Are the 50th Anniversary Lava Lites any good? - Oozing Goo - The Lava Lamp Syndicate2024-03-29T08:06:49Zhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A608882&feed=yes&xn_auth=noAt this point I think I'm jus…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-09:1566398:Comment:6097812016-02-09T20:09:53.908ZChrishttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/1ce0gqe3mbh36
<p>At this point I think I'm just sticking with the 17"-er I ended up with. It looks and flows really nice--I've been running it every day the last couple of weeks and it has had zero problems. Liquid is nice and clear, wax behaves as it should (for a China lamp) and most importantly, the wax color looks nicer than anything I've ever achieved with a goo kit. I've never liked the speckles in the globes, but on this particular lamp it looks kind of appropriate, since the color scheme is kind of a…</p>
<p>At this point I think I'm just sticking with the 17"-er I ended up with. It looks and flows really nice--I've been running it every day the last couple of weeks and it has had zero problems. Liquid is nice and clear, wax behaves as it should (for a China lamp) and most importantly, the wax color looks nicer than anything I've ever achieved with a goo kit. I've never liked the speckles in the globes, but on this particular lamp it looks kind of appropriate, since the color scheme is kind of a "night sky" type of theme anyway. The wax is a dark purple and the liquid is kind of a midnight blue, so the pinpoints of light kind of look like stars or a planetarium against that background.</p>
<p>I STILL don't buy it that LL can't make these without the bubbles in the glass though. Again, the nicer specialty models don't seem to have that issue.</p>
Agreed~!
However, Tad Whole…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-09:1566398:Comment:6096582016-02-09T10:56:17.504ZClaude Jhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ClaudeJohnson
<p><cite> </cite></p>
<p>Agreed~!</p>
<p><br></br>However, Tad Wholesale IS a discounted sales warehouse that sells open box items they pick up at auctions and such.</p>
<p>They even sell stuff by the pallet.</p>
<p>Usually itemsare missing parts and such</p>
<p>There is a good likelihood that this lamp could be one of my LL or Amazon's returns?. :)</p>
<p>For some reason (past purchase?) I have them in my saved sellers.</p>
<p>I think it was a worktable for garage?</p>
<p>From a past business…</p>
<p><cite> </cite></p>
<p>Agreed~!</p>
<p><br/>However, Tad Wholesale IS a discounted sales warehouse that sells open box items they pick up at auctions and such.</p>
<p>They even sell stuff by the pallet.</p>
<p>Usually itemsare missing parts and such</p>
<p>There is a good likelihood that this lamp could be one of my LL or Amazon's returns?. :)</p>
<p>For some reason (past purchase?) I have them in my saved sellers.</p>
<p>I think it was a worktable for garage?</p>
<p>From a past business owner perspective, I can also see how such sales volume in one month would (almost justifiably) net less than @1% (.80) in complaints. Especially if they are experiencing understaffed, mismanaged employees, bad quality control, etc.. Somebody there must be sitting on the computer 12/7 to service this large volume. (5,527 listings per month) </p>
<p>I do wonder about some of the complaints,.. some of the seem absolutely credible while others appear unrealistic.</p>
<p>It is also obvious that they have some dickweed running the pickup counter who possesses no people skills</p>
<p>Whenever I have a issue with a seller, (And it happens more than I'd like it to) I involve ebay and wait for the resolution time period to expire,. Its a hassle, but I always get a decision in my favor and get refunded. This can even happen with sellers with 99% feedback approvals.</p>
<p>Granted, this transaction would be an absolute roll of the dice,.. But if the end sales price is cheap enough,..?</p>
<p>It might be worth it.</p>
<p>Even if it arrived cloudy, it would be a candidate for a glitter conversion?) <br/>A un-dented 50th base and cap would be worth at least $40+</p>
<p>I agree, buyer beware,..</p>
<p><cite> </cite></p>
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<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A609763&xg_source=msg_com_forum#1566398Comment609763"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Claude J said:</p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?id=1566398%3ATopic%3A608382&page=4#1566398Comment609823"><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>if anyone is looking to acquire another one (or your first) there is a 50th Grande on eBay with a starting bid of $9.00 and $25 shipping. Hard to tel from the pics but it might have a few occlusions in the glass (or just lava residue) <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" target="_blank">http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&a...</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>**Buyer Beware - </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=taddwholesale&iid=371549925065&de=off&items=25&which=negative&interval=30&_trkparms=negative_30" target="_blank">http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=...</a></p>
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</blockquote> Claude J said:
if anyone is l…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-09:1566398:Comment:6097632016-02-09T07:05:08.229ZMileHighhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/MileHigh
