I made the mistake of buying some bulbs at one of those stores where each item is a dollar. We bought some candelabra type bulbs for a ceiling fan light that were branded with the Sunbeam name. My thinking at the time of the purchase was how they were just bulbs, so what could be the problem? It’s not like I was buying food of some brand I never heard.
The reason I’m writing this is because there have been some television news segments and print stories touting the great buys that can be found when shopping at the stores where each item is only a dollar. Since the economic downfall, I have heard of the benefits and great deals to be found at these retail stores. However, maybe there are some things that just are not worth buying at a such a store.
The shelves are packed with items that appear to not be popular enough to get sold out at regular prices at other retail outlets. However, could there be another reason why the shelves are packed with products for only a dollar? Could there have been other issues preventing the products from being sold in other retail stores? I’ve seen products in mislabeled or misspelled packaging. That isn’t a big deal. Many things are made and packaged in China, so packaging typos are not a problem with the product.
My Sunbeam bulbs appeared to be in packaging that was okay. No issues with misspelled words was found. In this case, it was the product that had a problem. The bulbs worked okay as far as lighting up but when I went to replace one that eventually burned out, the glue holding the glass bulb to the metal base had separated from the glass bulb.
The bulb was loose in the metal base. I checked the ones still in the fixture that were not burned out, and all of the bulbs had come loose from the metal bases. They were just being held in place by the bare wires coming out of the base of the glass bulb. I had to shut off the power to the fixture and use a tool to remove one bulb that came completely out of its base when I tried to unscrew it.
Take a look at the photos:
Failed Sunbeam bulbs from retail store where products are a dollar each. Two unused ones on left.
Sunbeam bulb base showing the glue.
Closeup of Sunbeam bulb with glass separated from metal base.
Closeup of glue in metal base of Sunbeam bulb.
I’m sticking to paper products and maybe a few other non-electrical products the next time I shop at a store where everything is a dollar. I wonder how those Sunbeam bulbs got to the store in the first place? Did Sunbeam or the purchasing department for the store know that there was an issue? This is a fire and electrical shock hazard. Sometimes a discount just isn’t worth it. It wasn’t just one bulb that had the problem. All of the Sunbeam bulbs I put in the ceiling fan that were purchased at the dollar store had the glass come loose from the metal base. Are we being sold products that are known by manufacturers or distributors to have safety problem? All I can say right now is buyer beware.