Well, I found a solution to my problem, no thanks to Ott Lite. My husband modified the lamp so it would accept the bulb. He also told me there is no way any tech on the phone could have walked me thru it. Since reading here how a lot of people buy cheaper lamps and they seem to work fine, I may do that next time. Any company that can't make a replacement bulb that actually fits the lamp and then gives very limited customer service isn't getting any more of my money if I can possible avoid it.