Problem ordering LED household light bulbs from Amazon

[Muse]

Item: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08J83ZC9X/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

SYLVANIA ECO LED A19 Light Bulb, 60W Equivalent Efficient 9W, 7 Year, 750 Lumens, Medium Base, Frosted, 2700K, Soft White - 24 pack (40986)

I can't check out, getting a message that for some reason it can't be shipped to my address. I'm in S.F. Bay Area (Berkeley).

CSR can only tell me there's a laundry list of possible reasons. I get irate, insisting there must be a specific reason and he puts me on hold to talk to a supervisor, presumably.

CSR comes back after 5+ minutes and tells me there's a CA law Jan. 2020 banning sale of inefficient light bulbs... incandescents and halogens. I tell him this is NOT an inefficient light bulb. He goes reaching for a supervisor again... (muzak).

What's up with this?

 

[BoomerD]

Look at the description:

• This product does not ship to California.

 

[Torn Mind]

Look at the description:

The price of utopia and paradise.

 

[Muse]

Look at the description:

Indeed. Still don't know why. Got a super and was told it is a hazmat issue. Now, the similar LED bulb that died today doesn't say anything on it indicating I should dispose of it in compliance with local laws, so I figured I just toss it in the trash. And that had me thinking it's not like CFL light bulbs, which I have to bring to a recycler. So, I'm whiffing on why. I can buy them at Costco, other retail stores here but can't get it shipped to me, at least not by Amazon.

 

[Muse]

Damn, looking seems like Home Depot and Costco are charging many times more for these. There must be a black market for them in California.

 

[lxskllr]

Might be Prop 65.

 

[Torn Mind]

Title 20 explained: California's energy efficiency standards for lighting

Light bulbs and other products must meet Title 20 standards in California. Learn about what the standards mean for you.

insights.regencylighting.com

 

[Muse]

Hard to imagine what they were thinking with CEC. It's more stringent than Energy Star. The bulbs at Amazon that are in compliance cost twice as much. Just weird. And I don't see the difference in the spec. 9 watts, 750-800 lumens. Seems more than petty, it's a rip off.

 

[sdifox]

Next thing you know you'll need to present ID to buy vinegar.

 

[Muse]

Poked around Amazon, Home Depot, Costco a BUNCH, settled on this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L37F4BW?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image&th=1

They are some brand I never heard of but got by Cerberus at the Gates of Hell and should make it to my house, costing me double what those Sylvania bulbs would have if they'd let me buy them. Passed on the Amazon Philips A19 2700k 9watt 800lumens (looks to be same bulb as the one that burned out yesterday in my kitchen) package because there were quite a few reviewers who said many of theirs died after a year. Seems to me those bulbs (in my kitchen) have been burning out faster than they should. The ones I just ordered are rated (by the manufacturer, evidently) at 15,000 hours. I figure they're supposed to last me 14 years each at the rate I use them mas o menos.

Next thing you know you'll need to preaent ID to buy vinegar.

Well, you could make your own bootleg vinegar if it comes to that. LED light bulbs, not so much.

 

[sdifox]

Poked around Amazon, Home Depot, Costco a BUNCH, settled on this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L37F4BW?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image&th=1

They are some brand I never heard of but got by Cerberus at the Gates of Hell and should make it to my house, costing me double what those Sylvania bulbs would have if they'd let me buy them. Passed on the Amazon Philips A19 2700k 9watt 800lumens (looks to be same bulb as the one that burned out yesterday in my kitchen) package because there were quite a few reviewers who said many of theirs died after a year. Seems to me those bulbs (in my kitchen) have been burning out faster than they should. The ones I just ordered are rated (by the manufacturer, evidently) at 15,000 hours. I figure they're supposed to last me 14 years each at the rate I use them mas o menos.
Well, you could make your own bootleg vinegar if it comes to that. LED light bulbs, not so much.

Of course you can make your own led light bulb, there is no vaccum in there you know.

It is probably more expensive than buying bulbs though.

I have the Sylvania bulbs lol.

