Prices for Christmas Lights Only Getting Higher....

[Arteom]

With gas prices on the rise it's no surprise that our hobbies feel the pain as well, not at the pump, but at the register! Higher oil prices and rocketing copper prices raise the price of christmas lights year after year, But how far will it go?

In the current 2012 season WalMart & Costco have rolled out their Christmas supplies and decorations earlier than ever as soon as late september you could have gone out and bought all the christmas lights your heart desired We all here probably cherish those store brand 100ct Incandescents, well I do, and to those more fortunate, those 60ct store brand LED's. Its safe to say and I'm glad to report that LED christmas light prices have stayed rather steady, the same cannot be said about incandescents.

I moved to our current northern California residence 9 Years ago, at that time WalMart store brand 100ct Lights were $1.38 however that was back in 2003 and they pretty much hovered at that price for around 5 years. 2009 They were bumped to $1.64, 2010 we seen $1.88, in 2011 100ct Lights were now $1.98 - $2.09... still bearable... Recently a trip to WalMart revealed a shock, one the light wires were thinner than last years, to my eye that is, and the box is smaller too as the extra room is not needed because of the loss of the thicker wire, and two for the first time ever, 100ct store brand WalMart Christmas lights are now $2.88!

Almost $3 for a store brand of 100ct incandescents, where 60ct store brand LED's stay the same, $5.98...

I wonder, with continuing raising prices what's the tolerance you guys will take until you hang in the towel and start buying LED's, considering they stayed the same price as today?

Mine is $3.29

Edited October 7, 2012 by LORAdmin

[Ron Boyd]

I moved to 100% LED this year. Yeah, it was costly, but the problems I had with Incans last year, it seemed like I was going out every night to check and then to push 50 out of 100 in to find which one was loose or out. I myself like the LEDs better than incans because of the "POP" they give. To each their own, though, right? On another note, all of my incans from last year, I'm turning into extension cords. A $0.75 box from after Christmas sales makes a very inexpensive drop cord, good for those 10-15 ft runs you need.

[scubado]

On another note, all of my incans from last year, I'm turning into extension cords. A $0.75 box from after Christmas sales makes a very inexpensive drop cord, good for those 10-15 ft runs you need.

Seems to me you're asking for trouble, GFI tripping.

[Ron Boyd]

That should come up in testing. If so, I'll go with SPT

[Orville]

Seems to me you're asking for trouble, GFI tripping.

EXACTLY! Because the light sockets when they get wet, some strands will have the bulb not lit, but the bulb is good, and the water is actually shorting the socket with what you think is a bad bulb, but the strand is still lit with the unlit bulb. Ran into that this year with a strand of Orange Incans I had put on green ground stakes after a very hard downpour. Now it didn't trip the GFCI, well, not until 3 other bulbs went the same route.

I thought the bulb was bunred out and then found it wasn't, but that the rain water had gotten into the socket with dirt {mud} and created a short across the terminals in the socket, making the bulb appear burned out, cleaned socket, put bulb back in, and it lit.

So I can see a potential for a lot of GFCI problems using an old non-working incan string for an extension cord! And would not recommend it myself.

I actually take my old incan and even bad LED strands that can't be reworked and cut the male pass through and female ends off and use them on the ends of homebrewed extension cords for whatever length I may need to make.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Orville

[Orville]

Almost forgot, they're still trying to get away from us using and buying incandescent bulbs, so I can forsee these type bulbd NOT being produced as much, which in turn will drive the price up considerably as well. Out illustrious gov't would rather the incan bulb go by the way of the dinosaurs and become extinct all together.

This is why I've been buying LED's for quite a few years now, but can't always seem to find the ones{types} I need or in a length/count I need to use!

So I figure incans will continue to escalate in price, not only because of other factors, but as they are also trying to be phased out completely.

Edited October 7, 2012 by Orville

[Ron Boyd]

Actually, I take all of the light sockets off. What I'm left with is 2 wires and two plugs. The sockets are long gone by the time I use them

[Arteom]

I would like if they made LED's in the same counts as Incandescents, something that we are all used too.

[Don]

I would like if they made LED's in the same counts as Incandescents, something that we are all used too.

Unless I'm missing something, they make LED's in 50 and 100 counts, just like 50 and 100 count incandescent lights you see in the store. While I don't see 70 count in the stores that often, nor 35, I'd imagine those are out there too, just like LED's.

[Guest wbottomley]

They have any size you want.

[Arteom]

Unless I'm missing something, they make LED's in 50 and 100 counts, just like 50 and 100 count incandescent lights you see in the store. While I don't see 70 count in the stores that often, nor 35, I'd imagine those are out there too, just like LED's.

They do!

But a store brand of 60/70 LED's with a plain cap style is around $6 - $7 and a 100 Count is only available in "Name brands" Like Martha Stewart or GE, and they go for $11 - $17 a box! WHAT!

Plus here, the stores are EMPTY by the time christmas lights reach to 50% off? I used to be able to freely by any kind of lights at 75% off, heck 6 years ago I went to lowes and they had a wall FULL of incandescent 100ct multis and clear marked down to $0.10 a box, i wish i took all of them!

[PaulXmas]

I am slowly converting over to LED.

Replace about 80-90 % of the lights on my wireframe.

I have over 100 strings of minis that are going to end up in the garbage (why does that feel like a sin).

[Orville]

I am slowly converting over to LED.

Replace about 80-90 % of the lights on my wireframe.

I have over 100 strings of minis that are going to end up in the garbage (why does that feel like a sin).

You could always send those mini's my way. I'm sure I could find some type of use for them.

[Arteom]

I am slowly converting over to LED.

Replace about 80-90 % of the lights on my wireframe.

I have over 100 strings of minis that are going to end up in the garbage (why does that feel like a sin).

I offer to pay for the shipping

[xmaslightsnz]

heck o wish we had those prices over here for buying lights in NZ even with the conversion from USD to NZD its still so much cheaper than here, for example.... 30m length features 300 LED lights $79:95 NZD$ USD$ 65.29 10m length features 100 LED lights.29.40 NZD$ --USD$24.42 2.5m length features 20 Snowflake led lights.NZD$19.00 USD$ 15.52

and that at the cheap end of the scale.