"LightBulbEmporium fulfilled my order cheaply, correctly and within 24 hours for a standard shipping fee. I couldn't be happier."

"Not very good. Company supplied case of CFL bulbs that did not meet description or specification (actual part number on box was different to web site). They blamed their supplier who they said provides the description on the website and was asked to return *at my expense* since it was "not their policy to pay for returned items." Seriously - they send the wrong stuff and then expect you to pay to return it! Eventually they conceded and offered to pay shipping and credit payment. Credit was never received and I had to contact the credit card company. According to CC company lightbulbemporium never replied to their request for information regarding the transaction and the dispute was resolved in my favor. Would not deal with this company again."

"Thumbs down. This company sells things that they can't source and/or deliver in a timely manner. I placed an order for a case of bulbs on 12/19/2010. Their order confirmation email said "scheduled to ship direct from the manufacturer in 10-14 business days." 6 weeks later they tell me for the second time that the order will be delayed another 2 weeks (i.e. 8+ weeks at best). "

"This company completely failed me! I ordered over 100 lightbulbs on October 13th for a party I am hosting on Oct 30th. With ground shipping that gives me more than enough time to rrecieve them, and MORE THAN ENOUGH TIME for correspondences. Two days before the party they are STILL not here so I call in to track down the shipment and guess what they tell me. "oh... um so that item is back ordered and just got to New York so they'll ship out in a few days". UNACCEPTABLE. No email, no call, no contact with customer at all. I was left hanging in online order purgatory? SO FRUSTRATING.

I asked if we could ship overnight to accommodate my situation. "yeah, for $300...what's YOUR UPS number?" On top of that I had to tell their rep "you should notify your customers of back orders, delays, and similar issues" and only after that did i receive an apology. Up until then she was non chalant like this was a normal occurance for their business.

If you want your bulbs in a timely manner, order from somewhere else. I demand good communication and honest vendors. "

" Wow, I had every experience one could have in making an online order. My first problem was that the website kept dumping my cart contents so I kept having to go back and pick my items again. In addition, the manufacturer has a terrible stock numbering system where the only difference between their lamp heads is one letter! So instead of 10 L lamps, I got 10 W.

I was totally freaked thinking that from what others had written I was going to get either stuck with the product altogether or pay such a huge restocking fee that I might as well keep them. I was positive that they would not believe or even care about my cart problems or recognize the confusing stock number system. It's not their numbering system so in reality, they could have passed the buck to WAC Lighting.

Like others I had no luck through e-mail. It was the holidays and then it was Jan, return season, so I didn't expect a speedy reply. I did receive an e-mail rather quickly asking for my patience to sort it out after the New Year. Then, I got one stating they were waiting for a RMA# from WAC but then nothing. After a couple of other e-mails were not responded to I sent one with the heading that I am being ignored and would like a supervisor. I wrote that regardless, I would come to RR.com and leave an honest review. It was up to them to choose whether it would be positive or not. They chose positive.

I was immediately contacted by phone! Not only did I receive a supervisor but my original customer service rep remained in contact until all was finally sorted. WAC was bugged and finally an RMA# came. Within a couple of weeks I had replacements and no additional charges!

But we had one more problem, believe it or not. (I do have bad luck, lol.) One of the replacement lamps was defective. I again contacted the 2 reps helping me and I immediately received a replacement without any further effort on my part. And, that's it.

In the end I got exactly what I ordered for exactly what I paid. Was it perfectly smooth? No but what is? These online retailers are huge and all their stock ships direct from the manufacturer so they don't have the kind of control your local Home Depot has. We get something in exchange for that, good prices.

My Mother in Law says, "You can have it right, cheap or fast but you only get 2 of the 3. Take your pick." So, I got right and cheap but I paid with time. So if you have to have it be a perfect transaction, either go to a local retailer and pay full price or place your order by phone and double check everything. If you have a problem, be persistent and reasonable. The reps you are dealing with are doing the best they can. Clearly they are overwhelmed. You can say they should hire more reps but we are in a recession and if you want perfect service, then pay for it. If you want a deal then work with them.

In the end, I am very happy with how it worked out and how I was treated. If your rep is not getting it done and you have been polite and patient, ask for a supervisor and go from there. Yes, I would order from them again but next time if I have cart trouble, I'll call! Thank you Light Bulb Emporium for making it right. I won't forget it."

"Original review, November 2009]
Ordered 10 specialty bulbs that no physical store carries. Light Bulb Emporium had them at an excellent price. However, the flat $7.49 shipping charge brought the price back to just above what I used to pay in stores (when they had them). The flat shipping charge seems pretty typical for lighting stores on the web.
Like other reviewers, I found little communication on shipping progress (though doing so with Priority Mail is hard), but the products arrived, very well packed, 6 days after my order, not jet speed but reasonable. Minor negative: their web site has excellent information, but it is unbelievably slow. Using it is agonizing.
[UPDATE January 2010]
It turned out that the low price was too good to be true - the bulbs' color was not as described (orange instead of amber, there's a difference). And in any case they were defective, the color coating came off in use, and rather quickly. Light Bulb Emporium scores about a B- on the return: they responded promptly, the refund was fairly fast, and they refunded most of my return shipping cost (which I hadn't expected). But doing the math, $7.80 for bulbs + $7.49 shipping + $3.26 return shipping (I had to pay) - $10 refund = $8.55 I am out in the end; i.e., I still lost about half of what I spent on this transaction. Moral: they will stand behind their products to a point."

"I ordered some JDD light bulbs that are not easy to find locally. They had the even harder to find frosted version and at an unbeatable price. Shipping was not fast, but not all that slow either. Everything arrived as ordered. I am quite happy and consider them my first choice for lights when not time constrained. In fact, I am just now placing another order for some projector lamps."

"I second the motion regarding the poor communication of this company's order department. They simply do not respond to Email, even if to confirm actions that they have taken. So don't even try Email. Just call their 888 number. This company's customer service is not first rate, but the prices and quality appear to be good."

"Ordered several natural spectrum candelabra CFL lights as well as some novelty colored party lights for the kids on Aug 29. Items shipped Sept 4. Shipment arrived Sept 9 (UPS is always slow to my area, not the retailer's fault)

2 bulbs were missing from order. Sent E-Mail and they apologized and shipped the missing items with no hassle at all.

I have used them in the past and E-Mail appears to be a very unreliable way to communicate with them. For prompt service, call them.

For low price and availability of bulbs that may be hard to find locally they're great. But they seem like a company directed more towards commercial sales and may not meet the higher expectations of individual customers."

"I placed an order for 3 compact fluorescent light bulbs on 5/21/2008 and did not receive them until 6/20/2008. I sent several email inquiries that were never answered, so I called them and they promised to ship at the beginning of June due to the bulbs being backordered. The bulbs were shipped in 2 shipments and I did not receive them until the 20th of June. Poor communication and customer service, but the bulbs priced fairly and had no quality issues with the bulbs."