Customer Reviews

Bethlehem Lighting Indoor/Outdoor Mini Star Christmas Light Sphere 50 , Multi-Color

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

We bought several spheres 3 years ago and just loved them. This past year we found them on Amazon and were delighted to buy them for approximately half of what we paid for them at our local Christmas store. We put the new set up and the next night several of the balls had unlit sections. I checked the lights and was able to get all but one lighting properly. Several nights later, the same thing happened. By the time the Christmas season was over nearly every new light we had bought was not lighting properly. Sometimes it was something simply like a bulb being cracked after hitting the tree it was hanging in. Most of the time, however, it was not something simple. Here is the main problem. The lights are not wired in series,therefore, when one bulb is out, the whole section is out. You cannot easily determine which bulb is burned out or shorted. Several times I had to remove all the bulbs in the sphere and test the bulbs one by one before replacing them in the sphere. Since the sockets are so close together and the lights are not wired in any discernible series, you cannot use a conventional Christmas light tester to determine the source of the problem. We had one sphere fall prey to neighborhood vandalism and was smashed by a baseball bat or a similar object. I looked inside the sphere and not only did I find cheap wiring I could not see a pattern or series in the wiring. If you have any wind where you live, they are extremely vulnerable to damage.

I would not buy these lights again because they malfunction quite frequently and are extremely hard to fix when they do.

Typically, these work right out of the box. Once you hang them, they seem to do okay. But if you want to hang them, take them down and store them, then use again - forget it. Instead, just take them down and throw them in the trash. We used to have a set for the holidays and another set for all other seasons (6-8 each).

They are made so poorly though that every time we store them (even though carefully repacked in the original boxes with all styro-foam inserts), we lose up to 75%. For instance, we just pulled out the Christmas orbs and only 1 out of 7 works. Even though they all worked when they were packed away.) These used to be pretty cheap ($7 -> $10 each) so I didn't mind taking a bit of a hit on them, but at $25 plus - someone must be smoking crack. They are so cute when they're working well, but not worth a single season at this price. Save your cash. Plenty of other ways to decorate at a fraction of the cost.

I bought 2 small ones and one large one in the blue color. They are beautiful and are really spectacular lit up, with the rest of the room dark. For the Christmas holidays and other occasions, I use them in front of a large window, hung at different heights, or sit them on a table near the window. I would love to buy more but the lights do not burn anywhere near the time it says they will. The lights seem to go out in clusters, with half of them out on one sphere, and at least a third out on the other two. They are not scattered outages, but are in one area, and the lights on each sphere went out all at once- not just one or two at a time. You can't replace the bulbs apparently.

I've thought of spray painting them some glowing color but I think that would make them look cheap. If the lights stayed lit even near the amount of time it says they will, then this would definitely be a 5 star item. But I can give it no more than 3 stars. Even though I bought all of them on sale, they are still too expensive for the amount of time you can use them. Perhaps if the price is reduced low enough, it would be worth it to buy these for one holiday season and not expect any longer use from them. Then just hope they'll last through that one holiday week.

We've had these lights for a long time - about nine years - and actually got them from a standard christmas store, not Amazon. When we first hung them up, they looked great; very colorful and festive, the whole nine yards. In short, a lot of fun, and as easy as can be - plug it in and you're done. However, as other reviewers have noted, the longevity - or lack thereof - of these spheres is pathetic. Each year since that first year, we've had to replace at least 5 bulbs per sphere (we have twelve) and it can be extraordinarily frustrating to determine which bulbs have failed, since the spheres will often go entirely dark when even one bulb is malfunctioning or burnt out. This involves removing each of the 50 bulbs from the sphere and testing them with a multimeter for continuity, one by one, by hand. And each year, the problem worsens.

This year, I finally decided to warn off other buyers. As I type this, my fingers are aching, because I have spent the last four hours yanking those tiny bulbs from the spheres to test them and replace them. I've had to buy 4 strings of standard Christmas lights just for the extra bulbs, and have already replaced almost 80 bulbs. Remember, all of these were in working order when they were carefully stored in a dry, weather-proof garage in their original packaging. In the uneventful year since, dozens upon dozens of bulbs mysteriously failed, spawning this awful evening of cursing and sore fingers. Even now, two of our twelve sphere refuse to light up at all, and I'm about ready to give up on them. If you're willing to buy a new set every year, or spend the holidays nursing bruised fingers and egos, then go for these lights. Otherwise, avoid them.

Excellent quality, reasonable price. Easy to work with. Couldn't go wrong buying these.

This seems to be a great product but it is not the large ball I though I was buying. It would be good if the diameter was prominently advertised, not just the number of lights. You ever try to count the number of lights on one of these? It could drive you nuts. Anyhow, it's only about 6" in diameter.

I purchased 4 of these to hang on my porch. Mixed with the 100 light sphere, multi-color, they looked great. The online pictures don't do them justice. They come with a long electrical cord that will allow you to string multiple ones together.

I confess being a bit skeptical when I finally purchased these fixtures, since several reviews are negative about them. But I have to say, they now only looked amazing hanging from our tree, but they survived a nasty little storm over this past Xmas holiday here in San Diego. So, despite the price, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that they withstood wind and rain without losing any bulb or shine. Also, they arrived within time and were in very good shape out of the box, nothing missing or broken. I recommend it!

We bought these for a "chandiler" affect in our gazebo. I LOVE THEM!!!! I can see how they would be fragile if bonked next to eachother causing breakage. So you just have to be gentle. I want to buy more for everywhere!!!

My wife had been looking for this for a while, finally found it here, looks great and is exactly as expected, would recommend to anyone.