<p>Claude J said:</p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?id=1566398%3ATopic%3A608382&page=4#1566398Comment609823"><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>if anyone is looking to acquire another one (or your first) there is a 50th Grande on eBay with a starting bid of $9.00 and $25 shipping. Hard to tel from the pics but it might have a few occlusions in the glass (or just lava residue) …</p>
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<p>Claude J said:</p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?id=1566398%3ATopic%3A608382&page=4#1566398Comment609823"><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>if anyone is looking to acquire another one (or your first) there is a 50th Grande on eBay with a starting bid of $9.00 and $25 shipping. Hard to tel from the pics but it might have a few occlusions in the glass (or just lava residue) <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" target="_blank">http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&a...</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>**Buyer Beware - </p>
<p><a rel="nofollow" href="http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=taddwholesale&iid=371549925065&de=off&items=25&which=negative&interval=30&_trkparms=negative_30" target="_blank">http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedback2&userid=...</a></p>
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</blockquote> if anyone is looking to acqui…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-08:1566398:Comment:6098232016-02-08T22:31:56.492ZClaude Jhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ClaudeJohnson
<p>if anyone is looking to acquire another one (or your first) there is a 50th Grande on eBay with a starting bid of $9.00 and $25 shipping. Hard to tel from the pics but it might have a few occlusions in the glass (or just lava residue) <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" target="_blank">http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<p>if anyone is looking to acquire another one (or your first) there is a 50th Grande on eBay with a starting bid of $9.00 and $25 shipping. Hard to tel from the pics but it might have a few occlusions in the glass (or just lava residue) <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT" target="_blank">http://www.ebay.com/itm/371549925065?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT</a></p>
<p></p>
<p></p> Yes that is the key
Agreedtag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-03:1566398:Comment:6092662016-02-03T14:36:05.915ZClaude Jhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ClaudeJohnson
<p>Yes that is the key</p>
<p>Agreed</p>
<p>Yes that is the key</p>
<p>Agreed</p> Is PERC the stuff that made t…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-03:1566398:Comment:6091872016-02-03T14:33:51.437ZChrishttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/1ce0gqe3mbh36
<p>Is PERC the stuff that made the old wax so stretchy and crazy looking? The new China lamps are mostly just blobs, and you don't seem to get that spike when things start really heating up.<br></br> <br></br> <cite>Claude J said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A609370#1566398Comment609370"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>YES the QC department is almost non existent for China…</p>
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<p>Is PERC the stuff that made the old wax so stretchy and crazy looking? The new China lamps are mostly just blobs, and you don't seem to get that spike when things start really heating up.<br/> <br/> <cite>Claude J said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A609370#1566398Comment609370"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>YES the QC department is almost non existent for China items.</p>
<p>Killer pet food and lead based painted toys is just the tip of the iceberg</p>
<p>Some of our food is now processed in China even though it is raised here. Stay away from anything sold from smithfield farms, starkist tuna. This includes labels: of Morrell, Eckrich, Krakus, Cudahy, Premium Hams, Cook's, Gwaltney, and green giant frozen vegetables. There is NO FDA regulations guiding processing.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Food for thought (pun):<br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/><br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/>If 200 million North Americans refuse to buy just $20 each of Chinese goods, that's a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor... fast! The downside? Some American businesses will feel a temporary pinch from having foreign stockpiles of inventory.<br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/><br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/>Just one month of trading losses will hit the Chinese for 8% of their North American exports. Then they will at least have to ask themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness are worth it.</p>
<p>On the flip side, we wouldn't be 16.3" buying lamps on sale for $20 and LL wouldn't be tossing them out as freely for warranty claims if they were not as cheap as China produces them. I doubt it could be matched with USA labor and material costs. Considering the co must make at least 25%++ profit, the actual bulk purchase costs must be outrageously cheap</p>
<p></p>
<p>On a positive note, I have had a substantial amount of newer lamps that arrived perfect (As perfect can be with blow molded globes). the flow is typical of a China lamp. Not as entertaining as the old ones made in the 70's</p>
