Old henry, The reason they only light up the very center(which does look super bright) and dont throw the lighting outward or back into the fixture is because the
1157-x19 bulb you have pictured they are a "Narrow viewing angle" style bulb and designed that way, as stated on some of the bulbs in the same selection box you picked yours from ,If you goto this page
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...15x-x12x19.htm and go down to the second picture which is the 1157-x19 bulb you have pictured and click on the 3D view option , the picture that pops up says "Narrow angle LED"
If you go to this page of the website
http://www.superbrightleds.com/cgi-b...rake-turn.html and look at the bulbs in the 2nd selection box under the ones you purchased ,at the bulbs
1157 Dual & 1156 Single Contact BA15 High Power SMD LED Automotive Bulbs
with the LED's not only on the top but also the sides of the bulb you'll see they are a "360 degree Viewing Angle" bulbs which throw light all the way around the fixture, but they cost quite abit more then the ones you bought.So most likely it was a misunderstanding from the buyer and not the bulbs fault
hope this helps and congrats on the super amount of posts you have made!