has anyone ever had any problems out of these things not holding a charge?

long story short...i don't drive my car nearly as much as i should, but the damn redtop optima battery in it is only 1yr old and will not hold a charge (also deemed "BAD" by the automotive store testers). this is the 2nd one i've had during the 3yr warranty period and the warranty ended last year. i've worked on, and bought cars with 5...6...7yr old "cheap" batteries in them that still work after sitting for years.

i've been doing a little research and the reviews are pretty mixed. some people experience an issue with the optima's after having them sit for a week or two, some have had no issues after 7 or 8yrs of use. with such different experiences, i'm curious as to whether or not there's some sort of "common user error" (aside from letting your battery just sit) or are these batteries just HYPE and not worth the money?