I was originally not going to chime in on this, but if you have had so many strut failures, I would suggest that perhaps you are purchasing a strut that is undersized for the application. In that case, it wouldn't matter who it was purchased from. If you had purchased it from another retailer you would be having the same problem. It's not Jamestown that is the root cause of the issue, and it may not be the strut manufacturer unless you are buying a cheap knockoff. The struts come in different stroke lengths and varying load capacities. They are designed to function in a straight application and any side loading will most likely cause premature failure. The ball and socket attachment points might be a key to the problem if the don't allow the strut to function in a straight line.