This lamp is with me since about 6 years in use as desk lighting. My little photosensitive eyes feel the warm glow (827) as very pleasant - better than most other fluorescent tubes with colder and more white light. The shelf life can I assess as very good as my previous tube was about 6 years operation in daily average of 5 hours of operation. Now I bought the same again, with "Lights buying" in the Market Place. And the price is right - not least thanks to the big competition here in the Amazon Marketplace. My overall assessment: and thus a perfect score.
------------------------------- Update on 08/01/2015
Even now, after more than 2 years and a day in operation - still no problem. Full recommendation!