Christmas Light Distributor

Christmas lights distributed by the case

Installers who light more than a few buildings a season buy by the case: bulbs by the 500, clips by the 1,000 or 3,000, plugs by the 1,000, mini strands by the 24. Every product here lists its pack and case count so an order can be sized from the footage instead of guessed. Shipping is free on all orders with no minimum, every order ships the same day, and there are no added fees.

Case sizes at a glance

• LED C9 bulbs: 25-pack or 500-bulb case. Minleon LED C9 bulbs come in the same two sizes.
• LED mini strands: single 50-light strands or 24-strand cases, at 4 in. or 6 in. spacing.
• All-in-one clips: 100-pack or 3,000-count case.
• C9 O-clips and shingle tabs: 100-pack or 1,000-count case.
• Magnet clips: 100-pack or 2,000-count case.
• Male and female plugs: 50-pack or 1,000-count case.
• 8 in. light stakes: 25-pack or 250-count case.
• Photocell timers: single or 4-count case.
• Socket wire: 1,000 ft. spools at 12, 15 or 24 in. spacing.

Matching cases to each other

The parts of a C9 run are counted per socket, so the cases relate to each other. A 1,000 ft. spool at 12 in. spacing has 1,000 sockets, which takes two bulb cases and one 1,000-count O-clip case. At 15 in. spacing the same spool length has 800 sockets: still two bulb cases, with 200 bulbs left for re-lamps. A 3,000-count all-in-one clip case covers three 12 in. spools. The guide below works through the rounding for common job sizes.

When a pack is the right size

Cases suit new runs and season stock. Packs suit everything else: a 25-pack of bulbs for re-lamping a returning customer's roofline, a 50-pack of plugs for a few re-cuts, a single photocell timer for one extra circuit. Ordering the pack in those cases avoids opening a full case for a handful of pieces.

Kits for single buildings

C9 installation kits from 250 to 4,000 ft. include socket wire, LED C9 bulbs, plugs and clips already matched to the footage. They suit a one-off building where splitting cases would leave leftovers.

Keeping case stock consistent

Bulbs from the same case share a color temperature and a lens style, so a roofline lit from one or two cases looks even from end to end. When a job spans several cases, order them together rather than topping up later with a different bulb. Record which bulb and color temperature each job used so re-lamps next season come from the same line. Mini strand cases work the same way for rows of trees.

Returns

Unused product in its original, unopened packaging can be returned within 30 days of delivery, so a full case that turns out not to be needed can go back. Orders ship within the United States.

Case-quantity math for C9 jobs

Ordering by the case means rounding up to whole cases, and the rounding is where most over- and under-ordering happens. Every count on a C9 run comes from one number, the socket count. Get that right and the cases follow.

Step 1: sockets from footage

Sockets = footage x 12 / spacing in inches. At 12 in. spacing that's one socket per foot. At 15 in., 0.8 per foot. At 24 in., 0.5 per foot. Round up for each run, since a partial socket at the end of an edge is still a socket.

Step 2: bulb cases

One bulb per socket. Divide the socket total by 500 and round up. A 500-bulb case is $319 against $19.95 for a 25-pack. When the remainder is small, say under 50 bulbs, a couple of 25-packs can cover it instead of a whole extra case; when the crew re-lamps returning customers, the extra case is usually used up anyway.

Step 3: clip cases

One clip per socket plus about 5%. All-in-one clips come 3,000 to a case and O-clips 1,000 to a case. A job that needs 1,100 O-clips is one case and a 100-pack, not two cases.

Step 4: plug count

Plugs follow runs, not footage: one male and one female per run. Male plugs come 50 to a pack and 1,000 to a case. A 1,000 ft. job cut into 20 runs uses 20 of each, so a pack covers it.

Worked examples

• 600 ft. at 12 in.: 600 sockets, so 2 bulb cases (400 spare bulbs) and 1 all-in-one clip case for 630 clips with 5% extra. At current case prices that's $1,187 in bulbs and clips.
• 1,800 ft. at 15 in.: 1,440 sockets, so 3 bulb cases (60 spare bulbs) and 1 all-in-one clip case for 1,512 clips with 5% extra. At current case prices that's $1,506 in bulbs and clips.
• 3,500 ft. at 15 in.: 2,800 sockets, so 6 bulb cases (200 spare bulbs) and 1 all-in-one clip case for 2,940 clips with 5% extra. At current case prices that's $2,463 in bulbs and clips.

Spools and cases together

A 1,000 ft. socket spool fits case counts well. At 12 in. spacing, one spool is exactly two bulb cases and one O-clip case. At 15 in. spacing the spool has 800 sockets, so two bulb cases leave 200 bulbs over, enough for re-lamps on a route. At 24 in. spacing the spool has 500 sockets, one bulb case.

Mini strands and stakes

Mini strands are counted per tree. A medium wrap is about 100 lights, or two 50-light strands, per foot of height. A 24-strand case covers about 12 ft. of tree and is $260. Count every tree at its height, add the strands, then divide by 24.

Light stakes replace clips on walkway and bed runs, one per socket. A 250-count case covers 250 ft. of walkway at 12 in. spacing or about 313 ft. at 15 in.

Combining jobs into one order

Rounding each job separately wastes partial cases. Total the sockets across every job going out that week, round once, and split the cases on the truck. A crew with three 300 ft. jobs at 12 in. spacing needs 900 bulbs: 3 cases rounded per job, but 2 rounded together.