These are about the same shape as "Red Solo Party Cups" we all know and love. The 16oz ones are a bit smaller than party cups. They give a little when you grip them, but not as much as others. If you squeeze a red solo cup hard enough, it will break and rip. Not these ones, which bend, then bend back to their normal shape."Ultra clear" means almost as clear as a clean glass window. They have a minor blue-black tint at certain angles, but overall look nicer than normal "clear" plastic cups, which are cloudy in comparison.The cups are high quality and exactly what you would expect them to be, however the 50 cup sleeves are packaged in an incredibly thin plastic bag that is prone to ripping (and subsequently scattering all fifty cups onto the ground) when carried by the end. I've since started carrying the sleeves like tiny babies, wrapping them in my arms.Whatever shipping issues they have had in the past have been fixed, because I've been purchasing these every few weeks for my theatre lately since Sam's has not been keeping them in stock.They are great quality, we receive 500 16oz cups as advertised, and my bar manager wants us to keep ordering them.These cups fit perfectly in the slot of the paper plates we use for our campus event.These Dixie PETE cups are a sturdy, classy-looking choice for any function. The 12 oz. is large enough to hold the contents of a can of beer or pop. Treat your guests to a cup that doesn't feel like it's going to collapse in their hands.I got these thinking they would be comparable to the Solo red cups we usually buy. These are much better. Not flimsy at all and hold up to repeat uses over and over. They are flexible, not hard plastic, but still much nicer than any others.I have ordered these several times for over the pat two years. They have been fine up until our last order. When the cups arrived the packaging was exactly the same BUT everything was spanish. That would have been fine but the cups were super flimsy. The lip was fine and the base was fine but the middle part of the cup would cave under the pressure of your hand holding the cup. If you put a lid on the cup it would require effort to make it so it didn't smash down completely. I was disappointed and will order from another vendor. The quality went way down and I paid the same price as always.Great for drinking!