 

[Captante]

Poked around Amazon, Home Depot, Costco a BUNCH, settled on this:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08L37F4BW?ref=ppx_pt2_dt_b_prod_image&th=1

They are some brand I never heard of but got by Cerberus at the Gates of Hell and should make it to my house, costing me double what those Sylvania bulbs would have if they'd let me buy them. Passed on the Amazon Philips A19 2700k 9watt 800lumens (looks to be same bulb as the one that burned out yesterday in my kitchen) package because there were quite a few reviewers who said many of theirs died after a year. Seems to me those bulbs (in my kitchen) have been burning out faster than they should. The ones I just ordered are rated (by the manufacturer, evidently) at 15,000 hours. I figure they're supposed to last me 14 years each at the rate I use them mas o menos.
Well, you could make your own bootleg vinegar if it comes to that. LED light bulbs, not so much.

Avoid ANY product with Philips branding made since the name was sold off many years ago is my advice.

Although I'm sure somebody will chime in shortly saying their Philips "thing" has lasted "literally forever" my experience has been the exact opposite as has everyone I know IRL.

Remember "things" with a completely unacceptable 45% failure-rate STILL have a 55% none-failure rate!

To be fair you could say the same about individual failures too and have a point, but when Best Buy took the POS Philips 40 in CRT HDTV-TV back I made the mistake of buying, the manager laughed and told me "those crap things come back every time!".

 

[Red Squirrel]

I find most LED bulbs are low quality, even the name brand ones. Lot of them just act up or flat out die after a few years. They will start to randomly turn on/off, flicker etc or just stop working altogether. Probably poor solder joints in the PSU and not the actual LEDs themselves but most cannot be opened without destroying them so kind of hard to fix.

 

[sdifox]

I find most LED bulbs are low quality, even the name brand ones. Lot of them just act up or flat out die after a few years. They will start to randomly turn on/off, flicker etc or just stop working altogether. Probably poor solder joints in the PSU and not the actual LEDs themselves but most cannot be opened without destroying them so kind of hard to fix.

just cut off the plastic bulb.

 

[Muse]

I find most LED bulbs are low quality, even the name brand ones. Lot of them just act up or flat out die after a few years. They will start to randomly turn on/off, flicker etc or just stop working altogether. Probably poor solder joints in the PSU and not the actual LEDs themselves but most cannot be opened without destroying them so kind of hard to fix.

I have a lot of CFL bulbs in my bulb drawer, far far more than LED bulbs, of which I have few. Should receive the 6 off-brand 9w 800L 2700k LED bulbs I bought yesterday today. I was thinking about recycling the CFL bulbs instead of using them but if the LEDs you buy these days are crap maybe I should just use the flourescents until they die. AFAIK, you can't buy them now but I suppose I can use what I have. They do use more electricity, though, which I'm basing on what I read on the bulbs yesterday, maybe twice as much.

What say? Get rid of my CFL bulbs and use only LEDs now or use the flourescents?

 

[lxskllr]

CFLs suck, but being wasteful sucks more. Use them, or give them away til they're gone.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

CFLs suck, but being wasteful sucks more. Use them, or give them away til they're gone.

- I recently replaced all the recessed lighting in my house with some nice 3500K R20 bulbs (like 120 bulbs, its nuts).

I had all these leftover incandescent 2700K bulbs leftover. Put them on the curb cause I wasn't going to throw away a bunch of perfectly functional bulbs. They were gone in 30 minutes.

 

[MrSquished]

The LED lights at my place were new 4 years ago, still going quite wonderfully with zero issues.

 

[MtnMan]

With very few exceptions, I have been exclusively LED bulbs for at least 2 - 3 years, or longer. The exceptions are "yahootie in the refrigerator", and two carriage lights on the front of the house that have motion sensors, that just don't like LED bulbs, so they have halogens. My energy provider (Duke Energy) had specials, plus picked them up at Sam's or Costco when they were running deals.

Hated CFL's, and they really sucked for outdoor use in cold weather. Would take 5+ minutes to reach full brightness if it was cold outside.

Replaced all the florescent tubes in my basement workroom with LED tubes, which required removing the ballast and rewiring the fixture, but they give off much more light.

