I just received mine today and tried one out. I didn't realized the lamp would have to be metal, until I read the description more carefully while waiting for them to be delivered. I tried anyway, and it would not stay on.

So I read the questions, and one of the answers was that the bulb has to be an old fashioned one. I had CFL bulb in my lamp, so I switched it to an older bulb. No part of my lamp is metal, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to try.

As soon as I tapped the pad, the light came on as promised. And, it has 3 levels of brightness.

It is also perfect on my computer desk, I always had to stretch to turn it off and on. All my other lamps have energy saving bulbs, which are almost always on. I had forgotten how much softer light a regular bulb puts out...my computer area is cozy looking, now. The dimmer is one of those nifty things in life that I wish I had years ago.

We have had touch dimmers on all our lamps for over 25 years. I've had dimmers with 4 settings and a slow step down off setting that I like better, but can no longer find those. If you have 3 way lamps and the bulbs blow (all the time), then this is for you! Use whatever wattage you want in the lamp and have a three way setting. I couldn't do without touch dimmers and this brand works well. I've had some of this brand for many years and they still perform.

I've had another one of these which has controlled an 18' rope light mounted under my kitchen cabinets for 6 years. Not a lick of trouble with that, so thought I'd get another to do a set of three undercabinet 'puck' lights I just installed--60 watts total. Looks and works exactly the same as the previous one. No false triggers, quick response, no issues at all. As for longevity we'll see but I don't expect any problems.

These may not be pretty, but they work *very* well. In fact, I've been using one for over a year, and just picked up this two-pack for some other lights in my house.

One of the nice, convenient things about them is that they extend from where you can turn your lamp on and off (so if, for example, your lamp is behind a couch, or in a corner, you can put the disk on a side table next to the couch and turn the light on and off from there, instead of having to reach behind the couch). The wire between the controller and the disk is at least 6 feet long, so you can really make things super-convenient!

The way that they work is this:

You plug the dimmer device (the controller) into your electrical outlet, and then you plug your lamp into the box of the dimmer device.

Now, you see that disk? You put that by the lamp (or really wherever you want it within the reach of its cord), and you simply touch the disk - once for very low light, twice for medium light, and a third touch gives you full brightness. Touch it again to turn it off.

Brilliant!

And, again, the wire between the controller and the disk is at least 6 feet long (I've seen some say 8 feet, I'm not near where I can measure it right now), so in addition to giving your lamp three intensities, instead of always "full brightness", you now can put the on/off switch wherever you want, instead of it being only at the lamp itself!

At under $10 a piece, these are a little slice of "why didn't I set this up sooner" heaven!

I've purchased two of these and I love them. Super easy to turn the light on during the night and makes a regular bulb act as a 3-way. I don't know how long they last. I've had another kind that only lasted 6 months because of a power surge, I think. However, if that happened to these, I'd buy them again. I'm sold!