.com/Home/Warranty#sthash.76Y5ER4v.dpuf"

Cost of postage can be more than the price of new bulb.

I still don't buy the LED fad yet. I have a good stash of CFL bulbs I paid around 10-15 cents each, no reason for me to discard those CFL bubs and pay more than $4-5 each for LED. The energy saving with LED over CFL is very minimum, the light quality of CFL is good enough for our family members.

 

[JHZR2]

Yes, the return of going from cfl to led is not worth it, typically.

Further, the cfl mercury bit is way overblown.

But I have seen failures of CFLs and think they have a few flaws to them.

And 10-15c for a cfl is not the norm...

If I had incandescent applications that I was changing today, many I'd go led for. I wouldn't change CFLs unless there was a real and valid reason. Sometimes there are though.., saving money from CFLs is not one, IMO.

 

[mikefxu]

I only changed 4 fixtures (5 bulbs) to the 100w Cree LEDs. They are the lights that are on anytime we are home. They ended up being brighter than the 100w CFLs which is good because we are fixture (bulb count) limited. I won't be upgrading any other fixtures unless the prices come down CFL level.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

I noticed that too.... LEDs (overall) are brighter than CFLs in the same applications.

 

[JHZR2]

Me too. I've said many times that I'm. Ore pleased with led light. Not worth the price of admission for most applications though, unless the change was necessary anyway, or you're going from Incan.