A Few Tips for Buying Artificial Christmas Trees Online

According the American Christmas Tree Association website, continually replacing a live tree is 3 times as costly as buying an Artificial Christmas Tree (which can last 10 years or more). So, it's no wonder that so many people are buying artificial trees and many of them are going online to find deals. With that in mind, it's important to carefully consider the company you're buying the tree from. It can have a major impact on your buying experience, the quality of the tree you receive and whether it arrives on time, or even arrives at all!

1st: Qualify the Tree's Warranty
A tree's warranty is a good indicator of quality. Is the artificial tree you're considering made to last 1, 3, 5 or 10 years? The warranty can tell you that. Look for trees with 10 year warranties like those on our website.

2nd: Qualify the Longevity of the Online Company Offering the Warranty
Choosing a company that has been around for some time is key. What if your tree has a 10 year warranty and the company you bought it from isn't around when you need to call in the warranty? Looking at a company's past and current success is a useful indicator for whether or not they're going to be in the future. Our company, Christmas Lights Etc. has been around since 2000 and makes the Inc. Magazine (500, 5000) list of America's fastest growing companies year after year.

3rd: Qualify the Expertise of the Online Company
Most families buy their Christmas tree once and plan on using it for years and years. In that case, it's important to get it right. It's best to buy an artificial Christmas tree from an Artificial tree company: one that sells trees as part of their primary business. They're likely to be able to offer you more. You may need their help deciding on the right one and you want to be able to count on their product knowledge when figuring out which one is best for you. Christmas Lights Etc. has knowledgeable people on staff that are ready to answer your questions by phone or online chat. They can help explain the product and help you select the right tree for your family.

4th: Qualify the Experience of the Online Company
Busy holiday seasons create massive challenges for inexperienced online retailers. To avoid running into problems with your order (wrong tree, tree arrives late or simply not at all) stick with a larger, more experienced retailer that has a record of successful, on time fulfillment with a few seasons under their belt. At ChristmasLightsEtc.com, we have successfully shipped tens of thousands of trees and millions of lights. In fact, our website has seen more traffic over the last 3 years than any other Christmas shopping site online (according to Alexa).

5th: Qualify the Online Company's Reputation
Considering what consumer advocacy groups have to say about an online retailer is key. What does the Better Business Bureau (BBB) say? Is the online company even listed with them? An easy way to find out is to type the company's name next to the word, "complaints" into Google and check out the results. The BBB lists any filed complaints or arbitration directly on its website. Bottom line is that you want to protect yourself and try not to do business with companies that don't consider themselves accountable to their customers. Christmas Lights Etc. is an accredited business with the BBB and has been for years. You won't find a lot of negative reaction about us or our products online either because we take customer satisfaction seriously - it's a core value here and considered a real differentiator for us in our industry.

6th: Qualify the Online Company with Customer Reviews and Ratings
Has a company offered itself up for customer review and rating? Companies who choose not to do this provide customers with no barometers by which they can measure the dependability of the company or their products. Companies can experience high and low seasons. As a customer, you want to be able to tell when a company is experiencing negative or positive trends in its products or service so that you can avoid potential frustration, disappointment, even financial loss. Based on years of consistently positive ratings and reviews from customers, Bizrate.com has identified Christmas Lights Etc. as an official Customer Certified retailer.

7th: Qualify the Online Company by Analyzing its Partners & Priorities
How can you assess an online company's priorities? One good way may be to analyze the other businesses it associates with and how it chooses to use the space on its website. For instance, if an online company uses its website space to highlight advertisers and their advertisements or to focus on fellow merchants looking to make additional money off of the customer, this may be a telling sign of that company's priorities. Instead, consider websites like ChristmasLightsEtc.com who use their space to help promote value added partnerships with organizations like Energy Star (for environmental reasons), the BBB (for consumer protection) and McAfee (for customer information security).

For peace of mind and help selecting the right artificial Christmas tree for you, use our easy Tree Finder

Hottest Christmas Items of the Year

This year's hot list is out! Making the list for 2008 are environmentally friendly and cost effective options designed to brighten up the holidays:

1. Eco-friendly ENERGY STAR LED Christmas Lights
2. Realistic-looking TruTip Artificial Christmas Trees
3. Beautiful Moravian Star Outdoor Lamps
4. Natural Grapevine Outdoor Topiary Christmas Decorations

This season shoppers are looking for products that are not just cost conscious, but environmentally friendly as well. Christmas Lights Etc. ENERGY STAR LED Christmas Lights are the popular choice for achieving that balance. Christmas LEDs provide up to a 98% savings in energy costs and power consumption. LED lights are the most popular lighting option this year because they're brighter, last longer and leave you feeling better about your own environmental footprint.

Number 2 on this year's list are the popular and beautifully realistic-looking TruTip Artificial Christmas Trees. They offer branches that fall naturally and tips that feel like those found on live trees. They're sturdy and strong and cost effective alternatives to live trees which require yearly replacement, not to mention cleanup, disposal and watering. Right now Premium TruTip Christmas trees can only be found on ChristmasLightsEtc.com.

Coming in third this season are the very popular Morovian Stars. These heavenly lights add accent to outdoor displays and dramatic focus points to the yard at night. The distinctive stars seem to hang in space, but actually hook quite simply from tree branches. Purchasing Moravian Stars are an inexpensive way to add Christmas to any yard this season.

Rounding off the list of hot holiday products for 2008 are Grapevine Outdoor Topiary Christmas Decorations. As homes all across the country participate (even compete) in decorating the outside of their homes with glowing lights and physical representations of the holidays, environmentally conscious Grapevine topiaries offer a green, natural substitute to traditional outdoor yard decorations. Handcrafted grapevine wood replaces traditional PVC material making this year's topiaries recyclable and highly fashionable as well. The grapevine-made yard figures come in forms resembling Santa's Reindeer and Sleigh. Amidst a list of other eco-friendly options, the Grapevine collection caps off a brand hot list filled budget friendly and environmentally friendly Christmas products.

Remember: In addition to saving money this Christmas with smart holiday decorations, you can shop online at Christmas Lights Etc. and save more cash with ZERO tax (for most buyers) on all products and Free Shipping on Artificial Christmas Trees over $95.