 

[manly]

Home Depot carries CEC compliant bulbs:

60-Watt Equivalent A19 CEC Rated LED Light Bulb Soft White (8-Pack) FG-04269 - The Home Depot

This 60-Watt Equivalent A19 CEC Rated LED Light Bulb Soft White is a stylish replacement for traditional incandescent bulbs with all the benefits of LED technology. The color temperature of this light

www.homedepot.com

Dollar Tree also carries cheap LED bulbs, still $1 for the next couple weeks.

 

[MtnMan]

- I recently replaced all the recessed lighting in my house with some nice 3500K R20 bulbs (like 120 bulbs, its nuts).

I had all these leftover incandescent 2700K bulbs leftover. Put them on the curb cause I wasn't going to throw away a bunch of perfectly functional bulbs. They were gone in 30 minutes.

There is probably a market where you could have sold them for much more than their original price. Sorta like the high volume toilets when they were outlawed.

 

[GodisanAtheist]

There is probably a market where you could have sold them for much more than their original price. Sorta like the high volume toilets when they were outlawed.

- Maybe that's exactly what happened to them. At the end of the day, I'm not going through a bunch of hoops to move a bunch of fragile inventory to turn maybe a $100-200 profit when all was said and done. After selling a few things online, and dealing with the general public in general, I've learned that my time and sanity are priceless

I hope that they found a happy home.

 

[MtnMan]

- Maybe that's exactly what happened to them. At the end of the day, I'm not going through a bunch of hoops to move a bunch of fragile inventory to turn maybe a $100-200 profit when all was said and done. After selling a few things online, and dealing with the general public in general, I've learned that my time and sanity are priceless

I hope that they found a happy home.

I'm with you on that. The more I observe the general population, the less I want to have anything to do with them.

 

[Muse]

CFLs suck, but being wasteful sucks more. Use them, or give them away til they're gone.

OK, I'll think out loud here. I suppose I can't expect a CFL to last more than 10,000 hours, or so I see online. Let's assume I get 7000 hours from it. It's using ~2x what an LED bulb would use in electricity. Used 3 hr/day if I am paying $0.15/kwh (I'm guessing), that's $1.48/year. So if I'm using a CFL instead it's costing me about that extra in electricity annually. I can buy an LED for that. I suppose the economical thing to do is recycle the damn things, not even give them away. I have a bunch of CFL's I hardly use at all that are in lamps or overhead in rooms. No biggie on those, but if I had a bunch of LED's I guess I should swap those for the CFL's too.

Plus, in my experience most CFL's take a minute or two to get close to full illumination.

I bought 1/2 dozen LED battery operated lamps a few months ago. I haven't opened a few of those, having fallen in love with the Miady pair, for which I bought some much higher capacity 18650 batteries.

Miady pair

 

[lxskllr]

OK, I'll think out loud here. I suppose I can't expect a CFL to last more than 10,000 hours, or so I see online. Let's assume I get 7000 hours from it. It's using ~2x what an LED bulb would use in electricity. Used 3 hr/day if I am paying $0.15/kwh (I'm guessing), that's $1.48/year. So if I'm using a CFL instead it's costing me about that extra in electricity annually. I can buy an LED for that. I suppose the economical thing to do is recycle the damn things, not even give them away. I have a bunch of CFL's I hardly use at all that are in lamps or overhead in rooms. No biggie on those, but if I had a bunch of LED's I guess I should swap those for the CFL's too.

Plus, in my experience most CFL's take a minute or two to get close to full illumination.

I bought 1/2 dozen LED battery operated lamps a few months ago. I haven't opened a few of those, having fallen in love with the Miady pair, for which I bought some much higher capacity 18650 batteries.

Miady pair

Recycling is a 'next best thing' scenario. You aren't talking any money really in energy difference, so it comes down to what is the best way of using available resources. The CFLs have been manufactured, so the 'pollution credit' has been spent. They work, so it's better to maximize the utility from the pollution you already caused by buying them. Scrapping them for parts(recycling) isn't the best use.

All this is theoretical. The best thing you could do for the environment is kill yourself, but it wouldn't even be noticed. Any individual doesn't matter, unless they're fans of burning tires in the backyard or something, but it's at least a useful exercise doing the best you can, and you can say "I tried". I use my CFLs at work mostly. There's a couple lights that are never turned off, and that's where CFLs excel. If you have lights that are on for long periods of time, that's the place to use them. Intermittent lighting is best handled by LEDs.