You read it right. We buy Christmas lights every year because the old ones usually wouldn't work anymore. The 100-light set costs less than $5 and we don't expect it to last for more than 1 use. Sometimes we are lucky to have 1 set working from the 6 to 8 sets that we install in our front yard. We had already tried the most expensive Christmas light set but it's just the same, it wouldn't work on the following year. Those Christmas lights are usually made in China. Is your Christmas lighting set durable?
We do not purchase a complete set of lights every year. We may add to the ones we already have because some of the older lights will stop working but there is no need to replace all of them. But we also do not put our lights out side, all of our lights are indoor lights.
I guess we are lucky because we have had the same set of lights for years now and we have never had to replace it. Maybe the newer models have a set lifespan so people will be forced to keep buying them. We don't decorate during Christmas anymore anyway aside from a few small ornaments because we spend Christmas Day elsewhere and it just doesn't seem to be worth the effort and the expense. Personally if Christmas lights were this undependable for me I'd just stop buying them altogether.
I was just thinking the exact same thing. They maybe making these lights to last just long enough for that season. Then you figure out next year you must buy a new set of lights. I know some people go over board with the lights. It's like as if they are in a competition with other neighbors. I don't know of their is a proper way to store your lights so they last longer but who knows.
I don't buy new Christmas lights every year. Every Christmas I'll have guests staying with me. Relatives. They buy the Christmas lights and all other Christmas decorations. So while I do get new Christmas lights every year, I don't spend a penny. If I had to, I guess I'd buy Christmas lights every three or so years.
We have bought new and used Christmas lights, and we seem to get at least a few years of use out of each before having to get rid of them. So far, all of the LED lights we have bought a couple years ago still work. As our older strands of lights have stopped working, we have switched to LED lights by replacing them. It seems to me that Christmas lights should last longer than one season.