Have you contacted the company about the Bendable lights shorting out? If you bought them at the same place, perhaps they were part of a defective batch. I had a problem with mine, and when I wrote to them, they sent me a new one. The Bendable Bright Light is a wonderful product, one that has helped me immensely with my sewing with my newly "old" eyes (also my story!). Don't give up on them yet!