As a lighting professional I was quite skeptical of this LED tape. A 5M spool for under $15 screams that the product will have a high failure rate and poor light quality. Upon arrival, I immediately powered up a few spools to check for bad emitters and color consistency. The results were pretty darn good considering... a quick breakdown:

Color - The LED color temperature listed of 2700K is completely false. These are more in the 3000 to 3200K range. This is important if you are trying to match other light sources in your application. These are a significantly higher color temperature than the Philips A19 LED replacement lamps that are actually pretty close to 2700K. However, the chip to chip binning is actually pretty good. There are no perceptible color variations from emitter to emitter, or from spool to spool. I haven't re-ordered to know if this will stand over time, but in a single order all spools were well within acceptable tolerance.

Installation - The sticky back glue was anything but. I abandoned even trying to use it after the first section was falling down behind me minutes later. As other reviewers have commented, this isn't the most friendly stuff for the inexperienced to install. But, some basic electronics knowledge and some googling can get you going. My installation didn't require any soldering, just chopping to length and using the factory soldered tails.

Dimming - I picked up a PWM dimming controller, wired it up and the tape dims quite well. No weirdness, dimming curve is sharp, but that is a function of the PWM device rather than the tape itself.

Conclusion - Would recommend to a friend. The higher color temperature than advertised makes this unsuitable for applications with darker wood surfaces. CRI also seems pretty low so I wouldn't want this lighting any type of colored surface other than for extra working light in a kitchen/basement/garage/workshop.

These light strips (bought 2) are great in my bathroom at the kickplate and to give a nice glow to the ceiling over a light bridge. The things that surprised me a little was that they are brighter than I expected and they are a warmer, yellowish color than I expected. I am going to put them on a dimmer to get the right look, particularly over the kickplate where they are too bright because they are only a few inches off the floor. Overall, I am happy with this purchase and its value.

UPDATE 12-12-12: I have had these light strips installed for over 9 months and have yet to get a (reasonably priced - under $20) dimmer to work with them more than a couple of days. I installed a dimmer three times and each time the dimmer failed after a few hours or days. Granted it was a cheap dimmer model (which was supposed to work with LED light strips) but once they were wired in and worked I didn't expect them to fail. Not sure if it is the fault of the lights, the power supply, or the dimmer; but in any case, I gave up dimming them. I didn't want to spend over $100 on just the dimmer. I tried a variety of colors of tape over the lights to knock down the brightness and every color changed the color temperature of the actual light unacceptably --- a couple of them turned the light pink, etc. I finally gave up. The dimmers that sounded like they would work cost more than the lights and the power supply together. I have gotten used to using the lights without the dimmer and they have proven reliable. I just don't keep them on all the time like I had hoped. I am very glad I wired in a wall switch dedicated just for these lights next to the other 2 switches for lights in that bathroom.

I simply love these LEDs. I have them in my kitchen, under and over the cabinets. I helped friends install these in their huge outdoor palapa bar, under the counter tops. The look so cool at night. My mom installed some under the counter of a kitchen island, and I put some in my son's new kitchen too. I have never soldered before buying these. I watched youtube videos on "How to solder LED strip lights" purchased the solder American Terminal AT-31604 60-40 Rosin Core Solder (4 Ounces) and Soldering Iron J&L 60 Watts Soldering Iron, UL listed from Amazon. As well as, the power supply Ledwholesalers 30 Watt LED Power Suppply Driver Transformer 120 to 12 Volt DC Output, 3207 . I already had a roll of brown lamp wire to use to connect the stips of LEDs. Of course I thought I was going to screw it up, burn myself or anything else around me but I went for it. I took my time, making sure I kept the LED strip + and - in the same direction and testing every couple of connections to make sure it lit up. I used about 2.5 rolls of LEDs and 3 power supplies. It took me two days because there was drilling thru cabinets to conceal the wires. The 3M tape on the back has held up well. I have had them installed for about a year and haven't had one problem. Every morning I turn them on and it makes me smile :)

Get your solder gun ready! This is NOT plug-and-play, but if you have a little experience soldering, you'll have no problem turning this low-voltage LED ribbon into a custom lighting set up.

It's basically a linear, flexible circuit board with three LEDs every two inches. There's a well-marked place to cut the ribbon every two inches, with corresponding solder points etched into the clear insulation. Indicators also point to + and - soldering locations for easy connections.

I'm a photographer, and 2700k color temperature means a little "warmer" than tungsten (standard incandescent bulb). Daylight is between 6500k and 7200k, which appears much bluer or "cooler" indoors. If you want the finished project to look like warm incandescent light, get these lights. They do NOT look like LEDs. The only caveat is that they do not get warmer at low dimmer settings -- color temp is consistent throughout the output range, unlike standard lights.

They're extremely low-profile, and the 3M tape backing sticks readily to any surface. I put them under my book shelves and they are invisible. The indirect light is so pleasing, and any plug-and-play option with LEDs would have cost $70 per shelf. I have 35 shelves, so that was out of the question.

The entire project required four reels of these lights, two dimmers, and two transformers. Total cost was $300, plus my own labor. Total power for all of that is just eight amps, and the lights themselves are absolutely cool to the touch. The 12v operation means no risk of fire or serious electric shock.

I bought a couple of rolls of red/black 18 gauge hookup wire from Radio Shack; some small gauge solder; and a "helping hands" soldering iron stand. This has the alligator clips required to hold the ribbon and wire in place while you hold the solder and the iron. One drop of solder per spot, and you're all set. I hadn't soldered in decades, so I watched a YouTube video as a refresher. After a few connections, it was no sweat.

LED Wholesalers uses Amazon.com for fulfillment, so that means you'll get your stuff on time, and for those of us with Amazon Prime, delivery is "free."

Be sure to order the 12v power supply and stepless dimmer from these guys. They're great, too.

I took a leap of faith ordering these with almost no reviews, but trust me, these are great lights. Someone could make a business out of installing these for people!

I used these with the LED wholesalers Dimmable 12-Volt DC Magnetic Transformer Power Supply for LED Flexible Strips, Class 2, ETL Listed, 40 Watt, 3233-12V and Lutron DVLV-600P-WH 600-Watt Diva Magnetic Low-Voltage Single-Pole Dimmer, White because I wanted them to be dimmable. This product combo worked well. In my application under the cabinets I had to solder a dozen pieces together with jumper wire, 20GA, Soldering went well once you get the hang of it. I like the lights. I hate the adhesive. These were installed on a freshly painted set of cabinets (semi gloss if it matters) and they were sagging and dropping off. So, the adhesive sucks and I had to go to the hot glue gun which so far has fixed the problem. I would have gladly paid more money for these if they used a better glue. My time is worth more than what the manufacturer saved using bad glue. I got these in 2700K and like them in the kitchen, a nice warm glow with more than enough light on the counter. I have a feeling that over time I will not use the dimmer feature very often so money could be saved if you didn't go with a special dimmer switch and transformer. I would still choose a robust transformer so there is less likelihood for issues down the line.
The return policy was good, First set was received damaged. Returned them and ordered another. Quick and easy.