<p>Someday, I may go back to the ol school wax formula and premix a few gallons of fluid, If I can find a source for the PERC without draining a few cans of Brakecleen</p>
<p>I personally like the smell of Perchloroethylene, but the wife on the other hand, is especially sensitive to any petroleum product odor</p>
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</blockquote> YES the QC department is almo…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-03:1566398:Comment:6093702016-02-03T14:17:19.519ZClaude Jhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ClaudeJohnson
<p>YES the QC department is almost non existent for China items.</p>
<p>Killer pet food and lead based painted toys is just the tip of the iceberg</p>
<p>Some of our food is now processed in China even though it is raised here. Stay away from anything sold from smithfield farms, starkist tuna. This includes labels: of Morrell, Eckrich, Krakus, Cudahy, Premium Hams, Cook's, Gwaltney, and green giant frozen vegetables. There is NO FDA regulations guiding processing.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Food for…</p>
<p>YES the QC department is almost non existent for China items.</p>
<p>Killer pet food and lead based painted toys is just the tip of the iceberg</p>
<p>Some of our food is now processed in China even though it is raised here. Stay away from anything sold from smithfield farms, starkist tuna. This includes labels: of Morrell, Eckrich, Krakus, Cudahy, Premium Hams, Cook's, Gwaltney, and green giant frozen vegetables. There is NO FDA regulations guiding processing.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Food for thought (pun):<br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/><br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/>If 200 million North Americans refuse to buy just $20 each of Chinese goods, that's a billion dollar trade imbalance resolved in our favor... fast! The downside? Some American businesses will feel a temporary pinch from having foreign stockpiles of inventory.<br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/><br class="defanged1-ecxyiv9298693772"/>Just one month of trading losses will hit the Chinese for 8% of their North American exports. Then they will at least have to ask themselves if the benefits of their arrogance and lawlessness are worth it.</p>
<p>On the flip side, we wouldn't be 16.3" buying lamps on sale for $20 and LL wouldn't be tossing them out as freely for warranty claims if they were not as cheap as China produces them. I doubt it could be matched with USA labor and material costs. Considering the co must make at least 25%++ profit, the actual bulk purchase costs must be outrageously cheap</p>
<p></p>
<p>On a positive note, I have had a substantial amount of newer lamps that arrived perfect (As perfect can be with blow molded globes). the flow is typical of a China lamp. Not as entertaining as the old ones made in the 70's</p>
<p>Someday, I may go back to the ol school wax formula and premix a few gallons of fluid, If I can find a source for the PERC without draining a few cans of Brakecleen</p>
<p>I personally like the smell of Perchloroethylene, but the wife on the other hand, is especially sensitive to any petroleum product odor</p> For sure--it's very hard for…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-03:1566398:Comment:6092652016-02-03T13:55:31.652ZChrishttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/1ce0gqe3mbh36
<p>For sure--it's very hard for companies to make mass quantities of anything here in the US anymore, and it's not necessarily their fault. What IS their fault is if the product coming out of their Chinese manufacturing partners is generally sub-par. At that point, I would expect that they do something about it, but that's unfortunately not the case with these lamps. </p>
<p>Based just on my own experiences with Lava Lite over the last few years as well as what I've read online and seen from my…</p>
<p>For sure--it's very hard for companies to make mass quantities of anything here in the US anymore, and it's not necessarily their fault. What IS their fault is if the product coming out of their Chinese manufacturing partners is generally sub-par. At that point, I would expect that they do something about it, but that's unfortunately not the case with these lamps. </p>
<p>Based just on my own experiences with Lava Lite over the last few years as well as what I've read online and seen from my friends, I would guess that Lava Lite's return rate is somewhere in the range of 25-40% if not a little higher than that. It must be EXTREMELY cheap for them to just trash the bad ones and give you another one with that kind of return rate happening. And they must not worry too much about the reputation they have made for themselves, because they know they're the only ones selling "real" lava lamps in this country. I'm still holding out hope that someday they'll sell the brand/production to somebody else who actually cares about the product and wants to make quality ones again. I would love to get a new one that actually works correctly AND looks nice without me having to open it up and mess with it.</p>
<p><br/> <cite>Claude J said:</cite></p>
<blockquote cite="http://oozinggoo.ning.com/forum/topics/bitten-by-the-bug-yet-again-ordered-a-new-lava-lite?commentId=1566398%3AComment%3A609186#1566398Comment609186"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>Chris, I'm up to @ 128 lamps now</p>
<p>Greater majority of the collection is from ebay but a decent amount from Spenders and LL directly</p>
