I don't have much to compare it to, but I've used the Philips 32 Watt 4 Foot Alto Daylight Deluxe (6500 kelvin) bulbs with a lot of success in growing some of my smaller plants.

In this case, I just bought them from homedepot, but since they're in the 6500k color temperature range, they were good for vegetative growth on my seedlings.

I tried a mix of some other bulbs that were't the alto daylight deluxe 6500k, with one in the 3000k color range and one 4100k, and the plants under that light all started leaning toward the 6500k lamp and not growing as fast.

I've had limited experience with them so I can't guarantee how long they'll last (rating is for 24000 hours), but they were cheap and work better than the other bulbs that weren't 6500k. I will probably buy more to try some indoor lettuce.

P&A bulbs are just something that makes the rich even richer. Anything from 4100k to 6500k will work well for plant growth but even T8 will be phased out within the next 5 or so years. T5s are whats in but you probably already know that. 2 bulbs at 54 watts and over 7000 lumen will save in the long run. Add one more bulb at 26.5-27 watts and you have the equivalent to a 175w MH at 81 watts. That's less than half the power for the same light. This is MHO and if you feel I'm in error please let me know because I don't want to mislead anyone. I'm not a pro but have been experimenting with these T5, T8 and T12 and just because they will no longer make something doesn't mean they won't be available.

THANK YOU all , Yes T-5 are going to be the next thing and ultimately L.E.D. I would suspect. But both are still pricey. I was searching Ebay on what type of fixtures were selling and I was surprised to see how many grow lights were sold and how over priced they were. I see it as a new market for me as I liquidate a few pallets of these T-8 Elctronic ballasts strip lights. They are selling well at 80 percent off of retail ($5.00ea) but I just did not know what bulb to suggest to the customers.
So again Thanks

I just did not know what bulb to suggest to the customers.

The cheapest bulbs on sale are adequate - like $1 each for 4'. Sylvania Gro-Lux Wide Spectrum, not to be confused with regular Gro-Lux, might be best when new. However, their performance decreases substantially after about two weeks of use because the phosphor responsible for far red light deteriorates.

Ballasts for $5.00? Gee -- I'd like to get a couple of those.

Rain2Fall

If you are in an area served by Southern California Edison they are subsidizing the cost of various kinds of fluorescent light fixtures and CFL bulbs. Ganahl lumber in Buena Park had the 4 foot single tube light fixtures on sale today for $1.99 and they will take either a T8 or T12 bulb. One trouble is they don't come with a power cord and a power cord at home depot will cost you between $6 and $8, which is more than the light fixture. I found a place online that had a closeout on 6 foot power cords for $1.59 each, but I had to pay $11 for shipping. I am building a 12 tube seed starting setup. If you have some old electronic equipment you could salvage the cords off them, or cut up an old extention cord. But the cord must be the grounded 3 conductor type as the fixture has to be grounded to light up properly.
They also had 23 watt CFLs for 25 cents each, limit 14 per family.