I stocked up on CFLs a couple of years ago when Home Depot had cheap 4-packs for $2 each, I've had 2 bulbs go bad (and 1 cracked one out of the box) out of probably 12 or 16 bulbs in 3 years. Not that terrible at $0.50 each and 1/4 of the wattage of the bulbs they replaced.