Within a week of relatively heavy playing (playing a lot, but with a light touch), these strings go bright orange. They don't sound any different, but the coating has been decimated and look like they're rusting.
Bearing in mind that I've never had a set of Valuestrings snap, I have found a weird phenomenon with these Quality Series. The High E, for some reason, constantly breaks at the ball end. Completely unties itself from the ball and pulls through the bridge after a session of blues bends. Genuinely makes me terrified to play these strings on a gig because I know for a fact they'll snap if I'm taking a few solos.
Rather ironically I'll be sticking with the Valuestrings that are half the cost but significantly more durable.
As always, if you can afford the brand name, get them - IMO nothing beats the value of regular slinkys, but the Valuestrings are a GREAT replacement considering you can get 3 packs for the price of 1 set of Ernie Balls. Just don't buy these ones.