Bulb Shopping

[charley75]

Should I buy my VHO bulbs on-line or at LFS? Wasn't sure how well they ship. Any experiences or opinions...
Charley

[moze229]

My experience online has been great. It all depends on the company you go with and how they ship. You're just going to have to assume that a company that ships bulbs is going to know how to package properly :) If you buy them online, I've found that you will save almost 50%. The LFS prices for VHO around here are twice as much as they are online. Online shopping rocks!! :)

[goofball310]

I'd have to agree with moze229, but I'd suggest looking around town before ordering online. Don't forget that you also have to pay for shipping when you order online.

I guess I luck out living in Southern Cali. Alot of online fish stores are located within driving distance.

Good luck in your search.

You might want to place a post in the Reef Club forum in your area to see if they can help.

[DgenR8]

I got my IceCap ballast and 4 VHO bulbs to go with it from www.marineDepot.com. At the time, they offered free shipping!
One little note on VHO bulbs, Nobody beats URI with the internal reflector!

[semtorque]

Just one thing to consider....

Often the total cost per bulb may appear to be lower online where in reality they are about the same price as buying at a LFS... an example:

You want to but 2 95W VHO URI bulbs..
Online - $20 ea. total = $40
LFS - $28 ea. total = $56

ok not to bad so far, but let's add "special" shipping costs for bulbs...
Online - $15 for shipping (less than 4 bulbs)
LFS - $2.50 (to power your '72 Mustang)

Now let's look at the total cost again...
Online - $40 + 15 = $55
LFS - $56 + $2.50 =58.50

The cost savings of shopping online isn't really that much, now if you are ordering more bulbs... like 4... then yes it does become significant... otherwise... find a LFS with the bulbs you want.

Now back to the original question... I've had no problems with shipped bulbs...they arrived fine, but somone needed to be home to sign for them...

By the way the online prices come from www.marinedepot.com and the LFS prices are from a recent purchase at my LFS here in MI.

Mike :beachbum:

[charley75]

Thanks for the advise.
I bought a 46.5" retrofit kit on-line from Hellolights. I should have ordered the bulbs then as well, but I was advised not to because of breakage. Come to think of it...it was a LFS employee who told me that...DUH! I wonder why???$$$.
Also, since I do have the 46.5", I figured they would be easier to find on-line.
Do all places charge special shipping for bulbs?

[MalHavoc]

I've been lucky with online shopping here in Canada. JL Aquatics (http://www.jlaquatics.com) will ship free if the order totals more than $200, and they do it via UPS. Very nice.

[newbie1]

Charley75,
Hellolights doesn't charge extra for bulbs;)