<p>Some come new in box, and I still have to re-goo them or do a cleaning.</p>
<p>I do recognize a better quality with the 50th series, but maybe its my imagination</p>
<p>One lamp i recently bought arrived yesterday, it was NOS distributed in the 90's and unopened.</p>
<p>I still have to do a cleaning from the residue in the globe.</p>
<p>The globe has OBVIOUS seams and speckle inclusions. Its just not the ol school quality any longer.</p>
<p>One has too agree on the China quality issues, It seems to be common opinion with all collectors and applies to more products than we care to admit.</p>
<p>I would imagine that is still made in the USA, the costs would be high and not as readily available in stores like Menards, Target, Walmart, etc. Bureaucrats and government regulations have driven most companies to overseas manufacturing, The government has becomes its small Businesses worst enemies.</p>
<p>One has to admit the older goo has a nicer flow, but finding one is decent condition is difficult</p>
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</blockquote> Chris, I'm up to @ 128 lamps…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-03:1566398:Comment:6091862016-02-03T13:45:37.907ZClaude Jhttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/ClaudeJohnson
<p>Chris, I'm up to @ 128 lamps now</p>
<p>Greater majority of the collection is from ebay but a decent amount from Spenders and LL directly</p>
<p>Some come new in box, and I still have to re-goo them or do a cleaning.</p>
<p>I do recognize a better quality with the 50th series, but maybe its my imagination</p>
<p>One lamp i recently bought arrived yesterday, it was NOS distributed in the 90's and unopened.</p>
<p>I still have to do a cleaning from the residue in the globe.</p>
<p>The globe…</p>
<p>Chris, I'm up to @ 128 lamps now</p>
<p>Greater majority of the collection is from ebay but a decent amount from Spenders and LL directly</p>
<p>Some come new in box, and I still have to re-goo them or do a cleaning.</p>
<p>I do recognize a better quality with the 50th series, but maybe its my imagination</p>
<p>One lamp i recently bought arrived yesterday, it was NOS distributed in the 90's and unopened.</p>
<p>I still have to do a cleaning from the residue in the globe.</p>
<p>The globe has OBVIOUS seams and speckle inclusions. Its just not the ol school quality any longer.</p>
<p>One has too agree on the China quality issues, It seems to be common opinion with all collectors and applies to more products than we care to admit.</p>
<p>I would imagine that is still made in the USA, the costs would be high and not as readily available in stores like Menards, Target, Walmart, etc. Bureaucrats and government regulations have driven most companies to overseas manufacturing, The government has becomes its small Businesses worst enemies.</p>
<p>One has to admit the older goo has a nicer flow, but finding one is decent condition is difficult</p> I don't think I'm ever going…tag:oozinggoo.ning.com,2016-02-03:1566398:Comment:6092642016-02-03T13:19:13.463ZChrishttps://oozinggoo.ning.com/profile/1ce0gqe3mbh36
<p>I don't think I'm ever going to have one shipped again unless it's an older pre-China one. I'm 0 for 3 so far on getting working China lamps through the mail. The one I have that was made in 97 that I got on eBay showed up in decent condition, but the lava was pretty much shot by my standards and I ended up goo kitting it. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, I've kind of given up on ever getting one I'm super happy with. This is just another product that's not made nearly as well as it used to be. I…</p>
<p>I don't think I'm ever going to have one shipped again unless it's an older pre-China one. I'm 0 for 3 so far on getting working China lamps through the mail. The one I have that was made in 97 that I got on eBay showed up in decent condition, but the lava was pretty much shot by my standards and I ended up goo kitting it. </p>
<p>As I said earlier, I've kind of given up on ever getting one I'm super happy with. This is just another product that's not made nearly as well as it used to be. I actually have no problem with things being made in China. What I have a problem with is that Lava Lite has moved things to China ONLY to save money. There is high quality manufacturing in China just like there is here, but Lava Lite didn't seem to bother with that. They just sold the production to the lowest bidder who could pump these things out the fastest. The alternative is buying an older one on ebay or somewhere like that, but I've found that what the seller considers "good working condition" is usually not what I consider to be acceptable. </p>
<p>This one I got at Spencer the other day is actually a decent lamp. The flow is ok, and the colors look nice. I discovered the other day that there is a tiny ding in the base. I could probably return it because of that and get a different one if I wanted to, and I'm considering it. Also, the little pinpoints of light in the globe drive me crazy sometimes, but they also kind of look appropriate against the midnight blue liquid/purple wax combination. Kind of like a night sky.</p>
<p>So my alternatives now are: 1) Keep it, get used to the speckles in the globe, roll out the dent with a spoon. 2) Return it and take a gamble. I'm thinking the first option is probably better, because who knows what I'm going to get next time.</p>
<p>Sad state of affairs for lava lamp fanatics in 2016. I still haven't learned my lesson.</p>